STEPS WE'LL TAKE TO MAKE SURE IT DOESN'T HAPPEN AGAIN

The painkiller OxyContin has caused little but pain in the Orlando Sentinel
newsroom in recent weeks.

Since finally coming to the realization, and acknowledging to readers Feb.
1, that its series of articles about the drug last October was flawed, the
newspaper has conducted a rigorous examination to plug the gaps in that
months-long investigative project.

The result appears on the front of this section. It reveals not only far
more relevant details about some of the individuals portrayed but also
significant systemic problems at the Sentinel.

For this process to have lasting benefit, though, the newspaper must address
and correct those problems. Recognizing that need, Managing Editor Elaine
Kramer, working with some key editors, developed a multipoint plan of action
that will require:

More emphasis on background checks.

Doris Bloodsworth, who reported the OxyContin series, said she examined, or
asked Sentinel researchers to examine, nearly a dozen databases for
information about her subject David Rokisky, in addition to conducting
numerous interviews. Still, because she performed one key search improperly
and no one noticed that another search didn't include federal courts in New
Mexico, where Rokisky used to live, his guilty plea to conspiring to
distribute cocaine didn't surface. Neither did other less-than-flattering
aspects of his background. That resulted in an incomplete picture of a man
the Sentinel portrayed as a sympathetic figure. Now the newspaper will
initiate renewed training in performing background checks.

Better tracking of research.

Because newsroom requests for help with research historically have been made
in conversations or by electronic mail, which eventually is purged from the
Sentinel's computer system, determining who asked for what -- and what was
searched -- can be difficult, if not impossible, months later. Now reporters
and editors requesting research will fill out a form designed to prompt
discussions and provide a permanent record.

Greater focus and resources for projects.

Despite concerns that complex problems often require more than one reporter,
editors burdened with other news -- such as the in-flight disintegration of
the space shuttle Columbia and the United States' invasion of Iraq -- were
unable to provide that additional help. Similarly, despite the project's
complexity, an editor who also oversaw several other reporters covering
unrelated subjects took charge of the investigation. Now senior editors will
weigh more carefully the resources needed for such projects.

Handling projects separately.

Ideally such investigations receive special handling by the Sentinel's
projects division, a small group of experienced reporters answering to a
senior editor. That formula can be replicated in another part of the
newsroom -- but only if both the reporter and editor involved can work
without having to attend to daily breaking news or other assignments.

Thorough communication.

Next to incomplete research, the OxyContin investigative team suffered most
from extremely poor communication within the Sentinel newsroom. People who
attended the same meetings or took part in the same discussions left with
different impressions of what they had heard. Several times key information
bypassed senior editors. At one point, Kramer misspoke in an interview with
another newspaper about what the Sentinel had known and when, because she
had not been kept in the loop. Now the primary editor on any project will
have responsibility for keeping key senior editors fully informed about
significant details.

Fast action on feedback.

Purdue Pharma, OxyContin's manufacturer, complained about elements of the
five-day series while it was running, in October, but the Sentinel took more
than three months to acknowledge those problems in print. That's far too
long. Now such feedback must go not only to the reporter and editor involved
but also to me -- and we all will be on the clock to solve whatever problems
may exist as quickly as possible.

The review of both the OxyContin series and the Sentinel's procedures for
handling large investigative projects will continue. That may lead to
additional corrective measures.

In the end, OxyContin may prove to have some therapeutic value to the
Sentinel, after all.