NYT apologizes to The Washington Times

A senior editor of the New York Times apologized to The Washington Times for publishing a front-page story Friday that accused The Washington Times of being “decidedly opposed” to President Barack Obama.

Dean Baquet, Washington bureau chief of the New York Times, telephoned Washington Times editors, offered an apology to the staff and said he would run a correction.

“I would never say your paper has been anything but absolutely fair and objective to Obama,” Mr. Baquet told The Washington Times’ Managing Editor-Print David Jones.

“We agree and accept the Times’ apology,” Washington Times Executive Editor John Solomon wrote to his staff.

The New York Times story examines the genesis of the accusation by Obama critics that the pending health-care reform proposal in Congress includes “death panels.”

The story asserted: “The specter of government-sponsored, forced euthanasia was raised as early as Nov. 23, just weeks after the election and long before any legislation had been drafted, by an outlet decidedly opposed to Mr. Obama, The Washington Times.”

Mr. Solomon called that shorthand, “wrong, inaccurate, irresponsible and insulting.”

Mr. Baquet telephoned Washington Times editors after Mr. Solomon complained.