Letter from the Editor: Corrections and an apology

One of the primary functions of a news publication is to ensure that leaders in society are held accountable, and this holds true at both the professional and student levels.

From presidential elections to student-government debates, editors of newspapers such as The Pitt News seek to ensure readers are armed with the knowledge they need to serve as active members in a community.

Thus, when a newspaper’s editors make mistakes — be they minor or large — they are obligated to disclose them to their readership.

On March 26, The Pitt News published an article entitled “Crisis at the Zoo: Students question Pete seats,” which attempted to explain why the Oakland Zoo, the Pitt basketball team’s student section, isn’t prominently featured in television broadcasts of games.

Throughout the article, the reporter featured the comments of Greg Hotchkiss, the men’s basketball team’s director of media relations. Hotchkiss sought to provide insight into the rationale behind the Athletic Department’s decision to position the Oakland Zoo on the same side of the court as the main television cameras at the Petersen Events Center, thereby limiting the amount of time the Zoo is featured in a game broadcast.

Unfortunately, the article misquoted Hotchkiss on multiple occasions and portrayed him as overly critical of the Petersen Events Center and the athletic department.

In the third paragraph of the article, The Pitt News reported Hotchkiss said, “If I had been here when they designed the Pete, I would have told them not to do it this way. The building was designed pretty poorly.”

Not only did Hotchkiss never refer to the building as “The Pete,” a colloquial name for the Petersen Events Center, he also never said the building was designed poorly.

Though Hotchkiss did say the first half of the quote, it lacks context, considering Hotchkiss told the reporter before that the Oakland Zoo, created in 2001, was in its infancy with a membership of only 50 students, making it a minor factor in the building’s design.

Hotchkiss also emphasized to the reporter that the placement of luxury boxes on the sideline opposite the Oakland Zoo is the primary reason behind the arena’s design, and that 95 percent of arenas in the United States have the same setup.

In the sixth paragraph, The Pitt News reports that Hotchkiss “acknowledged that fixing the problem would come at a huge expense.” Hotchkiss never considered the positioning of the Oakland Zoo to be a problem, as it was described in the article. This, therefore, is also inaccurate.

In the following paragraph, Hotchkiss is quoted as saying, “At the time they built the Pete, there was no Oakland Zoo, also.” This was a misquotation and, as previously noted, students established the Oakland Zoo in 2001, while the men’s basketball team still played home games at the Fitzgerald Field House.

In the 10th paragraph of the story, The Pitt News reported the Fitzgerald Field House seats about 4,000 people. This was incorrect. Hotchkiss told the reporter it seats 6,000.

Two paragraphs later, The Pitt News reported that Hotchkiss said, “Because they barely sold out the Field House, the rationale was: ‘Why build seats for nobody to sit in?’” This was a misquotation. Hotchkiss told the reporter the Fitzgerald Field House sold out a majority of the games played there in its final season and upon moving to the Petersen Events Center during the 2002-2003 academic year, sellouts continued despite roughly a doubling in seating.

Later in the story, The Pitt News reported that Hotchkiss said, “Because the demand is so high for season tickets, we can basically do whatever we want with licenses and distribution.” This was a misquotation.

Finally, two paragraphs later, The Pitt News reported that Hotchkiss said, “Pitt is not the only school with arena issues.” At no point during the interview with the reporter did Hotchkiss mention issues of any kind concerning the Petersen Events Center.

The Pitt News failed to report other details disclosed by Hotchkiss during the interview, including that the athletic department often pays networks that broadcast games, such as ESPN, to place cameras that rotate 360 degrees on top of the backboard to show the Oakland Zoo. He also disclosed that in 2009, the athletic department commissioned a survey with a number of television experts to determine whether a redesign was necessary to improve the broadcast. Parties involved in the survey determined no changes were necessary.

Because of the number of errors committed throughout the article, which portrayed Hotchkiss in a negative light, The Pitt News apologizes to him. He has always served as a valuable resource, and we hope that we can maintain a healthy professional relationship with him for years to come. As editor-in-chief of the newspaper, I accept full blame for the errors and assure all readers that I’m working closely with the editorial staff to address these issues so they don’t occur in the future.

Sincerely,

Patrick McAteer

The Pitt News Editor-in-Chief