NYT reporter deletes and apologizes for 'insulting' tweet to Newsbusters editor

Yesterday, Noel Sheppard, associate editor of Newsbusters, tweeted this about his son’s upcoming wedding:

My son wants me not to cry at his wedding Saturday. I'll be crying more than bride's father…but for different reasons.

— Noel Sheppard (@NoelSheppard) July 12, 2013

What a nice moment between a father and son. However, John Schwartz, a national correspondent for the New York Times, replied to Sheppard with a tweet he subsequently deleted:

Schwartz was called out:

https://twitter.com/MathewSHarrison/status/355558020379447300

After the calling out, Schwartz apologized and deleted the tweet:

@MathewSHarrison though I see you've blogged it to preserve the tweet, I have deleted it anyway–it wasn't my intention to cause a flap.

— John Schwartz (@jswatz) July 12, 2013

In a comment made at Newsbusters, Schwartz apologized for his “silly joke” that instead “came off as insulting.” We’ll leave it for our readers to decide if Schwartz would have impulsively made a similar “silly joke” if Sheppard worked for, say, Media Matters instead of Newsbusters.