Another Media Mea Culpa

An internal Washington Post review found that, before the invasion of Iraq, "Administration assertions were on the front page. Things that challenged the administration were on A18 on Sunday or A24 on Monday. There was an attitude among editors: Look, we're going to war, why do we even worry about all this contrary stuff?" - in the words of the paper's Pentagon correspondent. Managing editor Bob Woodward said "groupthink" compromised coverage of weapons of mass destruction charges, but "we had no alternative sources of information." One reporter stated, "We are inevitably the mouthpiece for whatever administration is in power." A national news editor said, "Do I feel we owe our readers an apology? I don't think so." Editor and Publisher criticized the piece as having "more excuses than admission of mistakes" and lacking any "promise of corrective action."