In February 2008, The New York Times published an anonymously sourced front-page story accusing Senator and Republican presidential candidate John McCain of having an improper relationship with telecommunications lobbyist Vicki Iseman. Both McCain and Iseman denied the allegations.

Critics blasted the paper for running a front-page story based on slender and anonymous sourcing. Steve Schmidt, McCain’s campaign advisor, sneered, “It was something that you would see in The National Enquirer.” A few days after the story ran, Times ombudsman Clark Hoyt criticized it for being short on facts, writing, “If you cannot provide readers with some independent evidence, I think it is wrong to report the suppositions or concerns of anonymous aides…“

Vicki Iseman sued The New York Times for defamation in December 2008. The case was settled a few months later, but the Times did not issue a retraction. They did, however, publish a clarifying note stating that they did not intend to imply an improper relationship between Iseman and McCain. John Dean, writing for Verdict, commented on the absurdity of the defamation agreement, stating, “Rather than apologize and/or retract, they [the Times] would merely say what they said is not what they meant, and that readers should not be fooled into understanding what they read as saying what everybody thought it said.”

Source: Times Hit Piece Dying on Media Vine by Clay Waters, 2008. Who Won…by John Dean, Verdict, 2013.