Let me explain ....

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Thu Apr 24, 2003 7:13 pm

Gary Marx , a Chicago Tribune correspondent, on what he did after learning that an "independent journalist" he recently profiled was really a Cuban agent:I immediately called my editor from Bogota, and we agreed that I needed to write a story. The question is what format to use. We felt that it's not really a news story but a more personal one that deals with the complex reality of life in Cuba. And by making it personal we felt that we could better tackle the issue head on. (Chicago Reader)***What format to use? For a correction? We certainly don't need a personal story about how a reporter got hoodwinked.***

catwoman · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 1:27 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by blanp:
We felt that it's not really a news story but a more personal one that deals with the complex reality of life in Cuba. And by making it personal we felt that we could better tackle the issue head on. (Chicago Reader)[/i]<hr></blockquote>Marx's story is running in my section sunday. It's a good one, terse but sad, about figuring out whom to trust in such slippery situations... and about being such a dumb American that you underestimate what you're up against... and about how even the great chicago tribune can be duped. AND be big enough to fess up.

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 3:13 am

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by catwoman:
Marx's story is running in my section sunday. It's a good one, terse but sad, about figuring out whom to trust in such slippery situations... and about being such a dumb American that you underestimate what you're up against... and about how even the great chicago tribune can be duped. AND be big enough to fess up.<hr></blockquote>Who cares? Just correct the error and move on. Anything more is rationalizing.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 1:50 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by blanp:

Who cares? Just correct the error and move on. Anything more is rationalizing.<hr></blockquote>might be worth reading; sounds as if it was done the only way that could make it worthwhile.

JonScribe · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 6:28 pm

Yeah, but of interest to who. It'd be best suited in CJR or AJR, but I wouldn't run it in my newspaper, mostly because we need the space for other stories.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 8:24 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by JonScribe:
Yeah, but of interest to who. It'd be best suited in CJR or AJR, but I wouldn't run it in my newspaper, mostly because we need the space for other stories.<hr></blockquote>waiting to read it before i judge it

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Fri Apr 25, 2003 9:17 pm

<blockquote>quote:<hr>Originally posted by Wayne Countryman:
waiting to read it before i judge it<hr></blockquote>I'm not judging the story, which for all I know is splendidly written. I'm judging the idea behind the story, which is fatally flawed.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Sat Apr 26, 2003 3:40 am

ok, i wouldn't bet the house (and i rent) that this will be a winner, but i disagree that it's impossible to write a worthwhile piece on the subject to fit into a major metro's Sunday thumb-sucker section.

Wayne Countryman · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2003 12:36 am

ummm, just read the story/column/mea culpa/whatever in the Sunday paper after expressing hope here for a few days that it would work. www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/(online headline is "False Pretenses"; Tribune requires registration to view even recent stories.)Writing about reporting is difficult to do well. Publications and the public might be better off if everyone knew how a reporter worked -- when the reporting is accurate, and perhaps more so when it hasn't been. But unless the tale is compelling, the result will be boring and even annoying. The reporter is to be commended, if beating oneself up in public is worthwhile. But I wonder how many readers learned much about Cuba or reporting from this. Or care any more about either.-----------------------------------------went to the Chi Trib archives and read previous stories by the reporter, including the mea culpa.
found a fairly good piece on Cuba after Castro. having read the story that led to the mea culpa i can see:
1. how someone in his position could be taken in by the Cuban.
2. that he leaves his footprints in stories.when the reporter wasn't writing about himself in the mea culpa, he imparted a knowledge of Cuba's subtleties not shown in his stories. more about the subtleties and less about himself would improve his stories.yeah, a correction would have sufficed.[ April 28, 2003: Message edited by: Wayne Countryman ]

Phillip Blanchard · **Posted:** Mon Apr 28, 2003 3:31 am

I often speak in whispers now and obscure my real views even at home, knowing that someone else may be listening. I obsess about things I have said and people I have interviewed, wondering who they really were and whether they were wearing that mask.
The challenge now is to find my bearings in the post-Orrio Cuba. ***The Tribune regrets the error.***

Testy Copy Editors

Let me explain ....

Who is online

What They're Saying

Useful Links