‘The Partisan does indeed run a section called “CSA Today,” a tongue= cheek allusion to USA Today, which publishes a state-by-state report simi Jar in format. (Witte missed the irony.) Also, the Southern Partisan never refers to blacks as “Negroes.” Witte ‘may have dredged up that usage from a reprint or review in which the word was used in an antiquated context. But, as all regular readers know, the standard usage in the Partisan is “black.” a fact Witte could not have failed to notice. ‘And finally ABC flashed up the slave-family quote again. In response to these misrepresen- tations, Richard Quinn called Mark Halperin of ABC, a news executive in ‘Washington, and sent him documenta- tion showing that the quotes were inaccurate. Halprin reviewed the material and said, “We owe you an apology.” But the apology was never given on the air. Being Sam Donaldson ‘apparently means never having to say you're sorry. ‘Two weeks later, Tim Russert of “Moot the Press” (Sunday, February 20) cited the same Lincoln quote. again with the same key omission of words. He also mentioned an ad he alleged had appeared in the Partisan. ‘Taken from a transcript of the show, here is what Tim Russert said to John McCain: ‘And, Senator they put out a cat- ‘alog which would help subsidize their magazine, Southern Partisan General Store, Let me show you some of the items they ‘sell and give you a chance to talk about them... Abraham Lincoln, semper tyrannis. You're a man of history You recognize that slo- oe gan. 1's what John Wilkes Booth said when he Killed Abraham Lincoln, And let me show you some bumper stickers that the Southern Partisan General Store used to sell If Had Known This, 1 Would Have Picked My Own Cotton: Stop a Riot, Buy a Guns Glinton’s Miltary a Gay At Every Porthole, A Fag In Every Foxkole. Why would you surround yourself with such aman? Those bumper stickers were never advertised in the Southern Partisan or its General Store catalog, Nor did the Lincoln “sie semper iyran- nis” image that NBC projected on the sereen ever appear in the magazine. “The next day after the show aired, Richard Quinn spoke by telephone with Russert and sont him the same documentation he sent to ABC, Quinn said Russert seemed genuinely con- ‘cerned about the error and promised hho would clear up the misunderstand- \gon a future show: Perhaps at east ‘one news outlet will bother to set the record straight. Others got into the act as well: the New York Times, Salon, USA Today. People for the American Way—all repeating the fictions that appeared in ‘The New Republic. Even the Anti-Defamation League, trusting the information that had been conveyed in the media, wrote MoCain a letier requesting an explanation, Regular readers of the Partisan know that we have never published anything that even suggest- ed anti-semitisin. In that regard, a friend of Quinn’s (Sam Tenenbaum, a South Carolina businessman anda prominent Democrat) happens. to serve on an advisory board to the Anti- ‘The next day after the show aired, Richard Quinn spoke by tele- phone with Russert and sent him the same documentation he sent 10 ABC. Quinn said Russert seemed genuinely concerned about the error and promised he would clear up the misunderstanding on a future show: Perhaps at least one news outlet will bother to set the record straight, SOUTHERN PARTISAN © 4TH QUARTER Defamation League. ‘Tenenbaum called the League's national leaders and persuaded them that the attack on Quinn was unfair and undeserved. ‘The feeding frenzy, which lasted more than two weeks, raised several «questions among Partisan editors and readers, 1. Were these gross misrepresenta- tions and distortions deliberate or ‘merely the result of poor journalistic skills? Who cares? The end result is the same: The public is misled either way ‘The ethies of reporters match the morals of the day. How could we | expect otherwise? 21s the South really as despised as these commentaries suggest? Probably—and small wonder! ‘The people of our region have been systematically slandered for more than a half century in newspapers, magazines, books, movies, and on radio and television. Our history has been rewritten, transforming the past into a morality play, with Southerners portrayed as ignorant, tobacco-chew= ing bigots, Iynchers and Ku Kluxers. Our speech has been mocked. Our symbols have been reviled. Never mind that the most recent Gallup Poll on race relations reveals that the South is the least segregated region in the country and the only region where a majority of ‘blacks believe they are treated equally. Never mind that Northerners are moving: down here in hoards as thick as swarming termites. We are still a region peopled by media stereotypes, despised by the masses of New York and Boston and Los Angeles, who believe what they read, hear and see in a Press that’s either careless or dis- honest or both. B.Millit end? As King Loar put it, “Never, never, never, never, never.” And that's why four resistance to the assaults must also nover end. ® 4999 + 9