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UPDATED: Security guard in controversial NYT story says he never spoke with reporter; Times says it has recordings

May 20, 2008 – 4:30 pm

El Mercurio, a Chilean newspaper, has published an interview with a man it says is Adolfo Flores, a person who has become the focus of a controversial New York Times story about the salmon industry. Flores makes several statements in the article that directly contradict information offered by the Times. If El Mercurio has the right Adolfo Flores and his comments are true, this information raises serious doubts about how the Times story was reported.

UPDATED May 20 8:20 pm: The Times has responded to the El Mercurio story. In an email to the PR firm that has been working for Salmon of the Americas Inc., a Times editor writes that “Alexei Barrionuevo was accompanied by a photographer during his visit to the port and has notes and recordings of his conversations with Mr. Flores. Our story accurately reflected those conversations.”

The Times says the “issue is closed.” Now the questions shift back to El Mercurio and Flores…

My original post continues below, though this new information appears to answer the key questions.

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I previously wrote about the Editors’ Note issued by the Times to correct some of the errors in the article. The Note came after Salmon of the Americas Inc., an industry trade group, issued a release calling into question many facts and assertions made in the story. The release noted that Flores had been identified in the article as a “port director.” In reality, he was a security guard.

The Times Note admitted that Flores had been incorrectly identified, and an email sent by a Times editor to the trade group’s PR agency blamed this error on Flores, saying he had “apparently misrepresented himself to our reporter.” The reporter in question is Alexei Barrionuevo, whose previous work has been called into question.

In the interview with El Mercurio, Flores says he never misrepresented himself and that he has never spoken to a reporter from the Times. This is a very serious development in the story. At this point, it’s a mystery as to how Flores’ name and quotes ended up in the Times article. He says he was never interviewed; the paper says he was and that he misrepresented himself.

So: is Flores lying? Is Barrionuevo lying? Is it possible that Barrionuevo interviewed someone who used Flores’ name and made up a phony title? That last option is possible, but it seems a stretch to say the least.

Given the claims made by Flores and Barrionuevo’s past troubles, the Times needs to do a proper investigation in order to learn the truth about what happened. Step one is to verify that the Flores quoted in El Mercurio is the same man quoted in the Times story. (The online version of the article doesn’t include a photo.) Step two is seeing if Barrionuevo has a recording or notes from the interview to help prove he spoke with the man. A recording would be ideal because we all know notes can be faked, right Stephen Glass?

Note: I was sent the link to the El Mercurio story by the PR agency that also alerted me to the initial press release. I’m told they have forwarded the link to the Times and have asked for a response. I also asked the agency rep if their company had any hand in locating Flores (which he previously told me they were trying to do) and bringing him to El Mercurio. The rep said the story is solely a result of El Mercurio’s work.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Tagged , , , | Comments

Salmon industry gets Editors’ Note after questioning NY Times article

May 13, 2008 – 1:25 pm

Last week I received an email from CounterPoint Strategies, a PR firm that helps “clients confront volatile media circumstances.” They pointed me to a release by Salmon of the Americas Inc., an industry trade group, that raised several questions about a recent article by New York Times Reporter Alexei Barrionuevo.

CounterPoint contacted me because it saw my previous posts about incidents of plagiarism in Barrionuevo’s work. I read the information from Salmon of the Americas, which did seem to raise important questions about Barrionuevo’s article. As an example, take these two points from the release:

Mr. Barrionuevo described Adolfo Flores as the Port Director of Castro, Chiloe Island. In actuality, Mr. Flores is simply a security guard who works for a third party contractor. I’ve enclosed an English translation of a letter from Patricio Cuello, the general manager of the Port of Puerto Montt, which administers Castro, confirming this…

Later, the article quotes a local fisherman, Victor Gutierrez, who says that recent catches have been far smaller than normal. But in Chile, all fishermen must be registered with local authorities in order to work as an artisan fisherman or commercial fisherman. According to government sources in Chile, there is no fisherman by the name of Victor Gutierrez registered in the Cochamo area. We would like some explanation for how Mr. Barrionuevo verified this source. In addition, it would have been responsible for Mr. Barrionuevo to have checked with fisheries biologists for an alternative explanation to the smaller catches—such as change in runoff, temperature and ocean salinity in the area.

