Posted on 05/09/2006 4:54:58 PM PDT by abb
Published: May 09, 2006 12:20 PM ET
NEW YORK A report in the Tampa Tribune today states that Janet Weaver, the executive editor of the paper, was arrested early this morning on a charge of DUI.
Tampa police arrested Weaver at 12:30 a.m., says the report, and found that she had a blood alcohol level between 0.081 and 0.085. The legal limit for drivers in Florida is 0.08. She spent about five hours in jail, and then was released on $500 bond.
Weaver was hired to be managing editor at the Tribune in 2004, and was promoted to executive editor in January 2005.
“I am deeply embarrassed on every level,” said Weaver in to a collegue writing a story for the paper. “As a journalist, as a representative of the Tribune and certainly as a person. I have tried to conduct myself in a way that would make the people who care about me proud and I certainly don’t feel that this morning.”
E&P Staff (letters@editorandpublisher.com)
more info -
Arrested Tampa Editor Called From Jail To Get Word Out
Jay Conner/'Tampa Tribune'
Janet Weaver
By Joe Strupp
Published: May 09, 2006 3:10 PM ET
NEW YORK Just hours after being arrested on a drunk driving charge early this morning, Tampa Tribune Editor Janet Weaver was on the phone from jail trying to inform editors at her paper of the incident so they could get the word out on the Web site.
"I tried to find people between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning, but I wasn't able to get a hold of anyone," said Weaver, who was arrested at about 12:30 a.m. after being pulled over on her way home from dinner. "I am not great at remembering phone numbers and I have a list in my car and my purse, but [police] had taken them away from me, so I had to use my memory."
The 43-year-old editor, who said she had never before been arrested, also will have no input in to the Wednesday edition of the paper, and has not told editors how to cover the story of her arrest. The Tribune broke the story on its own Web site less than two hours after her 5:30 a.m. release.
"If it were up to me, I would place it on the front page," Weaver told E&P. "We have to hold ourselves accountable."
She stressed that any involvement she might have on the paper, even on stories unrelated to her arrest, would be improper. "I don't think it is appropriate for my fingerprints to be on that paper," she said. "You could argue that I was trying to figure into the placement of my story if I am involved in another story."
Weaver said she made four phone calls to different Tribune staffers while in jail, but was unable to reach anyone. She only had cell phone numbers and reached phones that were likely not on at that hour. "When you are calling from jail it is also a collect call, so someone has to accept the charges," she said. "I either got voice mail, or the phone was off."
When Weaver finally was released, she went directly to the Tribune offices, reaching the building at about 6:10 a.m., she said. "I wanted to get in touch with the deputy managing editor and give him a heads up," she said. "I also wanted to let my bosses know, that was something I wanted to do face-to-face."
Eventually, Weaver informed Deputy Managing Editor Ken Koehn of the arrest. He then called police and courts editor Howard Altman at home, directing him to get a story on the Web site. "I got called at about 7:30 a.m., the phone was ringing earlier than usual," Altman told E&P. "My boss said we had to mobilize earlier than usual. He just told me to do the story and get it out first."
Altman said he found the jail log and arrest information on the Web site of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, then called Weaver for comment. The paper even posted her mug shot, also found online, with the story. "I banged it out and wrote it from home and they go it up," Altman said. "The attitude here is great transparency and I appreciate that."
Tampa Bay area newspapers have had a history of top-level supervisors involved in legal problems receiving praise for openness, and punishment for cover-ups. In 1991, Tribune president and general manager James F. Urbanski came under fire for trying to cover up a rape at his home that involved a friend of his son, Mark. The incident eventually led to a conviction of the friend, while Urbanski's son was found guilty of lesser charges.
The elder Urbanski's failure to disclose the incident and his family's ties eventually prompted a stinging rebuke from his own editorial page, as well as his eventual forced resignation.
Several years earlier, Eugene Patterson, then editor of the nearby St. Petersburg Times, was arrested on a drunk driving charge. The paper played the story on Page One, at Patterson's insistence, prompting praise and removing any question of transparency.
Weaver said she had sought to inform Tribune Publisher Gil Thelan earlier today, but could not reach him because he is out of town. She said she had already spoken to executives at Media General, the paper's Virginia-based owners. "There will be a letter in my permanent file," she predicted. "But to my knowledge, that is the extent of it."
