"I can't fault The N&O," public editor says.

Raleigh News & Observer public editor Ted Vaden's column today concerns The N&O's botched story reporting 12 miners had been found alive.

Vaden's column is basically more of what N&O executive editor for news Melanie Sill has been telling readers: OK, the story was wrong. We're sorry. We'll review procedures but it wasn't our fault.

Here's how Vaden puts it:

I can't fault The N&O or the rest of the newspaper sorority for going with the incorrect story. It was the best information available and it was tied to credible, identified sources.

Compare Vaden's "can't fault The N&O" conclusion with what Wichita Eagle editor Sherry Chisenhall told readers about similar mistakes The Eagle made. From her Jan. 4 column, "Here's why The Eagle got it wrong:"

(We) violated a basic tenet of journalism today in our printed edition: Report what you know and how you know it.
…
We published what we believed to be true at the time. But unfortunately, we failed to make clear exactly where those reports were coming from and that they were not confirmed. Instead, our story and headline reported them as certainty.
…
Many newspapers and TV stations reported exactly what we did today. But being wrong in crowded company is still being wrong.

Our commitment to our readers is to tell you exactly what we know and how we know it. Today, we fell short.

I respect Chisenhall for so forthrightly acknowledging her paper's mistakes and accepting responsibility for them. Nowhere in her column does she shift responsibility and blame others. If it's a fair sample of how she regularly practices journalism, Chisenhall's staff and readers are very fortunate.

I'll say more about Vaden's column in a post tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I'm sending Vaden the following email. I'll let you know when he replies.
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Dear Ted,

In today's column you say The N&O's Jan. 4 story on the miners "did note that the mine owners had not confirmed the rescue." Melanie has made the same claim at her blog.

But my Jan. 4 N&O doesn't contain any mention that "the mine owners had not confirmed the rescue."

What explains that?

Here's a link to a post today concerning your column:
http://johninnorthcarolina.blogspot.com/2006/01/i-cant-fault-no-public-editor-says.html

I'll post again on your column tomorrow.

Sincerely,

John
www.Johnincarolina.com
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