In an October 7 article published on CollectionIndustry.com, we told the story of a collection agency owner who was the target of a nasty inaccuracy, or intential misrepresentation, concerning donations to politcal groups and candidates. Jim Tracey, owner of Diversified Collection Service (DCS), called for an immediate retraction and apology from the Associated Press as well as ANG Newspapers, publishers of several papers in the California Bay-area. Both organizations finally issued the retraction. In a correction dated October 10, the Associated Press said the following:
In a Sept. 11 story about campaign contributions to California governor recall candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Associated Press reported erroneously that Diversified Collection Services Inc. is under investigation for violating a Texas prohibition on corporate donations. The company gave $50,000 through House Majority Leader Tom DeLay’s Texans for a Republican Majority toward a successful effort to win GOP control of the Texas House.
On Wednesday, Greg Cox of the Travis County, Texas, Public Integrity Unit, said the investigation is looking into what the political action committee did with the corporate money after it was received. Cox said the corporate donors such as Diversified Collection Services are not, and have not been, the target of the investigation.
A similar retraction ran in ANG newspapers the same day.
In notifying CollectionIndustry.com of the retraction letter, DCS Chief Operating Officer Jon Shaver also sent a message of thanks: “I want to personally thank you for the consideration and professionalism that you showed in your reporting of this matter. As you well know, sensationalism and inaccuracy in the media is often politically motivated and offered at the expense of the truth. Your honest, truth-seeking approach to this matter is something all of us at DCS appreciate and thank you for.”
