DAMAGE CONTROL

Tribune associate managing editor Geoff Brown neglected to follow standard procedure this week when an embarrassing blunder occurred on his watch.

As the Trib has admitted, the letter that led Monday's Dear Abby column was a hoax, with the details swiped almost directly from an episode of TV's "The Simpsons." AbbyScam was widely publicized last week, but the letter appeared in our pages nevertheless.

One of Brown's duties is to oversee the Abby column, and when asked about the mistake by Chicago Reader media critic Michael Miner, Brown took a most unconventional tack.

He said he'd messed up--that he simply didn't follow through when he should have. And though others also didn't take the proper corrective actions, Brown told Miner, "I'm taking the blame."

Brown has clearly not been following the news very carefully and does not know how to keep an embarassing story alive.

- posted by Cynthia @ 11:05 PM | | | Link |