Publisher: We erred, and we’re sorry

We published a story in April we shouldn’t have. It was titled “Unfairlife: How Buckeye factory dairy farming can trigger bird flu pandemic,” in which we quoted an outside group's allegations of animal mistreatment at the Butterfield Dairy and Rainbow Valley Dairy. 

The story was previously reported by The Arizona Republic, among other media outlets, but an exclusive interview with an investigator prompted InBuckeye to address the issue. In hindsight, however, the story did not meet our editorial standards and should not have been published. It lacked attributions that should have accompanied much of the reporting. It should have validated the credentials of sources, who oftentimes have their own biases. And we made an insufficient effort to present the other side; when our primary and secondary sources opted not to comment, we should not have stopped pursuing information that would have helped our readers come to their own conclusions.  

It is our mission to tell readers about important, useful and interesting information that helps them navigate life in Buckeye, help businesses succeed and help the community evolve successfully. We intend to do so while maintaining our values of: 

1. Integrity 
2. Accountability 
3. Open, honest, real-time communication; and 
4. Prosperity for clients, community, company. 

The mistakes we made unwittingly jeopardized our journalistic integrity, and no one prospered as a result. And I sincerely apologize for it.  

Here are some changes made and in the works we trust will get – and keep – us on said path: 

1. We have replaced the story with this explanation as to why it was removed.
2. We have improved editorial oversight via our owners and longtime Valley columnist, editor and publisher Hal DeKeyser. You may even know Hal as he is a former chairman of WestMarc and the West Valley Arts Council, and he cofounded with me the original InBuckeye.com – the pre-Great Recession version. 
3. We are further limiting which members of the InBuckeye team have access to comment on our social media pages. 
4. We are refocusing on our mission, vision and values, and the hyperlocal niche that makes us InBuckeye. Our content will focus on community, business and other goings on within the city limits.   
5. We are creating an editorial advisory board to ensure we have diverse backgrounds, experiences and perspectives helping us identify the pulse of the community. (If you have an interest in participating, please email [email protected].)   

We aim to provide a service that helps Buckeye become a stronger, better informed and more connected community. We missed the mark with the aforementioned story, but, with your forgiveness and support, our local business will continue to improve along the way.