No one connected with the story seemed to grasp that this was a fundamental breach of ethics. That readers had not been informed about the author's connection to the story seemed not to register on their radar screen. USA Today did a bit better, but no much, in acknowledging error. The activist, a former singer named CaShears, was stunned when he saw the photo used to hype a story on anger among L.A. gangs. Finally, under pressure from CaShears and the young men, who assailed the paper at a news conference and threatened to sue, USA Today gave its readers an explanation thirteen days after the staged photograph was published.
Some stories are simply too good to check.
The only problem is that it wasn't true. It turned out that three other motorists had helped pursue the alleged rapist, and traffic had simply stalled behind their abandoned cars. But the Post never bothered to run a follow-up story. We just sort of used it as a metaphor. . . . To be fair, some news organizations are quick to face the music.