A note from the editor of the Houston Chronicle

In these challenging times for our country, with journalism and journalists often under attack, trust between a newspaper and its readers is absolutely essential.

We spend our days trying to ferret out the truth on school quality, taxes, development, the root causes of flooding, or why, as we reported Sunday, Houston is the deadliest city in America for driving.

We ask that you trust us that we've done everything we can to ensure what we've told you is fair and accurate. For that reason, I want to be completely transparent with readers and tell you that we have launched an investigation into the work of one of our own reporters.

UPDATE: Following investigation, Houston Chronicle retracts eight stories

Recently, another Houston Chronicle journalist flagged me with questions about the accuracy of a story written by veteran Austin reporter Mike Ward. Ward joined the Chronicle in 2014 after a long career with the Austin American-Statesman. Specifically, questions were raised about whether individuals quoted in one of his stories were real people.

Our own researchers, after an initial review, had difficulty finding a number of sources cited in Ward's most recent reports.

Ward has insisted that his work was truthful, that his work involved real people, and that we would eventually find the individuals behind his "man-on-the-street" interviews. However, given the questions this review raised, he offered to resign and I accepted that resignation last week. If we were in another business, that might be enough.

UPDATE: A note from the editor of the Houston Chronicle

As a journalism organization, we owe the public more. We owe our readers the truth and to tell you if, in fact, there were inaccuracies in anything we published. We simply do not know the full story yet.

To help us ferret this out, we have hired an independent, highly respected journalist to review Ward's work for the last year, or further, if necessary, and determine whether any reporting transgressions occurred. We have given that journalist full access to our archives and promised access to our editors as well. Investigative work takes time, and it can be tedious. Tracking down and verifying sources, especially across a year or more of work, requires significant legwork.

And above all else, we need to be fair -- to Ward, to our readers, and to other journalists concerned about their own reputations.

When this investigation is complete, we will publish a full accounting of our findings.

We owe our readers nothing less.



Nancy Barnes

Executive Editor