I asked CounterPoint if they had received a response from the paper and was told that the information was under review at the Times. I decided to give the paper time to look into the accusations before writing about them. The Times today published an Editors’ Note:

An article on March 27 reported on a virus, infectious salmon anemia, or I.S.A., killing millions of salmon cultivated for export by Chile’s salmon farming industry. It quoted an official at the port of Castro, Chile, describing bags of fish food stored at the facility by Marine Harvest, a Norwegian company, as containing antibiotics, pigments and hormones. The official, Adolfo Flores, identified himself as the port director. He in fact worked as a security guard, The Times learned subsequently. Had The Times been aware of his actual position at the time, it would not have cited him as an authority on the contents of the bags, which were labeled medicated food. The article also should have noted that Marine Harvest and SalmonChile, an industry association, deny that they use hormones or that the pigments they use pose any risk to consumers.

So, the “port director” was in fact just a security guard. The Note also acknowledges, though not explicitly, that the article didn’t do a good enough job of including the industry perspective on hormones and pigments. (A CounterPoint rep told me their position is that the Times should either provide evidence of the use of hormones and the risk of pigments, or correct its reporting. CounterPoint is unhappy with the “deny” language.”)

But what about Salmon of the Americas’ allegation about a fisherman quoted in the story? And how did a security guard manage to pass himself off as the port director? The Editors’ Note doesn’t provide the necessary answers and context.

The paper, did, however, offer a detailed response to CounterPoint. In an email to the firm, foreign news enterprise editor Kirk Kraeutler replied to the issues raised in the release. Here’s what he wrote about the questionable fisherman:

Though unregistered with the state, Victor Gutierrez is a fisherman with many years of experience selling to local markets, by his account, which was corroborated by family members. Several other local fishermen interviewed around Seno de Reloncavi and Puerto Montt and as far south as Chiloe, echoed his concerns, which were also supported by at least three biologists from Chilean universities in the Puerto Montt area who were interviewed for the article.

Kraeutler’s full reply is pasted below. It’s an important read for anyone wondering how the Times responds to significant inquiries about its reporting. It also fills some of the holes left by the Editors’ Note. In regards to the security guard, Kraeutler writes that the man “apparently misrepresented himself to our reporter.” The guard no longer works at the port, but CounterPoint says he’s still employed by the security contractor. They are currently trying to track him down.

As for Barrionuevo, well, at the very least some training and/or discipline seems appropriate.

As a final note, I wasn’t the only person contacted by CounterPoint; a post appeared on the NewsBusters site on May 8, the day after I received the information.

The Full Times Response:

Dear Mr. McErlain and Ms. McKnight:

This is in response to your queries about Alexei Barrionuevo’s March 27 article on Chile’s salmon farming industry. We have vetted your complaints carefully and will correct the identification of Adolfo Flores. He had apparently misrepresented himself to our reporter, and we have since confirmed with a former colleague of his at the port that he no longer works there and had worked in security.

Here is a detailed response to your other points:

Health Concerns and ISA: Mr. Barrionuevo’s article states clearly that the ISA virus is not considered harmful to consumers by either the Chilean industry or American officials. It also makes clear that antibiotics have been used not to treat ISA, but rather other, non-viral diseases in recent years.

2. Colorants: In addition to astaxanthin, the colorant you refer to your letters, another major colorant used in salmon farming is canthaxanthin. That is the one the O.E.C.D. report expressed concern about in Chile’s salmon industry because of “its association with retina problems in human beings,” a link noted by many other scientists and researchers around the world.

3. The Environment: Despite the steps taken by the industry, Arne Hjetltnes, the Marine Harvest spokesman in Chile, acknowledged the need for greater regulation, saying the problems had contributed to the ISA outbreak. The article also notes that Cesar Barrios, the president of ChileSalmon, dismissed the criticism of the sanitary conditions and said there was no scientific evidence to support them, though researchers interview by The Times disagreed.

4. Hormones: Sernapesca’s website lists the drugs, including hormones, authorized for use in Chilean aquaculture and how they may be administered, including some in pellet and powder form. The full list includes Azagly-nafarelina (acetato) Solución Inyectable; Factor Liberador de LH, SGnRH Analogo Pellets; Factor Liberador de LH, SGnRH Analogo, Domperidona Solución Inyectable; and Factor Liberador LH, LH-RH analogo Polvo.

