Here’s a question that shouldn’t be hard for anyone: “[Was] the Pentagon a legitimate target?” But it wasn’t a simple one for then-ABC President David Westin exactly 20 years ago today. Westin gave a disturbing response to the 9/11 attacks at Columbia University on October 23rd 2001. Regarding the horrific terror attacks on the U.S., just six weeks old at that point, Westin declared he “should not be taking a position on” the Pentagon:
Is the Pentagon a valid target? I actually don’t have an opinion on that and it’s important I not have an opinion on that as I sit here in my capacity right now. The way I conceive my job running a news organization…. Our job is to determine what is, not what ought to be and when we get into the job of what ought to be I think we’re not doing a service to the American people.
I can say the Pentagon got hit, I can say this is what their position is, this is what our position is, but for me to take a position this was right or wrong, I mean, that’s perhaps for me in my private life, perhaps it’s for me dealing with my loved ones, perhaps it’s for my minister at church. But as a journalist I feel strongly that’s something that I should not be taking a position on. I’m supposed to figure out what is and what is not, not what ought to be.
After Media Research Center Vice President blasted the egregious comment around the world in the MRC’s October 29, 2001 CyberAlert, Westin was forced to apologize:
Just like all Americans, my heart was broken by the tragic loss of life in the Pentagon on September 11, as well as New York and Pennsylvania. In an interview at Columbia Journalism School I answered no to the question of whether the Pentagon was a valid target for terrorists. But I was mistaken. My answer was to students in journalism to show the general academic principle that every journalist should be able to draw a line between what they know, and their opinions. Reflecting on my answers, I found that they did not deal with the particulars of September 11. The attack on the Pentagon was criminal, and it didn’t have any justification. Sorry for any inconvenience caused by my omission.
Westin boasted about his tone-deafness and brags to The Hill in 2012: “I was very proud of our 9/11 coverage — it was a tragic, horrific set of events, but nonetheless … the entire news division rose to the occasion. … I was very proud of the job we all did.”
Perhaps not everyone at ABC had the exact same job.
More examples of our Flashback Series, also known as the NewsBusters Time Machine (or NewsBusters Time Machine), can be found here Go here
Here’s Westin’s original October 23 answer, in full:
Is the Pentagon a valid target? I actually don’t have an opinion on that and it’s important I not have an opinion on that as I sit here in my capacity right now. My view of my role as a journalist at ABC News is that there’s a difference between a normal and positive position. Our job is to determine what is, not what ought to be and when we get into the job of what ought to be I think we’re not doing a service to the American people. I can say the Pentagon got hit, I can say this is what their position is, this is what our position is, but for me to take a position this was right or wrong, I mean, that’s perhaps for me in my private life, perhaps it’s for me dealing with my loved ones, perhaps it’s for my minister at church. But as a journalist I feel strongly that’s something that I should not be taking a position on. I’m supposed to figure out what is and what is not, not what ought to be.
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