Wisconsin State Journal editors learned this week that six staff members signed petitions calling for the recall of Gov. Scott Walker.

Five of the six signed a petition on Nov. 15, 2011, the first day the documents were circulated, and just before an internal memo from State Journal editor John Smalley reminded staff members of the newspaper's policy against such activity, based on a long-standing code of ethics.

"We were surprised and disappointed," Smalley said of finding the staff members' names by searching a database of signatures at iverifytherecall.com. "We apologize to our readers for the lapse in judgment by several staff members."

Only one of the employees who signed a petition, chief photographer Steve Apps, is involved in news coverage. Three are imaging technicians who handle photo toning and graphics processing, and two are part-time sports clerks/writers.

Smalley said the newspaper considers signing a petition of any kind a violation of the company's ethics policy. A portion of the code reads: "Participation in public affairs or events that may leave the impression that news judgment is being influenced by activism is prohibited."