LA Times Issues Correction on its Op-ED: The War on ACORN
by Publius
On October 22nd, the Los Angeles Times gave space on its pages to Professor Peter Drier who rose to defend ACORN. After trying to spin away ACORN’s continuing troubles with election law, Professor Drier turned to the ACORN video scandal:
And what about the prostitute-and-pimp video? It also isn’t quite what Glenn Beck and Bill O’Reilly would have you believe. Two “gotcha” right-wing activists showed up at about 10 ACORN offices hoping to entice low-level staff to provide tax advice for an illegal prostitution ring. In most ACORN offices, the staff kicked the pair out. In a few cities, staffers called the police. In two offices, however, the staff listened and offered to help. That was wrong. But ACORN immediately fired the errant staffers.
Today, the LA Times issued the following correction and attached it to the original op-ed:
An Oct. 22 Op-Ed article about the community group ACORN stated that, in two ACORN offices, staff members offered advice to a pair of videographers posing as proprietors of a prostitution ring. While tapes of all the offices visited by the pair have not been released, it is clear from those that have been that ACORN offered advice in more than two offices. The article also said that the pair were “kicked out” of most ACORN offices. Because unedited versions of the tapes have not been released, it is unclear how the encounters ended, but it is unlikely they were ordered to leave most offices.
Unfortunately, the LA Times still hasn’t disclosed to its readers that the op-ed’s author, Professor Drier, has been a consultant to ACORN. Still a small step forward.





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50 Comments
It is a small step and probably really hard for LA Times so admit any kind of error. Keep the pressure on and maybe, just maybe they will lean a little toward accurate reporting. Boy, they have a long way to go!
"Still a small step forward."
More like…take the 15 North to Highway 127. Death Valley Road should lead you to what's left of the LA Times' credibility. I remember seeing it there in the 80's but even that may have been a mirage.
Unfortunately, the LA Times still hasn’t disclosed to its readers that the op-ed’s author, Professor Drier, has been a consultant to ACORN.
How much you wanna bet that most of their staff supports a government takeover, err bailout, of the newspaper?
Now, How do you like that! The Correction is long overdue and Prof. Drier is affiliated with ACON. tsk tsk tsk
The LAT is LATE again. Soon I hope we will be referring to them as the LATE LAT! Once they are extinct they will no longer have to worry about those troubling corrections.
This a favored tactic of the Boston Globe/NY Times. You rush some hit piece and then long after the fact write your correction and hide it where almost no one will ever see it. There is no journalistic integrity in these rags and peole should be able to easily see through it.
They say the first step to recovery is admitting you have a problem. This had to be a hard thing for them to do. How long was it between Oct 22 and the correction? Its not like the truth has not been obvious for months now. Better late than never, but heres a novel idea: how about getting it correct the first time? That would be a refreshing change in print journalism. I live in KY and the LAT was to be that kind of paper I would subscribe (and I HATE the feel of newsprint).
I wonder if Keith Olberman (msnbc) read this article? He could use a "big step forward" on his show.
Just admit it, ACORN has been a corrupt organization from day one. The corruption runs from the neighborhood branches to the executive branch.
shooot… I b lookin for that artical, caus i b needin my help to. I been to acorn but nevr do I get them hos to call me out. Them hos very good when I b needin cash or stuf.
Would someone like to let the LA Times know that the unedited versions have been released and they can get them here?
Who cares what the L.A. Times has to say on anything regarding the ACORN story. Whether it is 1 office or 2 or 100, the bottom line is that any office helping promote that sort of agenda shouldn't receive a 1/4 of a penny on our money.
The LAT and NYT plus a few others have become non-entities as far a journalism is concerned. The tabloids have more creditbility than those glass tower biased rags. The're all losing money and Ofumble said he will bail them out with our tax money of course.
This is journalism HERE and now!!! Instantaneous, interactive and with no BS. Plus we are contributing in saving the planet because we don't need to cut down trees to find whats happening in the world. So if Obama bails out the major newspaper like NYT, the environmentalists should ream him for helping to destroy the forests.
Cable News Ratings for Monday, November 2, 2009
Live + Same Day Cable News Daily Ratings for November 2, 2009
P2+ Total Day
FNC – 1,316,000 viewers
CNN – 462,000 viewers
MSNBC –354,000 viewers
CNBC – 209,000 viewers
HLN –302,000 viewers
P2+ Prime Time
FNC – 2,219,000viewers
CNN— 467,000 viewers
MSNBC –790,000 viewers
CNBC – 143,000 viewers
HLN – 462,000 viewers
I just read this interesting bit of info:
"New information coming out of New York's 23rd reveals a judge has now seized voting machines which apparently were not counting votes correctly.
