Boston Globe ombudsman Richard Chacón:
Over the last several months, Globe readers have raised questions over the amount of scrutiny given to assertions made in opinion columns.
On April 11, Jeffrey Halper, coordinator of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions, wrote in an op-ed that Palestinians have ”no functioning economy” because 70 percent of them ”live on less than $2 a day,” and that they have ”no agriculture” because ”since 1967 Israel has uprooted or cut down a million olive and fruit trees.”
Such broad statements are disputable, especially because Halper offers no sources for his figures. He said in a telephone interview last week that he was asked to provide attribution after the essay was published because the Committee for Accuracy in Middle East Reporting in America questioned the figures.
Citing another questionable Globe op-ed, Chacon states:
Shouldn’t opinion columns be held to the same strict standards for sourcing and attribution that are applied to stories in the news sections? Absolutely. Are they? The previous examples suggest not… Op-ed writers — whether staff or free-lance — should refrain from broad statements presented as facts unless they can back them up with solid evidence.
