READER JAMES MCCORMICK EMAILS:

Does the latest NYT articles on deaths-in-custody in Afghanistan smack of diversion to take the heat off Newsweek? Set a fire somewhere else so Newsweek never has to acknowledge any responsibility for its acts. Newsweek can return the favour during the next NYT scandal. The MSM guild is all about authority without responsibility. Can’t have that change …

And it’s not just the NYT, as I’ve seen other examples of this phenomenon in quite a few outlets. As Martin Peretz noted, they’re circling the wagons. But by doing so, they’re only making things worse for themselves, as people are noticing. As The Mudville Gazette notes, people actually do more than just look at the pictures.

UPDATE: Reader Richard McEnroe emails: “Circling the wagons worked better in the days before blogging mortars and digital smart bombs. These days we call that a ‘bull’s-eye.'”

Heh.