The public editor of the New York Times slammed the newspaper yesterday for violating its own policies when it ran the now notorious "General Betray Us" ad. The ad, placed by MoveOn.org, was a personal attack on General Petraeus, which is prohibited by the Times standards for acceptable ads, the editor wrote in a column in the paper.
"The ad violated the Times' own written standards and the paper now says that the advertiser got a price break it was not entitled to," wrote public editor Clark Hoyt. He explained MoveOn was erroneously charged $64,575, less than half the appropriate rate. MoveOn says it will pay the higher rate. (More New York Times stories.)