Semantics
By Alicia C. Shepard
Alicia C. Shepard is a former AJR senior writer and NPR ombudsman.
MUCH IS MADE of one word in the Cincinnati Enquirer's apology: renounce , as in:
"We have withdrawn the articles from continued display on the Enquirer's Internet Web Site (www.Enquirer.com) and renounce the series of articles."
Does renounce mean retract, as journalists know it?
Webster's New World Dictionary says renounce means ``to give up (a claim, right, belief, etc.) usually by a formal statement." Retract means"to withdraw or disavow ( a statement, promise, offer, charge, etc.); recant or revoke." Return to Bitter Fruit part one ###
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