Breaking News for December 01, 2006

Retraction: Tennessean Got It Wrong on Norris

There's something to be said for journalistic standards, whether it's on a credible daily newspaper like the Tennessean or a daily internet source that rounds-up Tennessee politics, like this blog. You come here because you expect the information found here to be correct. So, I'm here to correct the mistake - it looks like we got one wrong. Yesterday, the Tennessean filed a story accusing Sen. Mark Norris, a Shelby County Republican, of supporting a new tax scheme for Tennessee drivers whereby they would be taxed on their total mileage as tracked by GPS installed on their cars. We linked to the Tennessee and summarized under the subtle pejorative - "Legislature Floats Idea to Track Your Movements and Then Tax You For It."

It turns out however, that it was not Mark Norris' position to introduce this bill in the General Assembly, but merely as a part of an interview with a new Gannett reporter on other ways people across the country are dealing with tax issues and roadways. The GPS system is how some folks in another part of the country have replaced their gas tax. Characterizing the position as Norris' own was clearly a mistake on the part of the new reporter. To make matters worse, today's follow-up article in the Tennessean, which we summarized under the headline "Norris Backsteps on Road User Fee" was also a mischaracterization, because the article emphasized the large negative response to the proposal and then used quotes from Norris that seemed to indicate his position on the bill had changed.

In fact Norris' position hadn't changed. He was against this proposal from the beginning, but mentioned it only as an educational opportunity. Ken Whitehouse at the NashvillePost, who in my estimatation has been one of the best political reporters in the state this year, sets the record straight in a rare free article on NashvillePost.com. We here at TPB sincerely apologize to Senator Norris for any confusion we may have caused among our readership - and apologize to you the readers for getting it wrong. We sincerely hope the Tennessean issues a similar statement.

Special thanks to Bill Hobbs for his comments - he is celebrating the fifth anniversary of his blog, go congratulate him.

Posted by Adam Groves | Email This |