Monday, July 7, 2003
Updated: July 8, 4:36 PM ET
Editor loses job over 'Caddyshack' embellishment
Associated Press
ROSWELL, N.M. -- The sports editor of the Roswell Daily
Record has been fired for fabricating part of a news story about a
golf tournament in which he quoted a fictional character from the
movie "Caddyshack."
Gregory M. Jones was dismissed by the Daily Record on June 17,
the day after his article about a Father's Day golf tournament at
the Roswell Country Club appeared on the sports page, editor Mike
Bush said.
"He got a bunch of scores and wanted to make it more
interesting," Bush said Thursday. He said he did not know if Jones
attended the tournament.
He said the newspaper insists on accuracy and objectivity and
"we don't tolerate anything less than that."
Jones, 24, said he was shocked by his firing and did not intend
to deceive his editors or readers.
"It was tongue-in-cheek. It was sports. I was trying to be
light and breezy. I was trying to put out a story that people might
like to read," he said in a telephone interview.
Jones was hired in July 2002 as a reporter, was promoted to
state-business editor in November and became sports editor in
April.
Bush said the story contained three fictitious paragraphs
referring to a "Carl Spangler" who claimed to work at the course. In
"Caddyshack," Bill Murray played a golf course worker named Carl
Spackler.
Jones quoted "Spangler" as saying he invented a new kind of grass
for the tournament. The quotation in Jones' story is taken directly
from "Caddyshack."
" 'This is a hybrid ... of bluegrass, Kentucky bluegrass,
featherbed bent and northern California sensemilia (sic),' " Spangler
said. " 'The amazing stuff about this, is that you can play 36 holes
on it in the afternoon, take it home and just get stoned to the
bejeezus-belt that night on the stuff.' "
Bush said the Daily Record received "a couple of complaints"
about the story. The newspaper ran a correction.
