Saturday, October 13, 2007

Mr. Milkowski, get your Facts STRAIGHT!

The Anchorage Daily News picked up the story I did about the state climate change hearing and put it on their Web site. They have a deal where readers can weigh in, and the title here comes from someone who did.
Here's what happened. The engineer I wrote about, Dennis Nottingham, made strong accusations about what he said were failed erosion control projects in a few Alaska villages. Good reporting dictates that we check the facts -- even if someone else's name is on them -- and give anyone accused of something a chance to respond. I did neither of these because Nottingham's comments seemed most like opinions, which we don't check. In retrospect, I probably should have. A few people from Unalakleet challenged Nottingham's assertion.
The mini-blog gets into a critical discussion, but its tone is bad.

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