bad journalism - no authoritative sources

Submitted by myth (Germany), Mar 8, 2013 at 21:10

Steven, the Higgins article demonstrates bad journalism. I see two sources of authority regarding the facts.

1. Hedegaard himself is the sole known witness. Why didn't Higgins try a telephone interview with Hedegaard? The NYT is a paper of reputation, Higgins could have tried with success.
2. The police conducts the investigation. Higgins desires to highlight the Muslim reaction to the event. The police can answer two questions: In what way did Muslim organizations or individuals support the investigation? Did this lead to any results?

Higgins sets the two authoritative sources aside. Never mind about objective sources when those sources are not authoritative in the first place. The order is facts before opinion. Well, for Higgins it's not. On the other hand, newspapers sell opinions. It is news agencies that sell facts.

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