Globe caught with pants down: Paper duped into running porn photos
Boston Herald | 5/13/04 | Staff
The Boston Globe was reeling yesterday after graphic photos of alleged sexual abuse of Iraqi women by U.S. soldiers turned out to be staged shots from a hardcore porn Web site.
``This photo should not have appeared in the Globe,'' editor Martin Baron said in a statement. ``First, images portrayed in the photo were overly graphic. Second, as the story clearly pointed out, those images were never authenticated as photos of prisoner abuse. There was a lapse in judgment and procedures, and we apologize for it.''
The ``lapse'' came after City Councilor Chuck Turner and perennial pot-stirrer Sadiki Kambon called a press conference in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal to display more purported abuse photos. Turner claimed they came from ``a very legitimate person'' but admitted they hadn't been authenticated. Kambon said he got them from a representative of the Nation of Islam. Neither Turner nor Kambon returned calls.
But yesterday, WorldNetDaily.com reported the pictures - which show hard-core sex acts and genitalia - came from a pornographic site.
The Globe ran a picture of Turner and Kambon displaying the images. In a large shot in the paper's early editions, pornographic details are clearly visible. In later editions, the photograph was reduced, making the images slightly more obscure. A number of news outlets - including the Herald and The Associated Press - attended the conference but did not run a story after determining the photos were highly suspicious.
The issue reportedly was the subject of much Globe newsroom debate. According to WorldNetDaily, Globe reporter Donovan Slack did not approve of the photos being published but they were OK'd by ``three Boston Globe editors.''
Her story did note the pictures ``bear no characteristics that would prove the men are US soldiers or that the women are Iraqis.''
Slack told the Herald she had ``no comment,'' then hung up. But she is quoted on the Web site saying she was ``surprised'' the Globe decided to run the story.
``It's insane,'' Slack said. ``Can you imagine getting this with your cup of coffee in the morning? Somehow it got through all our checks. Our publisher's not having a very good day today.''
Later she quips, ``I'll be working at Penthouse soon!'' The president of the Globe's parent New York Times reportedly is ``furious.''
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=27679
Boston Herald | 5/13/04 | Staff
The Boston Globe was reeling yesterday after graphic photos of alleged sexual abuse of Iraqi women by U.S. soldiers turned out to be staged shots from a hardcore porn Web site.
``This photo should not have appeared in the Globe,'' editor Martin Baron said in a statement. ``First, images portrayed in the photo were overly graphic. Second, as the story clearly pointed out, those images were never authenticated as photos of prisoner abuse. There was a lapse in judgment and procedures, and we apologize for it.''
The ``lapse'' came after City Councilor Chuck Turner and perennial pot-stirrer Sadiki Kambon called a press conference in the wake of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal to display more purported abuse photos. Turner claimed they came from ``a very legitimate person'' but admitted they hadn't been authenticated. Kambon said he got them from a representative of the Nation of Islam. Neither Turner nor Kambon returned calls.
But yesterday, WorldNetDaily.com reported the pictures - which show hard-core sex acts and genitalia - came from a pornographic site.
The Globe ran a picture of Turner and Kambon displaying the images. In a large shot in the paper's early editions, pornographic details are clearly visible. In later editions, the photograph was reduced, making the images slightly more obscure. A number of news outlets - including the Herald and The Associated Press - attended the conference but did not run a story after determining the photos were highly suspicious.
The issue reportedly was the subject of much Globe newsroom debate. According to WorldNetDaily, Globe reporter Donovan Slack did not approve of the photos being published but they were OK'd by ``three Boston Globe editors.''
Her story did note the pictures ``bear no characteristics that would prove the men are US soldiers or that the women are Iraqis.''
Slack told the Herald she had ``no comment,'' then hung up. But she is quoted on the Web site saying she was ``surprised'' the Globe decided to run the story.
``It's insane,'' Slack said. ``Can you imagine getting this with your cup of coffee in the morning? Somehow it got through all our checks. Our publisher's not having a very good day today.''
Later she quips, ``I'll be working at Penthouse soon!'' The president of the Globe's parent New York Times reportedly is ``furious.''
http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=27679
