TWO WEEKS AGO I wrote a column criticizing guidelines published by the Society of Professional Journalists. The guidelines purported to tell journalists how to avoid “racial profiling” in coverage of the September 11 attacks and their aftermath.

The Society of Professional Journalists didn’t like my reporting–and they didn’t like my conclusions. The SPJ president sent two letters (you can read them here and here) arguing that my column “cavalierly distorts” the guidelines. The SPJ Diversity Chair fired off a separate missive accusing me of “sweeping inaccuracies.” Those claims, which I’ll address in a moment, are baseless. The SPJ leaders fail to present any evidence of either distortion or inaccuracy.