[WikiEN-l] So much for books as reliable references!

[Ray Saintonge]

Stan Shebs wrote:

> David Gerard wrote:
>
>> http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB113858811205659673-1oPuv_I9jyv2P9k_u8qNN_3obQM_20070130.html?mod=rss_free 
>>
>>
>> Publishers Say Fact-Checking Is Too Costly
>> By JEFFREY A. TRACHTENBERG
>> Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
>
> Actually, it's sort of interesting that this is news. While it's
> common practice to have peer review for scholarly books, the "peer"
> part of the term should be a hint that it's not the publisher doing
> the checking! My guess is that our reverence for the printed page
> is such that we just assume no one would dare to print without
> being certain of its correctness.
>
> Alas, now all the POV-pushers will point to this as evidence that
> every source they dislike must be in error.

This is probably good news for us.  It helps to burst the bubble of 
truth that surrounds reputable publications.  I would not feel it 
unethical to exploit such incidents and the Chandra incident for our own 
purposes.  We encourage all readers and editors to check facts that we 
present, and ask them to make corrections.  For many of these other 
publications you need to be somebody before your criticism will be heard.

Ec