The editor, who joined the paper in 2004, said she has never had a drinking problem and described this incident as an unusual occurrence. "I don't go out that often," said the mother of three. "I am typically at home, at work or at work-related events."
Weaver said she had received e-mails from editors around the country today offering support, with some hinting that they could have just as easily ended up in her place. "They have said, 'there for the grace of God.'" She also said others should use her situation as a warning about driving under any influence. "I did not feel impaired," she said. "But clearly my breathalyzer showed differently."
When asked about the posting of her mug shot online, Weaver joked, "It's a lovely photo and we may use it as a holiday card, who knows?' On a more serious note, she said "it is not my favorite picture of myself, but it is what we do for any public figure. I am the story."
Joe Strupp (jstrupp@editorandpublisher.com) is a senior editor at E&P.
Shame it wasn't the Saint Petersberg Times. But the Trib isn't any bastion of conservatism, either.
Doesn't sound like she got any special treatment. Hopefully she won't let it happen again.
Come on, she's only like .001% over the legal limit. That's probably two glasses of wine. Every day millions of people drive after drinking a few glasses of beer or wine. She just happened to be caught.
And the Trib's version of the "news."
http://tboblogs.com/index.php/newswire/comments/weaver_arrest/
Tampa Tribune Editor Arrested
Posted May 09, 2006 at 07:16 AM
By HOWARD ALTMAN
haltman@tampatrib.com
Tampa Tribune executive editor Janet Weaver was arrested by Tampa Police early this morning and charged with driving under the influence.
Weaver, 43, was arrested by police near the intersection of Kennedy Boulevard and Howard Avenue North at about 12:30 a.m. Her blood alcohol content was measured at .085 and .081.
Florida presumes a person is intoxicated when his or her blood alcohol level is 0.08 percent or higher.
Weaver said she “was coming from Davis Island, where I had dinner and was headed out to I-275 to go home” when she was pulled over.
Weaver has been at the Tribune since July 2004, when she was hired to be managing editor and was promoted to executive editor in January 2005.
snip
Ping
sounds like somebody's got a hang-over.
According to persistent rumor, alcohol is not unknown in newsrooms.
May be, but I think she's a Liberal.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1393729/posts
Tampa reporter resigns over story
AP ^ | 4/29/5
Posted on 04/29/2005 10:14:36 AM PDT by SmithL
TAMPA, Fla. - A Tampa Tribune reporter resigned after being confronted with questions about a fabrication in story that was published in Wednesday's editions.
The newspaper said Brad Smith made up an anecdote at the beginning of the story about a woman who had her Jeep towed while she was visiting nightclubs.
Janet Weaver, the Tribune's executive editor, apologized to readers in a signed letter on Thursday's front page.
"We recognize that we have a covenant with our readers: to be truthful, to be fair, to be credible," Weaver wrote. "I am sorry that we've failed you in this case. We will rededicate ourselves to earning and keeping your trust."
The woman in the story, who is an acquaintance of Smith's, told the St. Petersburg Times that she called Tribune editors Wednesday to complain about "significant inaccuracies" in the story.
Smith violated newspaper ethics policies by writing a story about an incident in which he was involved and which involved his friends, the newspaper said. He did not disclose his involvement to his editors, Weaver said. Smith could not be reached for comment because a working phone number for him could not be found.
The paper will review Smith's past work, Weaver said.
local ping!
Gotta give her credit. Sounds pretty honest and straightforward to me.
Have to agree.
So?
The state will lower the limit until we are all potentially intoxicated at all times, whether from alcohol, allergy medicine, or endorphine levels from a song we like playing on the radio.
That's what I'm thinking. DUI ain't what it used to be. < 0.09?
I dropped the St Petersburg Times years ago and I'm getting close to dropping the Tampa Tribune.
Laverne noted on another thread on MSM Woes:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1629488/posts?page=5#5
"I have noticed that on Sunday's now, they have people selling the paper at major intersections. That is how bad it has gotten for the Tampa Trib anyway."
This makes one wonder if the Tampa Trib has illegal aliens at dangerous intersections trying sell Tampa Tribs. A dangerous job, Americans will not do.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.