Media: a journalist recognizes an "unforgivable fault"

Unforgivable fault, the title of Denis Clerc's latest column for Economic Alternatives.

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Text by: RFI Follow

1 min

A journalist admits having committed an "

", as he writes himself, and draws the consequences.

Denis Clerc, columnist for the monthly

, has decided to stop writing his monthly column, believing he has lost all credibility after seeing several errors in the last edition in January.

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At the start, there is the auction of a barrel of wine, a grand cru from Burgundy, the proceeds of which must be donated in equal parts to the Institut Curie, which fights against cancer, and to Solidarité Femmes, which fights violence against women.

Amount of the sale: 800,000 euros. 

There is then a donation of 5,774 euros to each of the two organizations.

Two separate actions reported in two articles in the local press.

Except that the distinction escapes Denis Clerc, columnist for

, who makes a first error of assessment, thinking that the two operations are one and that this sale has brought in a lot to the seller, the prestigious Hospices de Beaune, and very little to the two associations.

The columnist did not fail to make fun of a charity sale that he considered very uncharitable.

But as Denis Clerc nicely writes, “ 

 ”.

Each of the two associations would receive 400,000 euros from the sale, to which were added donations of 5,774 euros.

And this error, Denis Clerc could have avoided it, he says, by checking his sources with a simple phone call to the director of Solidarité Femmes, whom he knew.

He did not do so and evokes " 

 ". 

Not looking for an excuse, the journalist therefore chose to stop his column, in this magazine which he launched more than 40 years ago.

#ASIalu Yesterday, the founder of @AlterEco_, Denis Clerc, announced in his weekly column that it would be his last.

Why ?

He had made a significant and damaging factual error in the previous column, he explains.https://t.co/tW1XMI1a6j

— Stop on Images (@arretsurimages) January 25, 2022

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