Newsweek Urged To Go On Arab TV

W. House Calls On Editors To Mend Damage From Discredited Story

(CBS/AP)  The White House on Wednesday suggested one way for Newsweek magazine to repair any damage from a story that outraged the Muslim world and triggered deadly anti-American protests in Afghanistan.

Presidential spokesman Scott McClellan urged the magazine's editors to take their case straight to the Muslim community, by appearing on Arab television. He made the comment after noting that Newsweek editors have been already been appearing on U.S. television outlets to talk about the incident

Newsweek has retracted the story, which alleged that U.S. interrogators defiled the Quran, Islam's holy book. The White House quickly called on the magazine's editors to find a way to set the record straight.

The White House said the image of the United States suffered irreparable damage from the Newsweek article. The administration also used the Newsweek incident to criticize other, unnamed news organizations.

"One of the concerns is that some media organizations have used anonymous sources that are hiding behind that anonymity in order to generate negative attacks," McClellan said Tuesday.

But he said the administration's own use of anonymous sources was not a major problem.

The administration frequently conducts news briefings and insists that its briefers be identified only as administration officials rather than by name. McClellan said the administration was trying to move away from such briefings, but he rejected suggestions that they contribute to credibility problems.

Newsweek at first apologized for its story and then retracted it. The White House blamed the magazine's account for triggering deadly anti-American protests in Afghanistan last week in which police fired on demonstrators and killed about 15 people.

The administration called on Newsweek to explain how it got the story wrong and to report on U.S. military practices intended to ensure the Quran is handled with respect. The State Department told its embassies to spread the word abroad that America respects all religious faiths.

Newsweek's Washington bureau chief Daniel Klaidman told CBS News' The Early Show on Tuesday that the magazine will continue to look at how it put the story together and learn from its mistakes.

"We will, of course, go back and look at our procedures. We felt whatever mistakes we made were made in good faith," he told Early Show co-anchor Rene Syler.