Author: Don Dailey
Date: 11:07:46 12/23/97
Go up one level in this thread
Your whole argument hinges around the importance of your "scoop". You are trying to come across as a serious journalist who sometimes has to make HARD choices. And then you want be viewed as a Martyr who because of his journalistic integrity made the hard choices and was attacked for it (but secretly you know you did the right thing and so are willing to endure this trial for righteousness sake.) But unfortunately for you, no one is buying into this. If this was something the public really needed to know then you might have some legitimate justification and then would have a real argument. But "quick grab it now before Ed pulls it off!" is not serious journalism and puts you in the same leauge as the tabloids. Stop peddling this crap to us. You insult us with it. We all know, as do you, that this was not a matter of jounalistic integrity even by a far stretch of the imagination. The reason you are getting attacked has little to do with the actual event of Ed's mistake and your bungled posting of it. It's the the insensitivity of your response and your total lack of humility in admitting any wrong and subsequent counter-attack on Ed for making the mistake you felt so "obligated" to report. But you could end this (and show a little class) with a simple and unconditional apology to the hurt party. No one of course expects this from you but its clear to me they would like to see it. I don't remember seeing a true apology from anyone in YEARS. It seems to be a lost art. The few apologies I've seen came loaded with justifications, rationalizions and full of "buts." Your very first post started out sounding like an apology but mushroomed into a full justification of why you HAD to do what you did. When I read it, I started out THINKING you were apologizing and it grabbed my full attention. But then I felt cheated by your subsequent justifications and proclamations of your responsibilities as a serious journalist. Here is what you could have written and it would be all forgotten by now: Dear Ed, I have oome to regret the error of judgement I made in the posting. I am relieved that no actual financial damage was done but do not minimize the potential damage that might have occured to you or my responsibility in the matter. I sincerely hope you will forgive me for this mistake but whether you do or not I intend to learn from this error and promise to use better judgement in the future. Do you think people would STILL be attacking you if you had written this? Even a toned down less mushy version would have worked as long as you admitted some error and expressed just a little remorse. - Don
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