Only Write What You Know

Backspin/Honest Reporting
24 November 09

Past efforts to bring home Gilad Shalit have had a lot close calls, empty promises and disinformation, so I'm taking today's press coverage with a grain of salt.

As I read today's papers, I'm reminded of a basic element of Journalism 101.

Only write what you know.

I'm giving a thumbs up to NY Times bureau chief Ethan Bronner, whose update on the Shalit talks essentially quotes who said what to whom. And it works. My fave snippet:

“Those who don’t know can talk,” Dan Meridor, Israel’s intelligence minister, said Monday on state radio. “Those who know should keep silent.”

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