Bacon's Rebellion

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The Biggest Screw-Up in the History of Bacon’s Rebellion

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by

James A. Bacon
in

A monster apology to readers as well as to everyone in Virginia’s higher ed industry. I have screwed up with the publishing system of this blog, but never before on the scale and magnitude of the disaster that befell Bacon’s Rebellion this week. I have taken down all four articles in the four-part series on the 2005 Restructuring Act

It should be evident to everyone that some of the articles were incomplete. Even if they didn’t look incomplete, I had not fact-checked them or double-checked with key sources, as I had promised. What appeared on Bacon’s Rebellion was a rough working draft that I fully intended to modify as I incorporated feedback from sources.

Hoping to publish the articles this week while I was on vacation, I scheduled them for auto-posting, one per day. Last Friday, I concluded that the series was in no condition to publish. However, with everything going on in my family life, I neglected to amend the publication schedule. The articles auto-published one by one while I was gone. Because I had no Internet access, I did not realize what had happened until I arrived home today.

I will continue to conduct my fact- and quote checking — if anyone is still taking to me — and I will republish the articles when they are ready. When that will be, who knows? I got a three-day jury summons for next week. When it rains it pours.

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Comments

9 responses to “The Biggest Screw-Up in the History of Bacon’s Rebellion”

  1. Andrew Roesell Avatar
    Andrew Roesell

    Dear Jim,

    We’ll let you off easy this time. Enjoy your vacation and jury duty! ;-))<

    Sincerely,

    Andrew

  2. Andrew Roesell Avatar
    Andrew Roesell

    (Oh, and if I might add somewhat parenthetically: This being the Virginia part of cyberspace, perhaps we should erect a monument in honor of this historic event?)

  3. Reed Fawell 3rd Avatar
    Reed Fawell 3rd

    Jim –

    Even in their incomplete and unfinished state, those four articles were highly informative, giving the reader a fresh perspective on the subject, and far more to work with and consider, than readers typically find elsewhere. Hence the numerous compliments on those four articles from readers.

    I look forward to the final versions, and having to opportunity then to join in the commentary.

    Reed

    1. Acbar Avatar
      Acbar

      Ditto!

  4. TooManyTaxes Avatar
    TooManyTaxes

    Jim – I admire your integrity in calling out your own mistake. It’s something that rarely happens in the media and this is part of the media. It’s also a good lesson for all of us in our lives and business dealings.

  5. Acbar Avatar
    Acbar

    I second AR’s suggestion that we erect a cyber monument to this event. Since the occasion has nothing to do with our recent war to preserve slavery, perhaps a memorial to it would be allowed to remain in place for long enough to read it.

  6. Steve Haner Avatar
    Steve Haner

    I am taken back 35 years and I see you being summoned to Frosty’s office, and we all watch from the newsroom, snickering and thinking: boy is he gonna get it! Glad I didn’t do that! (Of course in those days there were these people called Copy Editors who noticed that a story had gaps or facts needed checking. Indications are fewer of them are now employed at newspapers…)

    Admission – I’ve been so riveted to the political news I didn’t read them that closely…..will await the final versions.

  7. Lift Avatar
    Lift

    Never underestimate the power of grief.

  8. Izzo Avatar
    Izzo

    Fact checking in reporting and commentary. Now there’s a concept!

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