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• Monday, December 1, 2008 11:58 AM

  NBC's most glaring error,

  in my opinion, is how it completely misunderstands the notion of "conflict of interest."

  They claim -- bizarrely -- that they are exonerated by the lack of proof of correlation between McCaffrey's statements and his business interests, thereby implying that the burden of proof lies with those who suggest that a conflict of interest exists. This is 100% backwards. The appearance of a conflict of interest is there by virtue of the fact that McCaffrey earns money in the same field in which he offers his "expert" opinion. The burden of proof is entirely on NBC to demonstrate that the conflict does not influence McCaffrey's on-air statements. And at the very least, NBC must disclose the apparent conflict to its viewers. It's all well and good for NBC to abide by its supposed journalistic tenet of trusting its sources, but it has an obligation not to force its viewers to share that trust.

  What McCaffrey has actually said on the air is important, but it is completely irrelevant in the question of whether NBC needs to publicly address the appearance of a conflict of interest. Anybody with the slightest understanding of what a conflict of interest means would understand that, but clearly NBC does not.

  —NadavT Read NadavT's other letters
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