Hutton Defends Not Firing Albom, Calls That Not 'Appropriate'

By: Joe Strupp Carole Leigh Hutton, editor and publisher of the Detroit Free Press, declined on Sunday to say why she did not fire columnist Mitch Albom, or even to explain what disciplinary action had been taken against him for writing a column about an event that had yet to occur.

?I don?t typically announce disciplinary action I?ve taken with employees and am not in this case,? Hutton told E&P. ?I would not anticipate releasing private information from personnel files. I don?t see why I would treat him differently than other employees involved.?

When asked why he was not fired, Hutton said only, ?I didn?t think that was the appropriate discipline in this case, based on my assessment of the incident. I didn?t think dismissal was appropriate.?

But Hutton said the Free Press?s internal ethics committee was reviewing the paper?s procedures for editing columnists to see if Albom had undergone the same stringent reviews as other writers. She said the committee ?is reviewing whether we edit different people differently. ...

?We have a lot of columnists at the Free Press, and we want them to be edited vigorously,? she told E&P. ?I have heard from a lot of copy editors in recent weeks who have said they have always edited him vigorously. But we wanted to see if we edit some people too lightly.?

In a note to readers on Saturday, Hutton said Albom and four other unidentified employees had been disciplined for their part in the publication of Albom?s April 3 column, which had actually been written on April 1 and contained information about an event that had yet to occur on April 2.

But the editor?s note did not say how Albom had been punished, which other employees had been disciplined, or when his column would appear again. Hutton said Sunday that he was allowed to write as soon as today?s paper if he and editor Gene Myers chose to do so.

?He is cleared to have his column appear anytime,? Hutton said. ?That is not something I typically decide.? Myers could not be reached for comment Sunday.

With Albom?s last column appearing on April 7, and because has not been fired, the greatest punishment he'll receive is the two and a half weeks that he has not appeared in the paper. Hutton would not say even if that was paid or unpaid time off.

Hutton said Albom ordinarily writes a column on Sundays, which may or may not focus on sports, while writing sports columns during the week ?when he wants.? She added, ?There is nothing standing in the way of his column appearing in the paper,? she said.

The editor also declined to comment on any of Albom?s previous work or if other similar acts of dishonest writing or poor reporting were found in his past columns. ?This is strictly related to the April 3 column,? she said, declining to say if other columns had been reviewed.

Hutton?s editor?s note also indicated that a forthcoming story would be printed in the Free Press to further explain the incident, and that it ?will be published as soon as it is ready.? She would not elaborate on what the story might say, adding that she was not involved in its publication. ?I am not getting involved in the reporting of the story,? she told E&P. ?I would expect it would say more than my note.?