As A Journalist, I Always Strive for Accuracy: I Apologize to Joseph’s Sugar-Free Cookies For Inadvertantly Posting Any Errors

As a journalist, I pride myself on being an absolute stickler for accuracy. I always strive to tell the truth and to glean together various sources to present correct information. In fact, for my book SUGAR SHOCK! — for which I interviewed some 250 experts and sugar addicts — I and my research assistants double checked and even triple checked facts. What’s more, I also obtained signed releases from the people interviewed after they verified their quotes and then submitted them to my publisher, Berkley Books (part of the Penguin Group).

Furthermore, over the years, as a journalist, I’ve been complimented many, many times for my ability to ferret out the truth and present compelling, accurate information. (People have even written letters praising me for telling it like it is.) In addition, I received excellent journalism training — I have a master’s in journalism from the prestigious Northwestern University.

But while I may have been quite careful about double checking facts for my book, it appears that nearly two years ago, when I was in the midst of researching and writing SUGAR SHOCK!, I did not pay close enough attention to my journalistic ideals before making a post to my then month-old blog.

My oversight and errors were pointed out to me on Friday by Joseph Semprevivo of Joseph’s Sugar-Free Cookies, who was understandably dismayed by my blog posting dated July 25, 2005. He alerted me that my entry — which just recently came to his attention — contained several false statements and inaccuracies.

Unfortunately, the fact that I was knee deep in working on SUGAR SHOCK! led me to ignore some basic journalistic rules. In hindsight, I realize that:

1. My post entry was colored by the fact that I believed that the sugar-free cookies had made me very sick. It was wrong of me to jump to this assumption.
2. I wrote the entry when my SUGAR SHOCK! Blog was only a month old and it had very few readers so I was experimenting with this venue and did not realize that my URLs would have a wider reach than a handful of people.
3. Although I cited a knowledgeable industry source, it was completely inappropriate and wrong to post this information without first verifying it. Regretfully, at the time I wrote this peice, given that I was working day and night on my book, I did not have time to check these statements, which I’ve now been informed were inaccurate, false and defamatory.

In the spirit of cooperation and to rectify my previous error, I have now completely deleted the blog posting from July 25, 2005. Therefore, at present, you cannot access my previous untrue statements made by either my source or me. I also now apologize to Mr. Joseph Semprevivo for inadvertantly posting inaccurate, false and untrue statements about Joseph’s Sugar-Free Cookies.

I am embarrassed and sorry that I did not adhere to my own high journalistic standards. I do hope Mr. Joseph Semprevivo and readers of my SUGAR SHOCK! Blog will find it in their heart to forgive me for not doing proper research before making such potentially harmful, untrue statements.