I suspect that many editors simply saw a letter they liked and didn’t bother straining themselves to confirm anything.
I also think it might be interesting to see how many of these papers are in dire financial straits and may be fishing for a bailout.
Does “Ellie Light” speak Spanish?
I ask because this weekend her letter showed up in El Nuevo Herald (the Spanish-language version of The Miami Herald) TRANSLATED INTO SPANISH.
I would be interested to know if people have seen other Spanish versions of the letter in other Hispanic community papers.
I suppose an organization behind this could have produced a Spanish version. But if not, the the Herald editors must have not only not cross-checked the source, but also took the time to translate it and publish it themselves.
Pretty damning.
I blame the lazy editors. Especially the night editors. They clown around on the internet all night, drinking coffee, smoking cigarttes, and eating hero sandwiches instead of doing their job, which is EDITING!