'The Audit' Gets it Right on Chiquita

In the past I've been critical of CJR Daily's 'Audit' section for some strangely reasoned articles, made all the more unpalatable by the sometimes bizarre statements of its then-editor Mark Mitchell.

Mitchell has gone, and the Audit seems to have finally caught up with reality, judging by a well-aimed barb at CNNMoney today. Seems a commentator called a "raw deal" the prosecution of Chiquita for paying off a terrorist organization in Colombia.

Another critic of the Audit, Brad DeLong, once observed that the Audit has limited credibility and is "lacking quality control." The former is still true, but today's item is a step in the right direction.

The Audit would also give its credibility a boost if it cut out links to Judd Bagley's BusinessJive and "FaulkingTruth" websites, both of which sling mud at journalists while pushing the naked-shorting conspiracy theories that fascinated Mitchell.

It was always more than a little strange that a journalism review would link to sites that personally attack journalists on behalf of Bagley's boss Patrick Byrne, CEO of Overstock.com. But then again, the Audit was a strange website. Maybe that's changing.

© 2007 Gary Weiss. All rights reserved.

-----------

Wall Street Versus America was published by Penguin USA on April 6.
Click here for its Amazon.com listing and here for more information on the book, from my web site.