5. The fisherman: Though unregistered with the state, Victor Gutierrez is a fisherman with many years of experience selling to local markets, by his account, which was corroborated by family members. Several other local fishermen interviewed around Seno de Reloncavi and Puerto Montt and as far south as Chiloe, echoed his concerns, which were also supported by at least three biologists from Chilean universities in the Puerto Montt area who were interviewed for the article.

6. Research: The industry has spent some money on research, but several researchers in Chile dismissed the dollar amount as inadequate to what is needed and slight when compared with the billions of dollars in annual revenue generated by Chile’s salmon industry.

7. Dr. Felipe Cabello: Dr. Cabello says he is not dependent on any environmental NGOs to fund his research. He talks to many sources, including NGOs, to obtain information. The funds that allowed him to travel to Chile and Norway to study the specific problems related to aquaculture and antibiotics came from a competitive John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation USA/Canada Fellowship awarded in 2004.

The estimate that Dr. Cabello has made regarding antibiotic use was described in some detail in a 13-page study in November 2007 titled “Uso de Productos Quimicos en La Salmonicultura: Revision de Practicas Actuales y Posibles Efectos Medioambientales.” (available at www.worldwildlife.org/what/globalmarkets/aquaculture/WWFBinaryitem8829.pdf).

Dr. Cabello was cited as an author, along with: Les Burridge from the St. Andrews Biological Station, New Brunswick Canada; Judith Weis from the Department of Biological Sciences, Rutgers University; and Jaime Pizarro from the Facultad de Ingenieria, Universidad de Santiago de Chile. In table 1, page 9 of the study, Chile is listed as using 0.477 kilograms per metric ton of antibiotics in cultivation of Atlantic salmon, which is 298 times more than Norway’s 0.0016 kilograms per metric ton.

The study says it was funded by Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform, Fundacion Terram, Marine Harvest, the National Environmental Trust, the Norweigan Seafood Federation, Skretting, SalmonChile, Salmon of the Americas and World Wildlife Fund.

8. Wolfram Heise and Sernapesca: Mr. Heise reflected a view of concerned environmentalists, and our reporting, which involved talking to multiple environmentalists from various groups both in and out of Chile, did not detect the wide gap in opinion you cite regarding farmed salmon practices in Chile.

Generally, Sernapesca’s views could have been more fully expressed if its executives agreed to an interview. Those queries are well documented in emails exchanges initiated in the last week of February by Pascale Bonnefoy, The Times stringer in Chile, with Rosa Maria Rejas, the head spokesperson for Sernapesca.

Ms. Rejas said the agency was going through a change of leadership and that the new chief, Felix Inostroza, who took over on March 3 after many years at the agency, would consider an interview after going through a round of interviews with department heads.

Ms. Bonnefoy then asked for an interview with the head of the Aquaculture unit. Sernapesca officials responded that the director would have to authorize any interview with any head of any unit.

On March 4, Mr. Barrionuevo sought the help of Andrea Lagos, the press attaché for the Chilean embassy in Washington, who said officials at the agency would respond to written questions within two days. A set of questions was sent on March 7, with the intent that follow-up questions might be needed. No responses came, and the email was not returned for incorrect address. A copy of the questions was also sent to Ms. Lagos.

Mr. Barrionuevo and Ms. Bonnefoy called and emailed Ms. Rejas to follow up, warning of impending deadlines. After waiting six days for a response, on March 13 Mr. Barrionuevo sent another email to Ms. Lagos in Washington, asking for help.

We received no communication from Sernapesca until March 28, one day after the publication of the article. Ms. Rejas said then that the questions had not arrived and that she had been on vacation, though neither her phone message nor email indicated that she was away.
We appreciate your patience in awaiting our own response, and hope that this answers your concerns.

Sincerely,

Kirk Kraeutler
Enterprise Editor
Foreign News Desk
The New York Times

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Tagged , , | Comments

Shafer finds another example of plagiarism by Times reporter

March 5, 2008 – 10:45 pm

Last week, Slate’s Jack Shafer revealed that Times reporter Alexei Barrionuevo had plagiarized part of an article about cheap cocaine in Argentina. (Regret report here.) In response, the Times published an Editors’ Note but declined to detail the action it would take in response to the revelation. I wondered if this meant the Times would not be conducting an investigation into Barrionuevo’s previous work.

