The Los Angeles Times dismissed a reporter after an investigation found that his story about the death of a fraternity pledge at a state university ”fell far short” of standards, the newspaper said on Tuesday.
An editor’s note in the Times said the story by Eric Slater on March 29 had numerous inaccuracies and carried quotations from two named and other unnamed sources that could not be verified. Among the errors, the paper said the story erroneously reported that the victim was alone at the time of his death.
”Beyond the specific errors, the newspaper’s inquiry found that the methods used in reporting the story were substandard,” the editor’s note said.
”The article fell far short of Times standards.”
The 1 400-word report centred on partying at California State University, Chico, and student Matthew Carrington (21), who died after allegedly being forced to drink gallons of water in a fraternity ritual.
The Times outlined flaws in the story in a March 31 correction that said the story mistakenly said a pledge to a fraternity at nearby Butte Community College died of alcohol poisoning. He did not die but was hospitalised. Among other problems, the story quoted university President Paul Zingg, but he did not speak with the newspaper, the correction said.
Slater told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he has never made up a source and can verify the people he talked to for the fraternity story.
”I will release any and all versions of the story and provide any documentation,” Slater said.
”The story I tell will be considerably different than the one The Los Angeles Times tells.”
Slater joined the Times in 1994 and formerly served as the paper’s Chicago bureau chief. He shared an Overseas Press Club award for reporting on the United States intervention in Afghanistan. — Sapa-AP