As a former Daily Collegian reporter and columnist, I feel the need once again to lamentably point out the inaccuracies plaguing one of the most prominent standouts on my résumé. Last Tuesday, Kathleen Haughney wrote a story citing problems with some of the biggest news organizations in the country ("Journalistic credibility sparks local reaction," March 30). It seems as though no one at the Collegian pointed the finger inward to address some serious reporting discrepancies at their own paper. During my stint as a journalism student at Penn State, Russell Frank, my Newswriting (COMM 260W) professor, said people will pick out your errors and say, "If they can't get a small thing like a name right, how am I supposed to believe what they are telling me?"

Sure enough, in the March 26 edition of the Collegian, Brent Burkey and Shaun Parcels reported the judge that postponed the trial of Christopher and Jason Rosengrant was District Justice Jonathan Grine. It was actually Judge David Grine. Also, the Collegian refers to the Rosengrants as bouncers. In fact, neither are "bouncers." Christopher Rosengrant is the bar manager and Jason Rosengrant is the night shift supervisor. No one reporting on this story to this day has referred to either of the Rosengrants using their proper job descriptions. It seems like the
actual titles are forsaken because "bouncers" offers a more convenient headline.

This brings me to my question: If the Collegian can't get these facts straight, what other errors has it made while reporting on the Salvador Peter Serrano case?

From one Collegian alumnus to the current staff: Please make sure you are thorough in your reporting. Otherwise, you lose the most important man in your corner: your credibility.