Now, a week after his first column, Shafer has returned with another example of theft by Barrionuevo. Here’s what Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson said about this recent example:

It appears that Alexei did not fully understand Times policy of not using wire boilerplate and giving credit when we do make use of such material. As I mentioned to you, other papers do permit unattributed use of such material. He should not have inserted wire material into his Times coverage without attribution.

That said, because the new examples do not involve many words or an original thought, the transgression does not seem to be as serious as the first instance on paco.

Even if the paper believes the first example is worse than the second, there’s the larger concern that Barrionuevo is a repeat plagiarist. It’s surprising that Abramson is offering justification for his lapses rather than saying the paper will investigate the matter. How many examples are required before a red flag goes up? The Times should apply some reporting to this situation and discover if there are other skeletons lurking in Barrionuevo’s closet — and in the paper’s archives. Then, with that knowledge, it can take the appropriate action.

Of course, this should have been done in the first place. At this point, Barrionuevo has two strikes against him and the paper is on the defensive. It’s also a good bet that others will play the Nexis/Google game with Barrionuevo’s previous work. The clock is ticking.

Ryan Tate at Gawker also raises an important point. First, he quotes from Shafer’s first column:

Barrionuevo had been working on the paco story for a couple of weeks and realized at the end of the process that he needed definitional passages about the drug to distinguish it from crack cocaine. [Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson] says that instead of consulting his notes, which he claims contained the information, he relied on Google. Indeed, a copy of the Herald story can be found via Google.

Writes Tate:

So reporter Barrionuevo was looking for basic information about a drug at the center of his Page One story, but instead of turning to his notes, which he claimed contained the information, he just ran a Google search and copied over what he found on the Herald website. It’s bad that he essentially copied the text, but also how did he even know the information he was passing on was accurate? If he couldn’t remember the details of what was in his notes, how could he be sure the Herald information matched those details?

Also puzzling is the fact that a Times reporter with many stories under his belt seemingly “did not fully understand Times policy of not using wire boilerplate and giving credit when we do make use of such material.” Questions abound.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers, Plagiarism | Tagged , , | Comments

Plagiarism at the New York Times

February 28, 2008 – 5:41 pm

While preparing a column this week, Slate’s Jack Shafer stumbled upon an incident of plagiarism at the New York Times. Shafer wrote a column about the theft and the Times has now responded with an Editor’s Note:

A front-page article on Saturday described a cocaine epidemic in Argentina fed by the consumption of paco, an addictive smokable cocaine residue. The article included an explanatory paragraph about paco’s addictive power and toxicity that repeated material from a 2006 article published in The Miami Herald, without attributing it to the newspaper. The correspondent, who had done his own research with Argentine and Brazilian officials on the drug and its effects, should have summarized it in his own words, or credited The Herald.
The passage in question is this:
“Paco is highly addictive because its high lasts just a few minutes—and is so intense that many users smoke 20 to 50 paco cigarettes a day to try to make its effects linger. Paco is even more toxic than crack cocaine because it is made mostly of solvents and chemicals like kerosene, with just a dab of cocaine, Argentine and Brazilian drug enforcement officials said.”

Times Managing Editor Jill Abramson told Shafer that, “I think when you take material almost word-for-word and don’t credit it, it is [plagiarism].” Abramson declined to detail if Alexei Barrionuevo, the writer, will face discipline. The Times has a policy of not talking publicly about personnel issues, which Shafer notes is common at many organizations. But does this mean the public won’t know whether or not the paper decided to review Barrionuevo’s previous work, something that should be standard practice after any incident of plagiarism?

Hopefully the Public Editor will investigate how the paper is handling the issue. At this point, the lack of information leaves Barrionuevo open to speculation about his previous work for the paper. It’s one thing to keep the specific discipline an internal matter. But the post-Blair era requires a paper to be transparent about how it handles an incident of plagiarism. As of now, readers know nothing about how the paper treats such a serious offense.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers, Plagiarism | Tagged , , | Comments