Tuesday, June 2, 2009

NYT Reports That "The Taliban Could Not Be Reached For Comment." We Didn't Even Know The Taliban Had A Phone Number!

In Adam B. Ellick's dispatch a few hours ago from Kabul, the NYT correspondent reports the statements of British officials that a helicopter strike killed one of the Taliban's "most dangerous" leaders, Mullah Akhter Muhammad Mansoor, as he was riding his bicycle.

However, Ellick's story makes clear that these reports come from the British military, and could not be confirmed independently. Indeed, as any good NYT reporter should, Ellick explains exactly what efforts he made to confirm the account.

"The Taliban could not be reached for comment," Ellick notes.

But NYT readers should bear in mind that this story was posted online at 12:52 p.m. this afternoon.

This leaves The Taliban nearly 12 hours to check its messages and return Ellick's phone call before the deadline for the print edition.

2 comments:

Caroline said...

Doesn't anyone have the Taliban as a Facebook friend or Gmail contact? Come on, reporters. Think outside the box a little bit here.

Unknown said...

Keep reporting from the bedroom of your mums house in Jersey NytWyt - leave the Swat valley and life to Ellick Ok?