Posted on 04/17/2005 9:30:18 PM PDT by Grampa Dave
Writer Fabricated Boston Globe Story on Seal Hunt
Fri Apr 15, 6:54 PM ET
By Greg Frost
BOSTON (Reuters) - A Boston Globe freelance writer fabricated large chunks of a story published this week, the newspaper said on Friday in the latest incident to embarrass the U.S. media.
The Globe, which is owned by The New York Times Co., said it stopped using writer Barbara Stewart because of a story that ran on Wednesday about a seal hunt off Newfoundland -- a hunt, it turns out, that had not taken place.
The Halifax, Nova Scotia-datelined article described in graphic detail how the seal hunt began on Tuesday, with water turning red as hunters on some 300 boats shot harp seal cubs "by the hundreds."
The problem, however, was that the hunt did not begin on Tuesday; it was delayed by bad weather and was scheduled to start on Friday, weather permitting, the Globe said in an editor's note.
Stewart could not immediately be reached for comment.
The newspaper, which first learned of the problem when the Canadian government called to complain, said in an editor's note it should not have published the story and should have insisted on attribution for details because the writer was not reporting from the scene.
"Details included the number of hunters, a description of the scene, and the approximate age of the cubs. The author's failure to accurately report the status of the hunt and her fabrication of details at the scene are clear violations of the Globe's journalistic standards," the paper said.
'NEVER ASSUME'
Globe Foreign Editor James Smith said that the newspaper knew Stewart was not at the seal hunt and was doing her reporting from Halifax.
"What she told us -- and we did check during the day -- was that she had confirmed with one of the fishermen in the story that it was going ahead," Smith said, adding that in retrospect the paper should have worked harder to clarify this.
"The point is, never assume," he told Reuters.
He added that Globe staffers have since reviewed two other stories Stewart wrote for the paper, but found no inaccuracies or other problems with them.
Canada is extremely sensitive about the hunt, during which hundreds of thousands of seals are beaten to death or shot for their pelts every year. U.S. activists, who says the seals are killed inhumanely, are urging consumers to shun Canadian seafood until the hunt is stopped.
Canadian Fisheries Minister Geoff Regan said his officials had called the paper to point out the error.
"We've been trying to get the facts out about the seal harvest, the fact that the herd is very healthy ... that in 98 percent of cases it (the hunt) is done in a humane way," he told Reuters in a telephone interview.
Officials with the newspaper were not immediately available for further comment.
U.S. media organizations have been hit with a series of high-profile cases involving plagiarism or fabrication.
In 2003, The New York Times' top two editors, Howell Raines and Gerald Boyd, left the paper after it was disclosed that reporter Jayson Blair had fabricated and plagiarized material.
CBS News, The Washington Post, NBC News, CNN, the New Republic magazine and USA Today have also been caught up in celebrated flaps over inaccurate reporting.
(additional reporting by David Ljunggren in Ottawa)
"If she made up the entire story, how is that "large chunks"?
The fantasy took place in Canada where the seals are and still are. So only large chunks were made up. This is like the lies about GW and his military service that Mapes, et al and Blather made up.
As I have said for years.
If every reporter, so called journalist in the MSM was fired for lying and fabricating stories, there wouldn't be many reporters across this nation.
Then if every editor/publisher was fired for asking the reporters to create the lies/fabrication or for approving known lies, there would be no editors/publishers in America's left wing MSM.
The Boston Globe has had several writers busted for making up news.
"And "THEY" want to bitch about the bloggers!"
Yes! Because we out them or after they are outed, we post threads like this which become another piece of wood for the coffins of the lying MSM.
Some have hired back if I'm not mistaken after their "busting".
We need "gatekeepers" to make sure things like this won't happen on the internet < /sarcasm>
Is a pattern starting to emerge here?
Its pretty obvious to me this is SOP for the liberal media.
the ends justify the means. the Democrat credo.
The pattern has been here for decades.
What we are seeing is the outing of these lies. Interesting is the lies after they are outed become leading news items.
"We need "gatekeepers" to make sure things like this won't happen on the internet! < /sarcasm>"
Watch what happens when someone tries to post something as news without a working link on Free Republic.
We have sea lions and harbor seals crowded on 3-foot centers up and down the coast happily wiping out the salmon population.
So we have one government-protected species driving another government-proteced species to extinction.
A few simple yes/no questions for this purported "journalist":
Were you actually there or did you pretend to be there?
Did you actually see the scene or did you make it up?
Did you pass the article off to the newspaper as if it were true?
She did exactly what she claims she didn't do.
Yup. She did just that. Typical liberal.
Oh I agree. The difference is the outing, and it's about time.
The story has already been published, damage already done.
For many people, they read it, so it happened.
Emails & fund raising letters have already been sent concering this baby seal slaughter, the sea red with their blood.
She clearly has an agenda ....and probably an unholy alliance with PETA and the enviro-wackos.
Thanks for the ping.
Don't hold your breath.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.