In Wake of Times Story, SPJ Calls on NBC To Cut Ties With McCaffrey

Retired Gen. Barry McCaffrey

On Sunday, New York Times reporter David Barstow wrote about Barry McCaffrey, the retired four-star general and NBC News military analyst who has financial interests with a variety of defense contractors - interests not disclosed when he appears on NBC or its cable networks.

Now, the Society of Professional Journalists has called on NBC to cut its ties with McCaffrey in order to "re-establish the integrity of its reporting on military-related issues, including the war in Iraq."

"When the retired general offers his insight on the air for NBC, CNBC and MSNBC, viewers are left with the impression he is an 'objective' observer, a former military man speaking from the depths of his experience," Andy Schotz, the chairman of SPJ's Ethics Committee, writes on the group's website.

"What the networks have failed to tell viewers is that McCaffrey has a financial interest in the war. His firm has earned millions of dollars in consulting fees from defense-oriented companies," Schotz adds in the statement. "By failing to be forthright and transparent, these networks — which are owned by General Electric, a leading defense contractor — are giving the public powerful reasons to be skeptical about their neutrality and credibility."

In an interview, Schotz said he was struck by NBC News President Steve Capus' comments in Barstow's Times story. Capus said McCaffrey wasn't required to abide by NBC’s conflict-of-interest rules because he is a consultant and not an employee.

Schotz agreed there was a distinction to be made between an NBC News employee and a commentator, "but the key issue is relying on someone’s expertise without disclosing this very large conflict of interest they have.”

Meanwhile, McClatchy News Service Washington bureau scribe Joseph L. Galloway wrote a column defending McCaffrey, saying his old friend had been "dragged through the mud" by the Times story.

Galloway wrote that McCaffrey had not taken "the usual revolving door route to riches" followed by "the many retiring admirals and generals who sit on the boards of big defense companies," but had instead set up a "small" consulting firm "to advise small defense contractors on how to negotiate the shoals and reefs of Washington, D.C."

NBC News didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

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