Michael Hawthorne

Let me start by saying, while I am sure he wishes it did, Michael Hawthorne's latest article on mercury has nothing to do with fish... or seafood... or even water for that matter. It has to do with corn and a study that apparently says researchers detected traces of mercury in samples of high-fructose corn syrup.

So it looks like the Chicago Tribune is completely satisfied that Michael Hawthorne's latest story about mercury in seafood meets its high journalism standards, an interesting development given the paper's once-proud lineage.

The Chicago Tribune fears that it was unclear in its previous letters. They wrote back yesterday to reiterate that they believe Mr. Hawthorne's article was "factual and fair."

Here's the latest on our contacts with the Chicago Tribune. I wrote to the Standards Editor Margaret Holt  last week to make sure she had received my pervious emails and was aware of my continued request for review of Mr. Hawthorne's work. That was just about a full week ago. My letter to her can be found below.

While we wait for the Chicago Tribune to answer our requests for a review of Michael Hawthorne's latest story about mercury in seafood let's take a look at some of his previous work.

We heard back from the Chicago Tribune last night. Take a look at what they wrote: Mr. Gibbons:

On the first day this blog went live I wrote that we "hope to change the dialog that often accompanies stories about seafood. It's no longer about whether we like or agree with a story.  It's about whether reporters and producers are following the basic journalistic tenants of fairness, balance, objectivity and above all, accuracy."