Four years ago this month, USA Today released its much-anticipated report on how top editors aided and abetted Jack Kelley over more than a decade of his dishonest reporting. The report famously found a "virus of 'fear'" in the News Department, where Kelley worked under Managing Editor Hal Ritter -- fear that kept the paper from unmasking Kelley sooner. The scandal was a major black eye for USAT.I still don't know what became of Kelley. But, courtesy of a tipster, I now know Ritter's whereabouts. He was recently named the Associated Press' acting business news editor, an internal March 12 memo says, while the AP looks for a permanent replacement for Kevin Noblet. "Many of you are familiar with Hal, who joined the AP as a consultant in February 2006 and helped launch Money & Markets,'' says the upbeat note from deputy managing editor Kristin Gazlay. "He also led a team that came up with the blueprint for the future of the Business News Department as we enter the world of the financial news vertical."
Former USA Today Publisher Tom Curley is CEO of the AP. Gazlay's memo doesn't touch on Ritter's Kelley connections. It lists Ritter's work history, then closes with this LOL line: "He's also a great guy, and you'll enjoy working with him."
[Image: Friday's USA Today, Newseum]
No comments:
Post a Comment
Jim says: "Proceed with caution; this is a free-for-all comment zone. I try to correct or clarify incorrect information. But I can't catch everything. Please keep your posts focused on Gannett and media-related subjects. Note that I occasionally review comments in advance, to reject inappropriate ones. And I ignore hostile posters, and recommend you do, too."
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.