The LA Times ran a lengthy Editor’s Note that outlines the inaccuracies, “substandard” reporting methods and unverifiable quotes in two stories by reporter Eric Slater. He has been fired by the paper. The story has been picked up by Editor & Publisher, Reuters, the Chico Enterprise Record, and LAObserved.com. The last two publications are credited with getting on the story early, before Slater was let go. Jack Shafer of Slate also penned a recent column where he credits the excellent Romenesko site with raising the profile of stories like this. The amount of pick-up for the Reuters piece certainly speaks to the increased media interest for stories of fabricating or substandard journalists.
The Editor’s Note:
On March 31, The Times published a correction of four errors in a March 29 article about controversies arising from fraternity hazing at Cal State Chico. At the same time, editors began a full review of the story, which was published on the front page of the California section. Based on that inquiry, which included a visit to Chico by a Times editor, the paper has concluded that the article fell far short of Times standards.
Beyond the specific errors, the newspaper’s inquiry found that the methods used in reporting the story were substandard. The quotations from anonymous sources and from two named sources, a Mike Rodriguez and a Paul Greene, could not be verified. Additional inaccuracies found during the investigation include the following:
• In describing a hazing death this year, the article said that the victim died after drinking five gallons of water from a “rubber bladder
bag.” The Butte County district attorney reported that the amount of water exceeded five gallons and that it came from a plastic jug, not a bladder bag.• The story also reported that the victim was alone at the time of his death. The D.A. reported that this was not the case.
• The article attributed to “medical examiners” the idea that the victim may have experienced a moment of euphoria shortly before his
death. That belief has been expressed by the victim’s father, who told the Chico Enterprise Record that he based it on his own research. Butte County’s district attorney said it does not appear in any medical reports related to the current case.• The article said that the parents of Adrian Heideman, a hazing victim who died in 2000, showed their son’s day planner to hazing expert Hank Nuwer. Nuwer informed The Times’ readers’ representative that he was not shown Heideman’s day planner by his parents; he heard it described by Heideman’s father over the phone.
Separate from the March 29 article, a review of an earlier story on the same subject revealed another error. On March 5, The Times reported that eight fraternity members had been charged with involuntary manslaughter. In fact, eight were charged with hazing, and four of them were also charged with involuntary manslaughter.
The writer of both articles, Eric Slater, has been dismissed from the staff.
