His voice filled with frustration, the reader cited the Aug. 15 San Diego Union-Tribune story about the heat wave in Europe that said 3,000 people died in France. Their deaths, The Associated Press story said, were blamed on a “blistering heat wave” and “abnormally high temperatures.” However, nowhere in the story were “blistering heat wave” or “abnormally high temperatures” defined.
Was it 90 degrees? 100 degrees? 105 degrees?
The reader, being resourceful, thought he might find the answer on the weather page. There, the temperature forecast that day for Paris was 76 degrees. He sputtered. He ran out of words. Uttered a strangled sigh and hung up without leaving his name or telephone number.
Two days earlier, the Union-Tribune had carried another story that said temperatures in Paris had hovered at around 100 degrees and described the discomfort of Parisians without air conditioning. Perhaps the reader didn’t see the story that day. But, even if he had, editors should not have assumed that he or anyone else would remember the information so that the later story, also by The Associated Press, would make sense. The story the reader complained about should have defined what “blistering heat wave” meant in France, what “abnormally high temperatures” were. An explanation should have been an integral part of the story.
When I saw a follow-up story in Tuesday’s Union-Tribune revising the number of deaths to as many as 5,000, I held my breath until I came to the third paragraph that explained: “For days, French newspapers have questioned the authorities’ response and asked why hospitals overflowed with victims as temperatures exceeded 104 degrees.”
Later in the story, it explained that the heat wave was “France’s hottest and longest on record.” It also explained that while temperatures had fallen in recent days, they “hovered at above 100 degrees in many parts of France for about a month. Parts of France, where air conditioning is not widespread, saw temperatures of more than 104.”
A check of the Aug. 15 version of the story as written by The Associated Press showed there had been mention of how hot it was, but it was not until the end of the story. In the version that appeared in the Union-Tribune, that part did not survive editing. It should have been included and inserted higher in the story.
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Rewriting was the culprit on another story that was missing an important element. It was Wednesday’s story about the sinkhole on Highway 94. Nowhere in the story was the location of the sinkhole pinpointed. Highway 94 covers more than 65 miles. From the story, it was apparent it was somewhere near downtown, but where exactly? How close? The story said only that two of the three westbound lanes were closed.
The location was in an early version of the story, but when more information became available, the reporter rewrote the article and in the process left out the location. The editor of the story acknowledges both he and the reporter should have noted what was missing that the sinkhole was on the westbound side of the freeway, just east of the Interstate 5 connection.
All stories are reviewed by editors whose job it is to make sure all the pertinent information is reported, to catch inconsistencies, misspellings and obvious factual errors, and to take out anything that muddies the story while retaining essential information and tone.
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Reader Rick Marrone e-mailed the newspaper Thursday pointing out “a whopper.” The grievous error, he said, was in a story about actor and gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Both the story and a photo caption, Marrone said, misidentified George P. Shultz as “former Treasury Secretary.” Shultz is co-chairman of Schwarzenegger’s “California Economic Recovery Council,” the group that is to create “a blueprint to restore the state’s fiscal health.”
Marrone correctly said Shultz was secretary of state from 1982 to 1989. But the Union-Tribune did not err in identifying Shultz as former treasury secretary, a post he held from 1972 to 1974 during the Nixon administration. He also was Nixon’s secretary of labor for 18 months from 1969 to 1970.
Politics editor Michael Smolens said Shultz has been identified as both secretary of state and treasury secretary in past stories, but he and the writer thought it more relevant to identify him by his treasury post in Thursday’s story because of his role as economic adviser to Schwarzenegger. In the future, he said, Shultz will be identified by both roles.
As Editor Karin Winner pointed out, secretary of state was Shultz’s most recent and most prominent role with the government and should have been noted.
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Gina Lubrano’s column commenting on the media appears Mondays. It is the policy of The San Diego Union-Tribune to correct all errors. To discuss accuracy or fairness in the news, please write to Gina Lubrano, readers representative, Box 120191, San Diego, CA 92112-0191, or telephone (619) 293-1525. Send e-mail to: readers.rep@uniontrib.com.
Copyright 2003 Union-Tribune Publishing Co.
