Good points. A lot to chew on, but I wonder if that Twitter apology would hold up in court? It's out there in public, though not in published form. How formal does an apology have to be? Why would an apology be as important or more important than a retraction? Isn't an apology already implied in the retraction?
As you can see from how the case came out, an apology isn’t at all legally necessary, although I think it might have prevented or ended the litigation. It is, rather, at least in my view, simply the right thing to do. One other point: a correction and a retraction are not generally the same thing. I would expect the Times would say it has never retracted the editorial.
Ah, yes, 'correction'.I agree that an apology is the right thing to do, but, knowing what I know about Sarah Palin, she never would have let it end by accepting an apology, no matter how it was worded. The original comment was reckless, to be sure, but since the 'correction' came the very next day, Palin's demand for an apology was fuel to keep the fire going.
At any rate, here we are, still talking about it, and Palin is back in the news capitalizing on it, so win-win for her, no matter how it goes.
Great piece Dick. I think you're right on.
Did you catch my grade-school cameo in the Wollman ice skating scene? Also, happy birthday!
Good points. A lot to chew on, but I wonder if that Twitter apology would hold up in court? It's out there in public, though not in published form. How formal does an apology have to be? Why would an apology be as important or more important than a retraction? Isn't an apology already implied in the retraction?
Thanks so much for reading.
As you can see from how the case came out, an apology isn’t at all legally necessary, although I think it might have prevented or ended the litigation. It is, rather, at least in my view, simply the right thing to do. One other point: a correction and a retraction are not generally the same thing. I would expect the Times would say it has never retracted the editorial.
Ah, yes, 'correction'.I agree that an apology is the right thing to do, but, knowing what I know about Sarah Palin, she never would have let it end by accepting an apology, no matter how it was worded. The original comment was reckless, to be sure, but since the 'correction' came the very next day, Palin's demand for an apology was fuel to keep the fire going.
At any rate, here we are, still talking about it, and Palin is back in the news capitalizing on it, so win-win for her, no matter how it goes.