BY JOHN NOLAN
The Associated Press
The Chiquita fruit company accepted an apology and retraction Sunday of a series of newspaper stories questioning its business practices, and also received an unusual $10 million settlement.
The Cincinnati Enquirer said its front-page apology to Chiquita Brands International Inc. was necessary because the lead reporter on the series unethically obtained the supporting information.
Chiquita had not sued the newspaper but had insisted ever since the stories were published in a May 3 special section that they were wrong, without going into detail about what facts were in question. In an interview, Enquirer Publisher Harry M. Whipple declined to discuss what material in the articles the newspaper believes to be factual or wrong.
Instead, Mr. Whipple and Editor Lawrence K. Beaupre focused their apology on the actions of the lead reporter, Mike Gallagher, whom they fired Friday.
The Enquirer's management concluded that Mr. Gallagher may have stolen Chiquita voice mail tapes on which the stories were based, and did not reveal that to his editors, Mr. Whipple said.
"The end product, our section, has been tainted by the unethical and illegal means that an individual used to gather the voice mail," Mr. Whipple said.
"Breaking the law, violating any of the common journalistic standards, lying to one's employer, certainly has no place at the Enquirer. As a result, we were unable to stand behind information gathered in violation of those basic principles.
"The voice mail tapes were gathered improperly, in violation of the standards and practices of this newspaper," Mr. Whipple said.
An expert on media ethics was not surprised by the newspaper's decision.
"This is just another indication of the heightened concern about credibility and ethical standards at news organizations. This is a very forceful move by a news organization to clarify what it clearly sees as a major ethical lapse," said Bill Kovach, a former editor with the New York Times and the Atlanta Journal and Constitution, who is now curator of journalism fellowships at Harvard University.
In settling any claims against it, the Enquirer agreed to publish an apology prominently on its front page for three days and post the apology on its Web site.
The newspaper is investigating to determine whether other members of its staff acted improperly in handling the Chiquita reporting. Mr. Whipple said Sunday he had no indication that anyone other than Mr. Gallagher was involved in anything questionable. The Hamilton County sheriff is investigating whether Chiquita property was stolen, and a judge has appointed Cincinnati lawyer Perry Ancona as special prosecutor to investigate. Mr. Ancona did not return a call to his home Sunday.
Mr. Gallagher, contacted at his home, declined to comment Sunday. He referred queries to his attorney Patrick J. Hanley of Covington. Mr. Hanley did not return a message left on his office answering machine.
The May 3 reporting suggested that Cincinnati-based Chiquita engaged in improper business practices to skirt foreign laws that could restrict its banana plantations and land ownership overseas. Chiquita repeatedly denied those allegations and accused the Enquirer of stealing the company's voice mail messages.
Carl Lindner, a Cincinnati business leader known as a generous campaign contributor to politicians, is chairman and chief executive officer of Chiquita. Supporters of Mr. Lindner and Chiquita have criticized the Enquirer's reporting about the company.
Chiquita's management said Sunday it accepts the Enquirer's apology and is pleased the newspaper has disavowed the articles and the manner in which they were prepared.
"As we have said all along, the articles were highly inaccurate and conveyed a false and unfair impression about our company, our associates and the way we do business," Chiquita said in its statement.
