Apology Doesn't Cut It

From ktvu.com. Background from Jake here.

The Spanish news agency EFE apologized to Republican gubernatorial candidate Don Goldwater, saying a story distributed by the agency on June 21 mischaracterized Goldwater as wanting to use "concentration camps" as part of efforts to combat illegal immigration.

Goldwater has called for a work program for illegal immigrants convicted of nonviolent crimes to help construct a border wall and clean up desert areas where illegal border-crossers have left trash and damaged the environment.

An apology?

EFE Executive Vice President Emillio Sanchez said in a June 25 letter released Tuesday by Goldwater's campaign that the EFE stringer who wrote the June 21 article should not have reported that Goldwater supports using "concentration camps."

"We understand the very serious connotations those words have for the people of the Arizona. Upon further reflection, our investigation has determined that your plan to house illegal prisoners in a tent city is consistent with accepted practices for nonviolent American prisoners in your area," Sanchez said in the letter.

The stringer may have written it, Emillio, but YOU DISTRIBUTED IT. Your editorial staff read and approved it. Stories don't just hop into the mix without the blessing of those you've hired to decide what gets used and what doesn't.

Of course the stringer "should not have reported that Goldwater supports using concentration camps." But it would have been a moot point if your organization rejected the piece instead of e-mailing it across the United States.

Sanchez confirmed the letter's contents when contacted by The Associated Press by phone on Tuesday.

The letter also acknowledged that the freelance EFE reporter never interviewed Goldwater or any of his staff for the story.

Sanchez said the original story was distributed to EFE subscribers in the United States and that the agency subsequently sent a correction "and a message to subscribers telling them we made the mistake."

Here's why an apology just doesn't cut it for me. A phrase like "concentration camp" doesn't just slip through the cracks. A typo is a mistake. Misidentifying someone in a photograph is a mistake. This was a purposeful attempt to inflame, and an apology is worthless in my book.

Of course, Goldwater doesn't have to look any further than his own party and his own state to be on the receiving end of such unforgiveable inflammatory speech:

I strongly denounce Don Goldwater’s deeply offensive suggestion that illegal immigrants should be incarcerated in concentration camps along the border, and pressed into forced labor.

--- press release of Senator John McCain (R-AZ)

As worthless as I think it would be anyway, I'm not holding my breath for an apology from Arizona's biggest McTraitor.

Technorati Tags
Illegal Immigration * Don Goldwater * John McCain * Concentration Camp