We live in a time when journalists want to be news, rather than report it. It wasn’t too much of a surprise, then, when head table journalists at the National Press Club wanted to stand up and be recognized by name prior to the Ahmadinejad speech. What was a bit surprising was that one head table member, Kaveh Afrasiabi, was introduced as Ahmadinejad’s guest.

Hmm. Afrasiabi has contributed several op-eds to and published several letter in the New York Times. Each has forwarded the canard that if only Washington were more generous with the Islamic Republic, Iranian behavior would soften; that the U.S. should turn responsibility for Iraq over to others (such as the Organization of Islamic Conference); and that there is nothing legally wrong with Iran’s nuclear enrichment. No where does the New York Times identify his relationship with the Iranian government. One NYT news story, from November 28, 2004, though, did identify Afrasiabi as an advisor to Iran’s nuclear negotiation team. Did the New York Times editorial page editors not believe such information was relevant? Why did Jerry Zremski, the president of the National Press Club, believe Afrasiabi’s perch as a professor of international relations at Bentley College in the Boston suburbs was more important?