Kurtz: The Washington Post made serious errors in their Covington reporting, but it doesn't add up to malice

“A Washington Post article first posted online on Jan. 19 reported on a Jan. 18 incident at the Lincoln Memorial,” the note began. “Subsequent reporting, a student’s statement and additional video allow for a more complete assessment of what occurred, either contradicting or failing to confirm accounts provided in that story — including that Native American activist Nathan Phillips was prevented by one student from moving on, that his group had been taunted by the students in the lead-up to the encounter, and that the students were trying to instigate a conflict.

See Also: Attorney for Covington Catholic High School student sues Washington Post for $250 million

“The high school student facing Phillips issued a statement contradicting his account; the bishop in Covington, Ky., apologized for the statement condemning the students; and an investigation conducted for the Diocese of Covington and Covington Catholic High School found the students’ accounts consistent with videos,” the note went on to say.

Wow. I think some of the fault lies in the lack of information available early on, but their fault was to go along with the popular liberal narrative at the time instead of checking their facts and making sure they were accurate. Now it looks like it’s gonna cost them bigtime:

I asked Nicholas Sandmann’s attorneys whether WaPo’s editors note changes the lawsuit. They said no, the note is “barely worth commenting on.” 

— Robby Soave (@robbysoave) 

From Reason:

Attorneys for Nicholas Sandmann—the Covington student accused of smirking at Phillips—were not satisfied with the editor’s note.

“What The Washington Post put out is barely worth comment,” Todd McMurtry, an attorney for Sandmann, told Reason. “WaPo committed gross journalistic malpractice and cannot undo its deeds with an editor’s note that purports to correct the record over a month after it led a frenzied mob in trashing a minor’s reputation. The Sandmanns would never accept half of a half-measure from an organization that still refuses to own up to its error.”

Good for them. If the only way the mainstream media is going to learn to actually practice the journalistic standards they espouse is a huge lawsuit, then so be it.