Regret the Error

A Queens hairstylist is suing the New York Daily News after the paper twice identified her as the woman accused of helping run a prostitution service allegedly patronized by former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer. In two stories from last week, the paper published a photo of Bojana Vuleta and identified her as Kristin Davis, the alleged madam.

Vuleta’s photo first appeared with a February 1 article, “Madam’s Slippery Story of Sex Attack.” On Feb. 5, lawyers representing Vuleta sent a fax to the News informing the paper of its error. Then the incorrect photo appeared again the next day. The offending articles have been scrubbed off the News’ website, and the paper today published a very weak correction:

A PHOTO in Sunday’s and yesterday’s Daily News of a woman identified as the madam Kristin Davis was in fact another woman, Bojana Vuleta. The News regrets the error.

The News should have printed an apology. A basic correction isn’t enough, and the paper’s weak response only serves to compound the errors. It’s possible that the News published a basic correction to have something on the record that demonstrates the mistakes were unintentional. Their lawyers will probably offer Vuleta a more formal apology, possibly in the form of a corrective article or retraction. That would be an easier sell if the paper hadn’t printed her picture a second time. It’s more common to see a cash settlement in the U.K., but the News may need to open up its wallet.

Vuleta filed a complaint and is seeking $80 million in damages. As you can imagine, the New York Post is having a field day with the story. From its Saturday article:

A humble hairstylist from Queens is living proof you can’t count on what they print in the Daily News – she says the paper smeared her twice by running a picture of her and mistakenly identifying her as the madam who set up Eliot Spitzer’s sex trysts.
Now she’s suing for $80 million on a claim that the paper callously destroyed her reputation.
“All my life is ruined. I just feel insecure, scared and devastated,” said Bojana Vuleta, who cried at a news conference to announce the suit in Manhattan Supreme Court.
“I can’t believe they did such a mistake. They just don’t care,” said Vuleta, 29.
The suit calls the News “grossly irresponsible.”
News lawyer Anne Carroll declined to say whether any employees faced punishment …

Some important information from the Post article:

Vuleta said the shot was taken last Saturday by a photographer and reporter who did not identify themselves as News journalists, or try to check her name.
Her lawyer, Michael Hiller, tried on Thursday to alert News editor-in-chief Martin Dunn by phone about the error.
Hiller said he couldn’t get Dunn on the line, so he faxed a cease-and-desist letter to a number provided by News staffers.
Dunn and the rest of the Newsers must have been snoozin’ when the lawyer’s missive arrived – they put Vuleta’s picture in the paper again yesterday, on Page 2.
Vuleta said that because of the pictures, her hairstyling clients canceled appointments and accused her of living a double life.

The press release issued by Vuleta’s attorneys contains additional information about the lawsuit:

The Complaint also alleges that the Daily News falsely reported, among other things, that Ms. Vuleta:

• lied to the police;
• was sexually attacked;
• was incarcerated for commission of various crimes; and
• was drunk and slurring her words in public.

Ms. Vuleta, who has never been involved in any of the above acts and who does not even know the “Manhattan Madam,” has been harassed at her job and in her neighborhood by people who now claim to believe that she is living a double life. Ms. Vuleta’s image, tagged with the term, “Manhattan Madam,” has spread virally across the Internet, and is now linked with pornography, homosexuality, bestiality, transsexualism, sex toys, and similar topics.