Fiedler Owns Up

The following email went out to Miami Herald newsroom employees this morning. It looks likely that Executive Editor Tom Fiedler is going to take blame for the misjudgments in the reporting on the case of El Nuevo Herald employees who were fired and then rehired for their entanglements with Radio Marti.

From: Fiedler, Tom
Sent: Friday, November 17, 2006 10:13 AM
To: .MIA Newsroom
Subject: Hoyt report
Importance: High
All,

I want to alert you to an important report in this Sunday's Issues & Ideas, which will come off the presses later today. Clark Hoyt, whom most of you know, has submitted a report to David Landsberg about events and decisions leading up to publication of Oscar (Corral)'s's story about journalists on the payroll of TV and Radio Marti. This is part of the assignment that Clark took on a few weeks ago.

The report is written in the fashion of an ombudsman's column, which strikes me as both appropriate for our edification and engaging to readers. I won't offer my own opinion on Clark's findings beyond pointing out that he solidly supports the premise on which the story was based, as well as Oscar's reporting and Myriam's content editing. That is foremost; Oscar and Myriam earn our praise for that story and those that followed this week. Where Clark exposes flaws and misjudgments, they almost always come to rest on my shoulders.

Once you've read and thought about it, let me know what you think. But please approach this with the attitude that Clark's effort was that of an honest broker operating in the spirit of constructive criticism.

Tom