Alas, it appears the Tom Daschle and Tim Johnson voting scenarios to gain victories in South Dakota have showed up in New York too to have another Democrat win in an entirely, overwhelming Republican district.
Perhaps it was not so much idiots voting for a traitor not on the ballot, but Al Franken creative vote manufacturing in New York……….now word yet if more people voted there than there were voters as in Minnesota."
http://lamecherry.blogspot.com/
nice description. an apt metaphor- a Death Valley mirage, compared to the ethereal illusion/delusion LA Times credibility, coupled with its physical/mental distance from its audience. well done.
They've already acknowledged that – in the unedited version of the LA Times.
The MSN absolutely refuses to connect the dots where ACORN is concerned. What PAGE was the corrected editorial printed on?
You left out:
P2+ Total Day
FCM – 386,592,653 viewers
P2+ Prime Time
FCM – 633,462
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgmid_funky-cold...
Social comments and analytics for this post…
This post was mentioned on Twitter by griffinrc: LA Times Issues Correction on its Op-ED: The War on ACORN http://bit.ly/145SgH
#tcot…
according to my limited math skills, these numbers mean that Fox is well within a rounding error of having as many viewers as the others put together in the first group, and about 20% more than them combined in the second.
think how awesome this would be if Fox were a 'real' news outlet, like those other bastions of accuracy, honesty, integrity, and objectivity…
Isn't an op-ed basically just their opinion? How do correct your opinion?
Careful LA TImes, your liberal MSM membership card might get revoked.
I assume that's a paid consultant.
I believe the Holocaust is a lie to cover-up the fact that the Jews were controlling Hitler and promoting the War. I also believe the Jews have been flying UFOs over America and stealing and mutilating our cows in an attempt to overthrow our milk industry. Even though I promote these things publicly in a newspaper, they're just my opinions and I shouldn't have to correct them.
The LA Times, I'm sure, has lots of options to choose from in publishing an "Op-Ed" piece. Thus, in making such a choice, they are in essence affirming either that they agree with the opinions expressed in the piece, or believe it to at least be factually accurate. If the latter is proven to be false in some way, then the Times would have a moral and journalistic responsibility to print a correction.
When papers make a correction do they reference the correction as an addendum to the original article? I mean, if I looked up the article would I see the correction at the bottom of the article?
It's not much of a correction. More on what they failed to correct:
http://patterico.com/2009/11/03/l-a-times-correct...
This week i have noticed baby steps on the part of MSM to report an try to find the truth, but still not close to where they should be.
How much moeny does he get from acorn or its afilliates? He works for them as a consultant so howe much? It be nice something if the media-leftwing idiots-could present some issue with some sort of real aurgument. You know something that was so blantly a lie. Opne ACORN s books and the rest fo their so call legitimate businesses, after all they are non-profits and required by law to present their books to the public- so we can see the proof of their good deeds. You know the hustling of banks, the intimadation fo small business peole and big as well, the proof of embezzelment of funds and the tax code violations by committing voter fraud. They a re corrupt and need to be put out of our misery. Wake Up America! Save your selves before it's too late!
When I'm feeling a little complacent I read the LA Times. Then I remember why I care, because they obviously don't. Sure took them a long time to "see" this guy's lies. I guess the LA Times peeps were asleep when they printed this jerks "opinion."
Today’s daily dose of ACORN Derangement Syndrome propaganda is brought you by “Extenze”!
Today's daily dose of propaganda to feed the un-influential ACORN Derangement Syndrome is brought to you by "Cash 4 Gold"! "Cash 4 Gold", the only sponsors left on Glenn Beck and you! Do you have gold at home? Need to sell it to make tea-party signs or maybe spelling lessons for those tea-party signs? Send your gold to us! We'll mail you a check! With the money you receive from "Cash 4 Gold", you can use it to find 2, maybe 3 more people who actually care about ACORN and start a pen-pal relationship with them. YAY!!! Don't forget…"Cash 4 Gold"!!!
No, unlike you, the L.A. Times actually recognized their mistake and publicly made amends for being wrong; not to mention stupid.
No, the LA Times should have printed the truth about how the 3 ACORN videos in California were a complete bust, a washout, a dry hump squirt! The San Bernadino ACORN worker punk'd the two hacks, the San Diego ACORN worker called the police on them and the National City PD confirmed this on several occasions and the 3rd video will never see the light of day unless Giles and O'Keefe can doctor, edit, lie and spin that tape out of desperation like they did the Philly tape.
