In the immediately preceding post, I pointed out that the Arizona Daily Star used a single quote to build an entire editorial slamming Jonathan Paton. I wrote that the original quote was printed in the Star and the editorial board's Sam Negri either misread or made up the quote when he wrote the editorial.
Now the Star has issued this correction.
State Rep. Jonathan Paton, R-Tucson, says he instructed his staff to follow up on the underlying issue of where a school district's legal responsibility for a speaker's viewpoint begins and ends and did not follow up with the staff because of the November election and his deployment to Iraq. An editorial Monday on A6 mischaracterized Paton's action.
What the correction fails to mention is that the correct quote had been printed in the Star and that editorial writer Sam Negri got it wrong when he wrote the editorial. The correction also fails to mention that the entire premise of the editorial was based the false quote. Simply admitting that the editorial "mischaracterized Paton's action" is clearly inadequate.
Negri got the quote wrong and then mocked Paton for using the quote. Now that the Star admits that Negri "mischaracterized Paton's action" the entire basis of the editorial has disappeared. This clearly deserves a retraction, not a correction. Frankly, it deserves an apology.
The Mainstream Media like to claim that they have high standards. When professional journalists make mistakes they work to make it right.
Negri got the quote from the Scarpinato article wrong. He mocked Paton for the quote and used the quote build an entire editorial in which he lambasted Paton for his "limp excuses and inaction."
Now that Sam Negri admits that the editorial "mischaracterized Paton's action" it's time for a retraction and apology.
Come on Sam, show us how a professional journalist acts.
Let the star implode!
Posted by: NICK | May 23, 2007 at 10:55 PM
How would Negri know "how a professional journalist acts"?
Posted by: Red Star Crashing | May 24, 2007 at 01:37 PM