Dart dispute.(LETTERS)(Letter to the editor)

You missed your target with the Dart thrown at the Cleveland Plain Dealer for failing to stick by reporter Bob Paynter's story on racial disparities in the Cuyahoga County criminal-justice system. Plain Dealer editor Susan Goldberg recognized that Paynter's reporting did not meet the Plain Dealer's journalistic standards and sought to maintain its integrity by correcting the record.

In your column, you imply that when I met with the editorial board to point out the numerous inaccuracies of the series, Paynter was not present to defend his work. That is false. Paynter along with his editor and at least a dozen other Plain Dealer staffers sat through a two-hour presentation by my office that dissected his series point by point. Except for the occasional attempt to defend portions of his series, Paynter sat silent as my office presented fact after fact that discredited his reporting. It is difficult for an editor to defend an article when the reporter cannot do it himself.

I am also disappointed that you did not call my office for comment. We would have reviewed this article with you just as we did with the Plain Dealer editors and staffers. Unfortunately, the benefits that could have resulted from this series were diminished by Paynter's shoddy reporting. If there were errors made in this or any article, I am certain we could all agree that the appropriate action would be to correct the record. The Plain Dealer appears to have made that decision, which I believe demonstrates its commitment to journalistic ethics and integrity. For that, I believe a Laurel would have been more appropriate than a Dart.

Bill Mason

Cuyahoga County Prosecutor

Cleveland, OH

The editors respond: Just as Bob Paynter and Stuart Warner stand by their work on their extraordinary series "Justice Blinded," so do we stand by our Dart. Paynter's series was assigned by Plain Dealer editor Susan Goldberg and approved by her before publication. We neither stated nor implied that Paynter wasn't present for the editorial-board meeting. Whatever the reasons behind Paynter's silence during much of the proceedings, in the end, his editors failed to defend the work and provide a proper forum for Paynter to do so. CJR conducted its own review of the Plain Dealer's series and Mason's criticisms, and we remain confident in the accuracy of Paynter's reporting.

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