Houston Chronicle reporter accused of faking
HOUSTON — An Austin-based Houston Chronicle reporter has resigned after questions arose about the existence of persons quoted in one of his stories.
Austin bureau chief Mike Ward had been with the Chronicle since 2014 after a long career with the American-Statesman.
In a statement posted Monday on the Chronicle’s website, Executive Editor Nancy Barnes wrote that another Chronicle reporter raised questions about whether people quoted in one of Ward’s stories existed.
Barnes wrote that an initial review of Ward’s recent articles found it difficult to verify a number of his sources.
Ward had worked at the Statesman for 25 years, until March 2014. Although no one has questioned his sourcing during the time he was at the Austin paper, Statesman Editor Debbie Hiott said the newspaper is reviewing his most recent work for the paper and will go further back depending on what is found.
His bio on the Chronicle’s website said Ward coordinated the Chronicle’s Austin reporting staff and reported on state politics, criminal justice and ethics. Ward did not immediately return messages from the Statesman seeking comment Tuesday, but Barnes wrote that Ward told her his work was truthful.
And in a tweet Tuesday, Ward wrote that support from “colleagues, friends and people I have covered, who know my longstanding reputation for fairness and accuracy, is gratifying and appreciated. Your faith in me is justified. I stand by my work.”
The Chronicle has hired an independent journalist to further review Ward’s work, Barnes wrote. “When this investigation is complete, we will publish a full accounting of our findings.”