Don’t Be Too Proud, Bob

Meanwhile, Bob Thompson of The Washington Post pounds his chest and brags about the heroic virtues of newspaper fact-checking in “True or False: Book Publishers Can Avoid the Agony of Deceit”.

“We can, however, offer up a hoary newsroom phrase the publishing industry might find useful,” Thompson writes. “‘Too good to check!’ we say gleefully when we run into a great story that would likely fall apart if we made a call or two. As a rule, those stories don’t make the paper.”

Except he seems blissfully ignorant of The New York Times article entitled “A Refugee from Gangland” that didn’t seem to fact check enough. Other newspapers also bought the lie.

So don’t get too caught up in your industry’s fact-checking glory there, Bob.