One of the biggest criticisms of weblogs is that they are not “fact-checked like the media.” Next time you read or hear that just remember this about mainstream media reports of death, destruction and mayhem in New Orleans:

But the basic premise of the article that introduced the New Orleans helicopter sniper to a global audience was dead wrong, just like so many other widely disseminated Katrina nightmares. No 7-year-old rape victim with a slit throat was ever found, even though the atrocity was reported in scores of newspapers. The Convention Center freezer was not stacked with 30 or 40 dead bodies, nor was the Superdome a live-in morgue. (An estimated 10 people died inside the two buildings combined, and only one was slain, according to the best data from National Guard officials at press time.)

Reason: They Shoot Helicopters, Don’t They?: How journalists spread rumors during Katrina by Matt Welch

Links for today:
My OJR story being discussed in Germany (via Martin Stabe)
Ricky Gervais to podcast
The left-wing Neocons (via Clive Davis)