FWIW: Idaho Statesman business editor quits over "review" requirement:
When Jim Bartimo went to work as business editor of the Idaho Statesman
in Boise, he was stunned to learn how the Gannett paper handled sensitive
stories.
Bartimo helped edit a lengthy piece on Micron Technology, a major local
employer, only to be told that the story had to be submitted to Micron
executives for review before it could be published. Bartimo was so
disappointed that he quit the $55,000-a-year job after only a month.
"It's like running a story on politicians past the statehouse," Bartimo says.
He says the story, published last month, "is softer now than it was before."
An attorney for the paper, Wendell Van Lare, defended the practice in a
letter to Bartimo's lawyer.
"The newspaper chose to have the story reviewed by Micron
representatives for fact-checking purposes," he wrote. "In fact, an error
had been made, which was pointed out by Micron, and which was
corrected prior to publication." Van Lare called the practice "good
journalism" and said that "the notion that the Statesman's actions could
jeopardize the journalistic reputations and careers of those involved is
laughable."
Statesman Managing Editor Steve Silberman, who asked for the Micron
review, declined to comment.
Bartimo, who had other disputes with the paper, raised the possibility of a
lawsuit to recover the balance of one year's salary. But Van Lare says
Bartimo used the Micron story as as "excuse" to quit and that the
Statesman's only strategy was "limited to making sure the door did not
strike his posterior during his subitaneous egress."
washingtonpost.com
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