Washington Times Runs President Obama's Daughters' Photo With Story About Murdered Chicago Kids

The ultra right wing Washington Times ran a story about murdered Chicago school children, but inexplicably paired it with a photograph of President Obama's daughters, Sasha and Malia. The two girls were not mentioned in the story and other than having lived in Chicago, they had no connection to the story whatsoever. Sorry, but I certainly don't buy Editor John Solomon's excuse about it being a honest mistake. Considering that President Obama and his wife have been smeared during the campaign and to some degree, since he took office, I think this was a deliberate move on the part of the Washington Times. The photo has since been taken down.

Editor John Solomon said that technology, not a person, was to blame. "The theme engine, through automation, grabbed a photo it thought was relevant, and attached it to the story," Solomon said, acknowledging that the photo had gone up without a person seeing it. "There was no editorial decision to run it. As soon as it was brought to our attention, we pulled it down." Source: The Huffington Post

So, what happened to good old fashion editing? Exactly what is Mr. Solomon's role? Isn't it to oversee what gets into the paper before it goes to print? They have just told us that they leave the editorial duties to a theme engine and not a human being. Well, that speaks volumes about the brand of journalism they practice. The newspaper is owned by Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church, through its company News World Communications and their actions should not come as a surprise to anyone.