Please clean up your language !
You're full of it ! Where'd you get those talking points ; directly from Big Bertha?
Why is it that facts that have been proven are "talking points"? Oh…because these facts are against what you want to believe. Oh…I get it! So if I tell you that ACORN grinds up children in blenders and makes margaritas with it and serves it to Communists, you'd gobble that up as gospel because it supports your desired thought. If I tell you the National City PD confirmed that the San Diego ACORN employee reported Giles and O'Keefe to the police, it's a "talking point"
http://www.sandiego6.com/news/local/story/ACORN-S...
And the San Bernadino ACORN's talking points:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/arti...
And the talking point of the video they'll never let you see:
http://community.livejournal.com/ontd_political/4...
Yeah…talking points!!! You can think for yourself. It's America and Giles, O'Keefe and the rest won't punish you for mind crimes.
could you please provide the link or reference to this information?
I have searched and cannot find anything to collaborate this info.
Thanks
to clarify: I found the info on lamecherry blog, but I was looking for the original source, as the assertion is unsupported. "New information coming out of New York" is too vague to take at face value without substantiation…it could have come out of the local deli for all we know.
Not rejecting out of hand, just wanting a verified source of info, that's all.
Thanks.
I was looking for other info also to substantiate this comment but couldn't. The only reason I posted this was because I have never never been disappointed with information coming form the lamecherry site. This person is always right on target and the news is always in advance of regular media.
I do hope this also is the case.
We are all entitled to a little stupidity now and then, but Mr. Syntax_game has abused the privilege.
If anyone isn't "thinking for himself", it's you.
Links to the Washington COMPOST and some weirdo thing I've never heard of? How long did it take to to dig up something that is as error filled as your posts are?
Now attacking the messenger because the message doesn't adhere to your desired thought process is an indoctrinated talking point. It doesn't change the fact that the three California ACORN videos are a complete bust.
Wrong, yet again, oh Syn.
ACORN, has been a corrupt, illegal advice giving, thug employing, subversive organization from day one.
Are you calling the L.A. Times a bunch of right wing liars?
"ACORN, has been a corrupt, illegal advice giving, thug employing, subversive organization from day one. " — Hear this talking point so many times, I lost count but I'll ask the same question I've asked many, many times before…can you prove it?
"Are you calling the L.A. Times a bunch of right wing liars? " — Nope! That's Fox News who on September 15th, spent the entire day broadcasting how the San Bernadino ACORN employee "murdered her husband" without having the journalistic integrity to commit one single second to fact checking or verifying if this claim actually had merit. No, the LA Times has failed miserably at being objective similar to many other news outlets and have allowed "right wing liars" dictate their news cycles:
http://departments.oxy.edu/uepi/acornstudy/
You must be very bored; not to mention yearning for attention, no matter what the cost.
By this time, your arguments have become not only ennui inducing, but hacknied, repetitive in the extreme, and patently ridiculous.
Just reread all of my previous post; I can't be bothered to retype it all to you.
Yeah 1RC, this is usually the type of response I can count on getting when I ask for "proof" but at least yours is a lot less colorful and more respectful than a lot of the other responses I'm used to getting.
I've previously given you "proof" and facts…………….all to no avail.
You post links to lefty, error filled sites and expect us to accept them as "proof"; which it is anything but.
I am a civil person, until pushed to the wall. I've even asked YOU to clean up your language, without replying in kind.
And the post you have just replied to, is all you deserve. I now refuse to keep on reposting, to satisfy your obsessive need for attention.
I think ACORN must have been hehind the massive vote fraud that took place in the 23rd district. A number of us saw the blatant bussing in of ringers and I for one saw them in the county park switching hats and jackets as a different set of IDs were handed out. This took place right in the entrance to the county park. At least three other people here in Watertwown saw what I saw. The only thing that makes me wonder is that these folks were mostly white, very few that looked Mexican and only a couple of black fellows. I always thought that ACORN hired only blacks but who else would do something like this? We are gonna try and find out more but it's gonna be hard, the local paper has only Obama people working there.
their staff are normal folks, its their editors/writers/etc . . . . . the circulation dept, financial, legal, events, advertising, order entry, etc are very great and very understanding for the most part…… its those editors that think they are the reason people ever bought the paper and not just to see the NEWS….. we shall see if Sam Zell will have any influence on making the Times a more lucrative/balanced newspaper for those of us on the West Coast
You forgot New York Democrats don't need ACORN they have Tamamny Hall
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