National Public Radio (NPR) issued an unusual formal retraction on Tuesday after publishing a false story that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. The article, written by veteran Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg, 82, was removed from NPR's website and replaced with an editor's note stating that Alito had not announced his retirement and that the story was retracted.
How the Error Occurred
NPR explained that Totenberg misheard a court announcement about upcoming retirements made by Chief Justice John Roberts. The nearly 1,200-word story cited a "court announcement" that Alito was retiring, but no such announcement had been made. Patricia McCabe, a spokesperson for the Supreme Court, told NBC News that "NPR's reporting regarding Justice Alito is inaccurate" and that "their reporting that there was any kind of court statement is inaccurate."
NPR's Response and Internal Investigation
NPR's top editor, Thomas Evans, characterized the erroneous publication as a "misunderstanding." He stated, "Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement. As soon as the error was realized, the story was retracted and removed from NPR's website and an on-air correction was broadcast. We regret the error and any confusion this may have caused."
NPR's public editor, Kelly McBride, a journalism ethics expert, published a clarification on Tuesday afternoon. She revealed that the error stemmed from Totenberg mishearing Roberts's announcement. McBride wrote: "NPR had the lengthy story about Alito's retirement already written, because that's what newsrooms do in anticipation of significant retirements and even deaths. Totenberg spoke with both her intern, who was at the court with her, and NPR executive editor Krishnadev Calamur, and told them what she heard. Calamur surfaced the story that NPR had previously prepared for the day Alito did announce his retirement and published it."
Totenberg's Apology
Totenberg appeared on NPR on Tuesday afternoon, calling the incident a "rookie mistake" and saying, "This is on me, and only me." She read from a letter she sent to Alito apologizing for the error: "It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years of journalism. I could go on, but I don't know what else to say, other than to say that I am so, so sorry." Totenberg said she had not heard back from Alito but added, "I didn't expect to hear back from him. It's my mistake. We in the press corps always want people to own up to their mistakes, and they most of the time don't. So I am not going to do that."
Evans, appearing on NPR's broadcast with Totenberg, said: "As editor in chief, I feel ultimate responsibility for anything that NPR is reporting."
Content of the Retracted Story
The retracted story was a detailed account of Alito's career, highlighting his role in overturning Roe v. Wade in 2022. It noted: "Throughout his tenure, he played a key role on the court, often leading the conservative charge, not just on abortion, but for expanded religious rights, against LGBTQ+ rights, against expanded voting rights, for the death penalty, against labor unions, and more." The article also drew historical parallels, stating: "In the history of the Supreme Court, the names of just a few justices are linked with a single very famous, or infamous, decision... And in our own times, Alito's name is indelibly linked with the court's opinion overturning a half century's worth of decisions declaring that women have a right to abortion."
The story also contained evidence of being a work in progress, including a typo in a quote from a Yale University law professor: "He 'took sown [sic] Roe versus Wade. So that's how he he [sic] will be forever remembered.'"
