THE STANDARDS OF JOURNALISM – AT 2:06 P.M. ET:   One of the things driving our low politics is our low journalism, which in turn is largely caused by our low educational system.  A society cannot escape the impact of low standards.  From the Daily Mail: 

Time magazine has issued a correction to a controversial cover story about a Honduran migrant girl who they said was taken from her mother by US border patrol agents after it was revealed that the pair were never separated at all. 

Three-year-old Yanela Denise became the unintentional face of the now defunct family separation crisis after photographer John Moore captured her agonized face screaming as her mother was questioned by agents on June 12. 

After the picture was taken, the pair were taken together to a family detention center. Yanela's father has since told DailyMail.com that they are 'safe'. 

As millions shared Yanela's photograph on social media and attached to fundraisers for other children who have been separated from their families, Time used it on its cover.  The magazine photoshopped an image to place her at the foot of a towering Donald Trump and the words 'Welcome to America' appeared next to it. 

In the story, despite Moore having told the magazine that he did not know what became of the girl after he took the picture, the journalist wrote that she had been taken away like the thousands of other children who have been.

Time issued its correction on Friday after US and Honduran officials, along with the girl's father, confirmed that this was not the case.  

'The original version of this story misstated what happened to the girl in the photo after she (was) taken from the scene.

'The girl was not carried away screaming by US Border Patrol agents; her mother picked her up and the two were taken away together,' the magazine said. 

COMMENT:  Well, TIME, a dying magazine, kind of apologized.  In fact, its editor defended the use of the photo as symbolic of what was happening.  That's the kind of thinking that goes with a modern college education.  Everyone is entitled to his own "narrative." 

Fake journalism, plain and simple.  It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words.  From what I've seen in journalism, it sometimes takes a thousand words to explain the picture.

June 23, 2018