When bias drives the news

It took seven days for somebody at The New York Times to finally admit to the newspaper's shoddy reporting of the Arizona shooting tragedy.

Arthur S. Brisbane, the newspaper's "public editor," points out in a column that The New York Times reported various factual errors and speculated about the cause of the shooting without a shred of evidence to back up its reporting.

Brisbane writes:

The Times's day-one coverage in some of its Sunday print editions included a strong focus on the political climate in Arizona and the nation. For some readers — and I share this view to an extent — placing the violence in the broader political context was problematic.

The Times had a lot of company, as news organizations, commentators and political figures shouldered into an unruly scrum battling over whether the political environment was to blame. Meanwhile, opportunities were missed to pick up on evidence — quite apparent as early as that first day — that Jared Lee Loughner, who is charged with the shootings, had a mental disorder and might not have been motivated by politics at all.

Read the full column at the newspaper's website.