Apology to Loose Canon

In my blog on 12/19, I assured my readers that, as one of Beliefnet's only two politicized bloggers, I was paid only by Beliefnet. And I challenged Loose Canon--Charlotte Hays--to do the same. I made no accusation and didn't intend to imply one. I simply asked a question.

Let me assure her that I never intended to blight her integrity in any way. I deeply regret any distress I have caused her. And I am delighted to note that she, like me, honors the traditional values of journalism.

The genesis of my post was my desire to separate Beliefnet's only two politicized bloggers from the sorry record of the past year. First, we learned that American journalists were contracted by our government to write articles supportive of its policies. Then we read reports of the government systematically paying journalists in Iraq to advance the American position in their dispatches. And, just last week, we saw two American columnists admit that they were in the employ of conservative think tanks, with one of them boasting "I do that all the time." The good news: When Loose Canon and I are writing for Beliefnet, we are paid only by Beliefnet.

--Jesse Kornbluth