Following a Colorado Media Matters item, Fort Collins Now corrected inaccurate Martinez article

Following a September 4 Colorado Media Matters item pointing out the uncritical reporting in an article about former Fort Collins Mayor Ray Martinez published in the Greeley Tribune, the Tribune's sister publication, Fort Collins Now, published a correction on September 10 noting the article's inaccuracies. The article -- published online by Fort Collins Now on August 31 and in the Tribune on September 3 -- reported Martinez's purported assertion in his book Baby Boy-R (iUniverse Inc., August 2007) that Democratic Gov. Bill Ritter “change[d] his position to allow abortion and supporting funding for programs such as Planned Parenthood.”

However, according to the Fort Collins Now correction, “In the article 'Baby Boy-R Finds His Family' in the Sept. 1 issue of Fort Collins Now, it was inaccurately reported that in one of the book's chapters, Ray Martinez criticized Gov. Bill Ritter for changing his position to allow abortion and supporting funding for programs such as Planned Parenthood.” The correction further noted:

The article should have stated that a story by the president of Colorado Family Action reprinted in the chapter was critcal of the governor's plans to restore some funding to Planned Parenthood which had been eliminated under previous administrations. Martinez writes that after reading the article, he was “unquestionably disappointed.” Also, Ritter has publicly stated his personal oppostion to abortion and has not changed his position about his intentions on the matter as governor.

On September 5, Martinez similarly responded to Colorado Media Matters regarding the September 4 item by asserting that the article and the reporter did not accurately convey his remarks. Martinez explained, “The [newspaper] story doesn't have it correctly,” and later stated:

If a reporter is going to do a book review, they should read the book and quote accurately what I said, without sensationalizing. I don't have any reason to criticize Governor Ritter. That's why I wrote the chapter, “Politics gets in the Way” ... I would appreciate it if the media told “the rest of the story.”