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Insight magazine "madrassa" media controversy

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In January of 2007, the online magazine Insight, a sister publication of The Washington Times, published an unsourced article reporting a rumor that "researchers connected to Senator Clinton" had discovered that rival candidate Barack Obama was educated in a radical Islamic Madrassa school during his youth in Indonesia..

To investigate this statement, which was quickly propagated in the United States mass media, including on Fox News, CNN reporter John Vause visited the school and found its staff in Western attire, its student body apparently consisting of Muslims, "Christians, Buddhists, also Confucian(s)". The CNN story also quoted a spokesperson for Clinton, who dismissed the allegation as "an obvious right-wing hit job" on both candidates. Insight responded that CNN's investigation did "not satisfy our standards for aggressive investigative reporting", and said that they provided "political intelligence" on "a limited budget"..

A January 29 New York Times story commented on the Insight story. The article notes:

Insight editor Jeffrey T. Kuhner "whose Web site published the first anonymous smear of the 2008 presidential race, is hardly the only editor who will not reveal his reporters’ sources. What sets him apart is that he will not even disclose the names of his reporters."

In the article, Kuhner says that the article is "solid as solid can be" . The Fox News Channel has since acknowledged that the story violates their basic rule of knowing "what you are talking about." John Moody, vice president for news at Fox, also included this in his daily editorial note on January 23: "For the record: seeing an item on a website does not mean it is right. Nor does it mean it is ready for air on FNC. The urgent queue is our way of communicating information that is air-worthy. Please adhere to this.".

After receiving so much media scrutiny, Insight defended itself as an online weekly "political intelligence report", and not part of the "mainstream print and broadcast news organizations," and therefore not required "to ferret out (more) facts and make judgment calls on relevance".

Obama, who is Christian, not Muslim, wrote about his early school years in his 1995 book Dreams from My Father (p.142):

"In Indonesia, I’d spent 2 years at a Muslim school, 2 years at a Catholic school. In the Muslim school, the teacher wrote to tell mother I made faces during Koranic studies. In the Catholic school, when it came time to pray, I’d pretend to close my eyes, then peek around the room. Nothing happened. No angels descended."

The debunked allegations were repeated six months later by conservative commentator Michael Savage, who said on his nationally-syndicated radio show that Sen. Obama (D-IL) was "indoctrinated" by a "Muslim madrassa in Indonesia."

In July 2007 Insight again defended its story, saying:

As Insight has reported, Hillary established a team of investigators whose goal was to attempt to discredit Obama by investigating his Muslim background. In the backlash that resulted from our expose, she has learned to be more circumspect in the use of nasty little tricks. But, if we know Hillary–and we do–she will descend into the gutter once again.

References

  1. "Hillary's team has questions about Obama's Muslim background". Insight. Jan. 16-22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-26. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help)
  2. "CNN debunks false report about Obama". CNN. January 22, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-26.
  3. "Hats off to CNN, but... about Obama". Insight. January 23–29, 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-26.{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: date format (link)
  4. "Feeding Frenzy for a Big Story, Even if It's False". New York Times. 29 January 2007. Retrieved 2007-01-29.
  5. Akers, Mary Ann (30 January 2007). "Obama's Grudge Factor". Washington Post. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  6. "Last word: What Insight reported and what it did not". Insight. 1 February 2007. Retrieved 2007-02-02.
  7. http://thinkprogress.org/2007/01/19/fox-obama-madrassa
  8. http://mediamatters.org/items/200706260013
  9. Washington Watch: Obama's fund-raising record reveals weakness of Hillary's campaign

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