Friday, May 2, 2008

Susan Gibbs' E-mail Response to Me

CNA unfortunately did not share with you the entire story. We have had a number of experiences where CNA has printed erroneous and non-sourced information in the past, which is not consistent with standard journalistic practices.

As I told them when they called (multiple times in one hour, when I was involved with other meetings), until they could account for why false information about the archdiocese (unrelated to politicians) and other concerns were addressed, we could not help them. They actually later told me they recorded our conversation secretly. While I stand by my concerns, the recording actually was illegal and a serious ethics violation under journalistic standards. It is very difficult in today's electronic world for visitors to a website to know whether a site is legitimate and it can be a challenge to verify or correct information. For example, blogs regularly repeat and change information and a lot that is out there is wrong. That misleads people.

The editor is now trying to address some of the issues I raised, but has not fully yet. We continue to work towards a solution.

Thank you,

Susan Gibbs
Archdiocese of Washington

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I worked with Susan many times over the years when she was Director of Communications for the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. I would always give her the benefit of the doubt. I always thought very highly of her and her professionalism as well as her loyalty to the Church.