The New York Times’ public editor Margaret Sullivan wrote on Monday about the newspaper’s inaccurate story about a Department of Justice investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private email use while Secretary of State, concluding it was a “mess.”
Sullivan said the story was “fraught with inaccuracies,” prompted by the all-too-common rush for a scoop.
“There are at least two major journalistic problems here, in my view,” she wrote. “Competitive pressure and the desire for a scoop, led to too much speed and not enough caution.”
“Mr. (Matt) Purdy told me that the reporters, whom he described as excellent and experienced, were ‘sent back again and again’ to seek confirmation of the key elements; but while no one would discuss the specifics of who the sources were, my sense is that final confirmation came from the same person more than once.”
Assistant Managing Editor Purdy said the story’s reporters had “multiple, reliable, highly placed sources,” including some “in law enforcement” who told them the DOJ would be opening a criminal probe into Clinton’s email use; it was later revealed no such investigation will be launched. Sullivan concluded that it’s safe to say the source came from the DOJ.
Executive editor Dean Baquet told Sullivan the Times wasn’t open enough in its corrections process: “We should have explained to our readers right away what happened here, as soon as we knew it,” he said. “That could have been in an editor’s note or in a story, or in some other form.”
The Times first reported two inspectors general had requested that the Justice Department probe “into whether Hillary Rodham Clinton mishandled sensitive government information on a private email account she used as secretary of state.”
That sentence was changed to “into whether sensitive government information was mishandled in connection with the personal email account Hillary Rodham Clinton used as secretary of state.”
Co-author of the story Michael Schmidt said the changes to the article came in response to complaints from the Clinton campaign.
13 Unforgettable Hillary Rodham Clinton Moments: Secretary of State, Candidate and First Lady (Photos)
Photos of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her email went viral in 2011. When Clinton joined Twitter last month, she chose a shot like this for her profile page, quickly racking up 650,000 followers.
In December 2011 Hillary joyfully greeted Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi in Burma. Suu Kyi led the fight against military rule in Burma, where she spent years under house arrest.
Hillary Rodham Clinton made her debut in politics back in 1974 during the Watergate Scandal as a member of the impeachment inquiry staff. She was a recent Yale Law School graduate and not yet married to Bill Clinton.
Hillary Clinton became a lightening rod on the 1992 campaign trail, drawing criticism for remarks that she could have "stayed home and baked cookies and had tea but what I decided to do was fulfill my profession" and that she was not a "some little woman standing by my man like Tammy Wynette."
In 1996, then First Lady HIllary Clinton was put on the cover of Time magazine, with the story depicting the truth about the Whitewater real-estate scandal.
Hillary Clinton delivers a speech on the Monica Lewinsky affair with her husband and former President Bill Clinton standing by her side.
After taking on two ads that she claims misrepresented her stance on healthcare plans, an enraged presidential candidate Hillary Clinton delivers a speech on the shameful tactics used by rival Barack Obama in 2008. "Shame on you, Barack Obama!"
After losing the race for the Democratic candidacy for the 2008 election, Clinton ended her campaign with a memorable speech. "Even though we were not able to shatter that highest, hardest glass ceiling this time, thanks to you, it's got about 18 million cracks in it, and the light is shining through like never before."
Alongside President Obama and other senior members of the White House staff, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton watches as the US Naval Seals take down terrorist Osama bin Laden on May 1, 2011.
Hillary Clinton and actress Meryl Streep share a laugh at the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors gala.
After returning to work from hospitalization from a blood clot, then-Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received joke gifts from her colleagues to celebrate her return. She received a football jersey and helmet.
In January, Clinton delivered a fiery speech to Congress about the Benghazi attacks on U.S. soldiers.
In 2013, Hillary Clinton joined the Human Rights Campaign for same sex marriage. Her support for equal marriage was received as one of her biggest contributions to the campaign upon retiring as Secretary of State in February 2013.
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A look at 10 of former First Lady's biggest moments in the White House, as Secretary of State and as Democractic candidate for president.
Photos of then Secretary of State Hillary Clinton checking her email went viral in 2011. When Clinton joined Twitter last month, she chose a shot like this for her profile page, quickly racking up 650,000 followers.