January 9, 2006

(RETRACTED) The WaPo Sago Saga, Part 2: Kurtz Passes Off Long-Time Activist as “Persistent Reporter”

Filed under: Economy, MSM Biz/Other Bias, MSM Biz/Other Ignorance, Taxes & Government — TBlumer @ 5:09 pm

NOTE: I received the following e-mail from Ken Ward Jr. at the Charleston Gazette today:
_______________________

Mr. Blumer,

Someone passed on to me your blog posting that mentions me and the Howard Kurtz column.

I wanted to inform you that you have me confused with a different Ken Ward – one who is definitely not me and is no relation to me.

I do not know, nor have I ever, worked for Greenpeace. That is a different Ken Ward. If you had read the bio attached to that Ken Ward’s columns in Grist, you would know that THAT Ken Ward has been a major activist for more than 25 years old. I was born in 1967.

….. I would simply request that you publish a retraction of that incorrect information.

Thank you,
Ken Ward Jr.

Consider it done. I intensely regret, am mortified by, and apologize to Mr. Ward and Howard Kurtz of the Washington Post for the error.

The post content has been removed, as its presence, especially in an era of search engines, will serve no useful purpose, and in fact could be harmful.

I have ensured that the relevant portion of the related NewsBusters Post has been removed, and that it makes reference to this retraction post.

I have also created a post that will stay at the top today that points to this retraction.
___________________

Jan. 11: Howard Kurtz sent an e-mail asking about certain aspects of the retraction and the error that caused the need for it. A somewhat heated exchange ensued.

3 Comments

  1. Hi there. I am so tired of people telling who is fair and who isn’t. Laura Ingraham, among others, actually read this guy! I do not waste my valuable time.

    BTW, Gregg may have had someone who already used the name Greg? So what if he likes it Gregg? He is just different. That’s cool. I wouldn’t be too hard yourself. lol.

    I saw you over at Pundit Review. Great site! Have a great night.

    Comment by Rosemary — January 9, 2006 @ 10:02 pm

  2. Hello Tom,

    You did what any respectable person would do when making a mistake. Admit it and move on. You did not compound your original mistake by ignoring it -or- breezily mentioning it in another post via a cast-off one sentence sorta mention.

    You have read and experienced too much of how the MSM handles similar situations to let this jump all over you. You did what they are supposed to do, admit the error for all to see and let the chips fall where they may.

    Comment by George — January 10, 2006 @ 11:33 pm

  3. #2, thanks much. The worst part was that I passed it on to NewsBusters, who didn’t deserve the grief they have received (thankfully not too extensive).

    After his second e-mail to me, which I am not printing, I had to remind Mr. Ward that my placement of my retraction is the blog equivalent of running corrections at the top of Page 1 and the top of the home page everyday for newspapers, which obviously doesn’t happen.

    Comment by TBlumer — January 10, 2006 @ 11:40 pm

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