"Roger Ailes" on Kopel and Reynolds:
Posted by DeLong at April 19, 2003 08:14 AM | TrackBackRoger Ailes: Reynolds and Kopel wrote, concerning the members of a National Academy of Sciences panel on gun issues, "Most of them have reputations as being antigun. Steven Levitt, [sic] has been described as 'rabidly antigun.'" Reynolds and Kopel decline to name the "describer," stating that he/she wishes to remain anonymous. I don't care who the accuser is. The real question is: at the time Kopel and Reynolds described Levitt as "rabidly antigun," what evidence did they have of that fact? Mr. A. Non. didn't force them to print the allegation. Either they took A. Non's word for it or they independently verified the charge. If they have proof that Levitt is "rabidly antigun," they can vindicate themselves by citing the proof without disclosing A. Non's identity. (And they've now had close to 2 years to gather evidence for the claim.) And if they can't, then they've established that they're willing to publish claims from someone unable and/or unwilling to back them up.
Also of interest: Reynolds made the claim that Levitt was an "ardent supporter of gun control" on his blog on August 16, 2001, 13 days before the stated publication date of the National Review article. (Which was written first: who knows?) In the original August 16 blog entry, Reynolds doesn't attribute the "ardent supporter" characterization...