So Deadspin has admitted its attempt to bust Cory Gardner pretty much blew up in their face:
How we fucked up the Cory Gardner story: http://t.co/lx2HmyVSup
— Deadspin (@Deadspin) October 16, 2014
In conclusion:
So, that’s the story. We’re still not sure what happened with Pfalmer between his certainty Tuesday that Gardner hadn’t played and his certainty Wednesday that Gardner had—Pfalmer told us last night he’d checked his records after our initial conversation and discovered Gardner’s forgotten three years—nor can we explain why he is now giving Gardner a year on the varsity team that the candidate himself isn’t claiming. But whatever the case, the most damning implication of our story, that Gardner didn’t actually play high school ball, is wrong. That’s shitty of us. As serial collectors of media fuck-ups, we add this self-portrait to the gallery. For more thorough coverage, you can read Erik Wemple over at the Post. As I told Wemple—and I sincerely meant it—given that our main source went and unsaid everything he’d said 24 hours earlier, the only thing for us to do now is to eat shit.
OK, well, at least they admit they messed up:
https://twitter.com/redsteeze/status/522831969164349440
"As serial collectors of media f**k-ups, we add this self-portrait to the gallery." Very fair mea culpa by @Deadspin: http://t.co/OjRi8lgrfA
— Steve Krakauer (@SteveKrak) October 16, 2014
Wow, nice. RT @Popehat: THIS is a correction. Via @NoahCRothman http://t.co/JNLk5viNL2
— American Journalists Publish Chinese Propaganda (@JohnEkdahl) October 16, 2014
Or they sort of admit it. They’re still trying to shift blame onto their “main source”:
https://twitter.com/Matthops82/status/522833322016141312
Fact is, @Deadspin was so eager to smear a GOP Senate candidate it trusted one source without verification.
— Michael Freeman (@michaelpfreeman) October 16, 2014
https://twitter.com/BecketAdams/status/522831587323703296
.@JohnEkdahl @Popehat @NoahCRothman Nah, @deadspin still blames the source for the reporter's professional incompetence.
— Moe Lane (@Ogiel23) (@moelane) October 16, 2014
And then there’s this to consider:
https://twitter.com/rorycooper/status/522832042501742592
Still, though, a semi-apology is better than nothing, right?
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Related:
‘Backfiring so hilariously’! Deadspin beclowns themselves in Cory Gardner hit piece
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