Nashville TV news reporter James Lewis recently ended a segment on an undercover prostitution sting by claiming that the Nashville police department arrested a McDonald's employee for selling a Big Mac to a hooker, thereby violating a law against "giving nutrition to a prostitute." Turns out Lewis was a victim of Google -- which he used to find the December 2004 Nashville Scene humor column in which the apocryphal anecdote was reported -- and his own credulity, which prevented him from recognizing obvious signs that the piece was a joke. Like, for instance, the fact that the column is called "The Fabricator." Lewis tells the Scene that it all worked out for the best since he wants to get into the real estate business anyway.

Continue ReadingTV Newsman Resigns After Reporting Alt-Weekly Fiction as Fact

Doug Clifton, editor of the Cleveland daily, recently admitted to keeping two stories "of profound importance" from readers. His contention: The stories, based on leaked documents, could ultimately force reporters to reveal sources or go to jail (see: Miller, Judith). This week, Scene broke one of those suppressed stories -- about the FBI's probe of former Cleveland Mayor Mike White -- in a cover story by Pete Kotz titled "City for Sale."

Continue ReadingCleveland’s Scene Goes Where the Plain Dealer Won’t

In the wake of an ad salesperson's arrest on charges of promoting prostitution, the Scene has suspended the personal adult services section of its classified pages. During the suspension, incoming publisher Chris Ferrell will thoroughly review the paper's procedures for running such ads. The decision was made after an undercover police investigation resulted in the arrest of Nels Noseworthy, the Scene's adult ad salesperson, office assistant and receptionist. The probe has its roots in a crackdown on prostitution that began in the late '90s, writes Scene reporter Matt Pulle.

Continue ReadingNashville Scene Suspends Adult Ads During Review