The irony: the Times piece, so sniffy about the accuracy of online media sites such as the Drudge Report and Wonkette, was itself rippled by distortion. Julie Bosman, the writer, pretended Wonkette had pushed the Kerry intern story, although a cursory read reveals that Wonkette was sceptical about the rumor from the start. The Times takes a headline from Slate entirely out of context, as others have noted. Richard Leiby's description of Wonkette -- an "opinionated little vixen" -- is plainly facetious, to anyone with a sense of humor, that is. And, I might as well add: the quote from me, about accuracy, is abbreviated to the point of inaccuracy. The photo of Wonkette's writer, Ana Marie Cox, is true to life, however: she is rather more attractive than she pretends to be on Wonkette, and she does indeed dote on her dog.

Weblogs are sloppy too, of course, but at least they add updates and make prominent corrections. Nor do they pose, pompously, as guardians of journalistic purity. So, the discussion on weblog ethics is an interesting one. But Julie Bosman's flawed article is a poor starting point. It's more relevant to the continuing identity crisis of the New York Times.