Regret the Error

The Oshkosh Northwestern in Wisconsin has a story about a media mistake that has been referred to as "the Mother of All Newspaper Errors" by the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel. While we’re hesitant to give this mistake such a definitive title, it’s certainly terrible — one of the year’s worst. It also brings up fond memories of this pathetic error from Fox News. Here, in the words of the Journal-Sentinel, is what happened:

At last week’s Fond du Lac Common Council meeting, a U.S. Department
of Homeland Security official gave a speech honoring six local cops for
their role in busting a Pakistani man involved in a marriage scam. The
man, Faryad Hussain, has since been deported.
During the presentation, the agent, Jeff Stillings, provided details of the investigation, offering this observation of Hussain:
"Our investigation has shown that Faryad has strong anti-American
sentiments," Stillings said. "He was a strong applauder of the 9-11
attacks. He was a applauder of Osama bin Laden, and he did not have our best interests (at heart)."
Applauder – it’s not a word you use every day, but it’s right there on the tape.
Now let’s take a look at the banner headline in the next day’s [Fond du Lac] Reporter:
"Suspected terrorist linked to Fond du Lac: Former gas station owner may have been 9/11 plotter."

For a while after the story ran, the paper continued to report that the Agent may have in fact said "plotter."
Here’s where the lawsuit comes in: Mr. Hussain owend a gas station operated by
AAP Petroleum, Inc. The article in question highlighted this and also ran a picture of the station and published its address while noting it was under new management. Still, AAP is suing the owner of the newspaper. Here’s what the Northwestern reports:

…AAP Petroleum, Inc. filed the lawsuit in Fond du Lac County Circuit
Court on Sept. 27 against Gannett Satellite Information Network, Inc.
The lawsuit claims defamation in a July 28 article published by The
Reporter in Fond du Lac about a former owner of a gas station AAP
operates. Gannett also owns the Oshkosh Northwestern.
According to the civil complaint, a newspaper reporter attributed false
statements to a Department of Homeland Security official regarding
former Fond du Lac resident and gas station owner Faryad Hussain. The
Pakistani man had been deported after running a marriage scam, and the
North Main Street Citgo station attained new ownership. AAP Petroleum
leases and operates the business.

Senior Special Agent Jeff Stillings was attributed in the newspaper as
believing Hussain “to be one of the plotters of the 9/11 terrorist
attacks and an agent for Osama bin Laden.” The newspaper the next day
reported from a statement issued by U.S. Immigration and Customs
Enforcement that the agent actually referred to Hussain as “an
applauder.”

The July 28 article included a photograph of the gas station. Its
caption included the address of the store, information on Hussain and
said the store is “now under new ownership.”

The complaint states that references to Hussain as a terrorist, a
plotter or an agent of bin Laden are false and defamatory, and that AAP
Petroleum was also defamed due to the proximity of the Citgo photograph
to the article.

Management of The Reporter declined to discuss details of the lawsuit.

“We intend to vigorously defend ourselves in this case,” said Lani
Dorlack, publisher of The Reporter. “Given the status of this case,
that is all I will comment on at this juncture.”

The complaint states that AAP suffered damages including lost income,
loss of earning capacity and property damage as result of the article
and accompanying photograph. The petroleum company demanded a
retraction of false and defamatory statements prior to filing the
lawsuit, and the newspaper didn’t comply, according to the complaint.

Confusion about Stillings July 28 comments was addressed in the newspaper the next day.

The Reporter on July 29 published six articles regarding Hussain and
comments made by Stillings during a Fond du Lac City Council meeting.
Articles included comment from local officials on misinterpretation of
the agent’s statements, as well as the official statement that
Stillings called Hussain “an applauder” of 9/11, not “a plotter.”

Timothy Edwards, a Madison attorney representing AAP, said that while
articles on July 29 acknowledged a mistake, they continued to mention
the station and speak of Hussain in the context of terrorism. They also
didn’t meet the legal definition of a retraction, he said.

AAP sought to have defaming statements retracted in the same location
in the newspaper in a manner that would draw similar attention as the
original article. Rather than retract statements, the newspaper drew
even greater attention to them, he said.

“We don’t think the efforts they made after the article made it better and it may have made it worse,” Edwards said.

The lawsuit doesn’t list specific damages AAP is seeking. Relief sought
by the company through the civil complaint includes compensatory
damages for losses including humiliation and damage to reputation,
actual losses, attorney’s fees and other costs.

The civil complaint states that AAP suffered public hatred, contempt and ridicule as result of the article.

“AAP Petroleum has received threats and suffered derogatory comments
from people who read the article and believe that Citgo is connected to
terrorism, the 9/11 terrorist attacks and/or Osama Bin Laden,” the
complaint states.

Gannett has 45 days from receipt of the civil summons to respond to the
lawsuit. No response was filed in Fond du Lac County Circuit Court as
of Tuesday.

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