NYT Slow in Correcting Coverage

New York Times Publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. said Friday that the newspaper was far too slow in correcting its reports indicating Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, but the blame did not lie entirely with Judith Miller, the author of many of the stories.

In a speech to the Online News Association, Sulzberger also defended Miller's decision to go to jail to protect the identity of her source, vice presidential chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Miller was released last month after agreeing to testify to the grand jury that indicted Libby on Friday on charges of obstruction of justice, making a false statement and perjury.

Sulzberger acknowledged the criticism of Miller, who in the wake of her release from jail has been described on the pages of the Times as untruthful to her editors and difficult to control.

"As the lawyers often say, not every case has a perfect fact pattern," he said.