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Paper says sorry over report on teacher’s death

A regional daily has written a letter of apology after twice publishing an inaccuracy about the circumstances in which a teacher died.

A headteacher complained to the Press Complaints Commission that the Shropshire Star had published an article in May last year about the death of one of the school’s teachers, which wrongly stated he had died of a heart attack while playing squash.

The complainant represented the concerns of the wife of the deceased man, who also worked at the school.

She explained the teacher concerned was actually taken ill at home, suffered a heart attack in hospital and had died as a result.

A tribute piece published in November last year also repeated the original mistake, causing further distress.

The paper accepted the original article contained an error, which had been pointed out to it following publication, and said its electronic archive should have been amended at that time.

This had not been done and the mistake had then been repeated, which the Star apologised for.

The complaint was resolved when the PCC arranged for the editor to provide a private letter for the school and the family of the deceased, which contained an apology and detailed how practices at the newspaper would improve.

Both articles were permanently removed from the newspaper’s electronic archive as a further precaution.

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  • March 7, 2011 at 4:46 pm
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    Rock legend Rick Wakeman pays particular attention to a certain newspaper. Years ago it erroneously stated he was into drugs. An apology followed, but the update did not make the newspaper’s library. When next there was a story about Rick, the mistake was repeated. Rick sued. By the way, intriguing to read the deceased man also worked at the school. There should not have been a comma or, better still, the sentence should have read…’the deceased man’s wife, who also worked at the school’.

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