Someone needs to remind The New York Times of the basics of Journalism 101. From today's Times corrections column:

An article yesterday about the Arab Human Development report of the United Nations Development Program asserted that its release had been delayed by Bush administration pressure on the agency to change language critical of the United States and Israel. The assertion was based on unattributed statements from several speakers and interviewees connected with the committee that wrote the report, who spoke during and after a news conference in Amman, Jordan, about its release.

The Times did not seek comment on this assertion from either the Bush administration or the United Nations, which have previously denied that such pressure was exerted. The Times should have sought their comment or reported the previous denials.

Because of an editing error, the article also misstated the extent to which this report differed from two previous ones. They, too, included language that objected to American and Israeli policies, and did not focus almost exclusively on problems within the Arab world. [emphasis added]

Let's go over the rule again: If one person or institution accuses another person or institution of something, then you're obliged to get a comment or response from them.

This guy is going to have a lot of work to do.