I stand by Enquirer reporting in Henry story

I assure Enquirer readers that our reporters on the Chris Henry drug test story this week were careful and deliberate in our reporting. We threw nets wide and far for all possible sources connected to the story. We worked hard to get sources on the record. We asked for documents at every turn.

In fact, I got a tip on the story last Friday night and discussed it with my editor. We were uncomfortable going with it until we had final reports back, and if the final reports were negative, which they proved to be, we would not have written a word about it.

Only after the Kenton County Attorney went public Monday morning to other media with a "positive" test result did we spring into action.

Yes, I made an error in my reporting, and a correction ran this morning in the Enquirer Section.

Robert Lotz, Henry's attorney, pointed it out to me Wednesday: Henry is on probation in Kenton County for allowing minors to drink in his hotel room, not for providing alcohol to minors. There is a legal difference. I apologized to Mr. Lotz for the error and worked with our technical support people on our Web site to correct the reference in every story possible. Then the correction was published this morning.

That error is my only regret in our coverage, and it was mine. We had no agenda in our reporting other than to find out the truth. I have some extremely talented and dedicated colleagues in our Northern Kentucky bureau and in our Sports department. It goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: I am proud to be part of that team.

In this day of 30-second news cycles, I re-learned some basic lessons: The least and most I owe sources and readers is accuracy and fairness. At the other end of every story is another human being.