Detroit Free Press publisher and editor Carol Leigh Hutton says the newsroom will make the following changes, after completing a review of Mitch Albom’s work and finding multiple instances of improper attribution:
- Add detail to the ethics policy to clarify requirements on attribution, specifically in commentary pieces.
- Begin random use of verification letters, sent to people we write about or quote, for their assessment of the accuracy of what we published.
- Begin a program of random post-publication fact-checking to look for inaccuracies that slip through our multilayered editing process.
- Require that any complaint or allegation that could be construed as a violation of our ethics policy must be reported to the publisher and editor, managing editor and public editor the day the complaint is received.
- Require that every compilation of items taken from staff and wire service reports must carry that information in a tagline attached to the text so that the credit automatically becomes part of our archives.
- Notify all syndicates from which we buy columns of our policy on quote attribution.
A front page story in Monday’s Detroit Free Press (see PDF of front page) describes what the paper found while reviewing Mitch Albom’s work. The paper reports there was “no pattern of deception” in the 600 columns reviewed, but there were unattributed quotes. The problems with attribution reached beyond Albom’s columns. Hutton said, “I have to ask myself if I have failed as the leader of this organization to communicate the importance of the ethics policy.” >>Read more
Note: Poynter dean Keith Woods provided the Free Press with input during its review process.
Quick links to Albom material on Poynter Online:
Portrait of the Artist as a Pampered Athlete
By Roy Peter Clark
Columnists can become celebrities just as easily as athletes become the money-makers for their teams. (April 8)
From Failure to Professional Malpractice
by Bob Steele
Mitch Albom failed. Big time … Albom committed an ethical sin of significant proportion. (April 8)
In their own words:
- I Owe You an Apology For Sunday’s Column: Here It Is
by Mitch Albom (April 7) - A Question of Ethics: Columnist’s Error Being Investigated
by Carole Leigh Hutton, publisher and editor, Detroit Free Press (April 8) - Letter to Readers: Albom’s Column to Return
by Carole Leigh Hutton, publisher and editor, Detroit Free Press (April 23) - Even the Dark Times Bring Enlightenment
By Mitch Albom (May 1) - Albom Probe Shows No Pattern of Deception
BY David Zeman, Jeff Seidel, Jennifer Dixon and Tamara Audi, Knight Ridder Newspapers (May 16) - About This Report: Inquiry Includes 100 Interviews, Advice from Experts (May 16)
- Albom’s Years At the Free Press (May 16)
- The Editing Process (May 16)
- Mitch Albom’s Statement (May 16)
- Carole Leigh Hutton’s Statement (May 16)
- Free Press Readers Respond (May 17)