Times Still Defends Controversial MoveOn Ad

(Fox News) - The New York Times is rejecting criticism from its public editor regarding the now-famous MoveOn.org ad impugning General David Petraeus.

Times spokeswoman Catherine Mathis takes issue with times public editor Clark Hoyt who wrote Sunday that the ad, "appears to fly in the face of an internal advertising acceptability manual that says, 'We do not accept opinion advertisements that are attacks of a personal nature.'"

Mathis responds: "The public editor serves as the reader's representative — his opinions and conclusions are his own. The Times believes the ad was within our acceptability guidelines." She does not explain why the ad is not an attack of a personal nature, but she does not deny the rate charged MoveOn was a mistake. She says it was not the result of bias because, "The salesperson did not see the content of the ad at the time the rate was quoted."

MoveOn says it has paid The Times an additional $77,508 — the difference between the regular rate and the discounted rate MoveOn was charged.