Although Newsweek magazine retracted its story completely, their battle is far from over. The article sparked anti-American protest all across the Middle East and the Islamic world, and the U.S. government is planning to submit legal charges against the magazine. The consequence of the article is immeasurable. The damage has been done to the image of the media, and the U.S. abroad. This situation should be handled in the most delicate manner to prevent further infuriation in the Islamic world, but the matter should also be dealt with a harsh tone to prevent media from making another damaging mistake again.

In the world of the press and news organization, the pressure to publish the most provocative and intriguing story has pushed many news media organizations to rush stories with inadequate journalism standards. In the case of Newsweek, the magazine had only one source who now doubts his own story. Their ambition to publish the most stunning story not only cost their reputation, but it also damaged the reputation of the general media and the U.S. abroad. The best course of action for the magazine is to “fire” the people who wrote the article and who checked the article for publication. If they continue to drag this situation for a prolong time without serious actions,

the magazine will be in a deeper hole as government investigation will drill the news organization into pieces. To show the serious and admission tone of the news organization, Newsweek should give a formal and sincere apology to the public, the Islamic world, and the U.S. government. The first apology was not adequate, because as they were apologizing the representative also defended the news organization from publishing the article by blaming their source for error.

The U.S. government has a larger role in wrapping-up the situation. The government is currently viewed as a large, controlling body that is trying to silence the free media from publishing factual charges against them. The U.S. government must be very careful when prosecuting Newsweek magazine, or they will reinforce the portrayal as a body that suppress media. At the same time, the government should be a little aggressive against Newsweek to prevent other media organization from making the same mistake.