Franklin Foer

Franklin Foer (born 1975) is an American political journalist and the editor of "The New Republic". Foer graduated from Columbia in 1996. Before joining "The New Republic", Foer was a frequent contributor to the online magazine "Slate". His writing has also appeared in "The New York Times", "The Washington Post", "Spin", "U.S. News & World Report", "Lingua Franca", "The Atlantic Monthly", "The Wall Street Journal", "New York" and "Foreign Policy". In 2004 he published his first book, "".

Foer is older brother to novelist Jonathan Safran Foer and freelance science journalist Joshua Foer. He lives in Washington, D.C.

'Shock Troops' controversy

In July 2007, after "The New Republic" published an article by an American soldier in Iraq titled "Shock Troops," allegations of inadequate fact-checking were leveled against Foer. Critics alleged that the piece contained inconsistent details indicative of fabrication. The identity of the anonymous soldier, Scott Thomas Beauchamp, was revealed and it was also revealed that Beauchamp's wife, a staffer at the magazine, had been assigned by Foer to fact-check at least some of the articles, a clear conflict of interest. Foer originally insisted that he was standing by the stories. As a result of the controversy, the "New Republic" and the United States Army launched investigations, reaching different conclusions. [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/27/AR2007072700037.html Army Private Discloses He Is New Republic's Baghdad Diarist] ] [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/07/24/business/media/24mag.html?ei=5065&en=aa816a854ade1ce3&ex=1185854400&partner=MYWAY&pagewanted=print Doubts Raised by 'Baghdad Diarist'] ] [http://www.weeklystandard.com/weblogs/TWSFP/2007/07/fact_or_fiction_1.asp#more Michael Goldfarb, Weekly Standard, Fact or Fiction?] ]

After five months and having penned extensive criticism of those who had questioned Beauchamp's reporting, Foer finally wrote that the magazine could no longer stand by Beauchamp's stories, prompting some to call for his resignation.

Blogger Bob Owens, one of the critics of Beauchamp's stories, wrote of Foer's admission:

"the Scott Beauchamp debacle was a test of editorial character for The New Republic under Franklin Foer’s leadership. For over four months, the magazine has answered that challenge by hiding behind anonymous sources, making personal attacks against critics, asserting a a massive conspiracy against them, while covering up conflicting testimony and refusing to answer the hard questions.

Even to the end, Foer continues to blame everyone else for his continuing editorial failures., penning a fourteen-page excuse without a single, "I’m sorry.""

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