Business Journal Commits ?Major Media Gaff? (Outtakes Opinion)

Sheree Alt, a principal broker with Alexander, Merry-Ship & Alt Real Estate Group in Fayetteville, is the listing agent for David and Ellen Lewis’ neoclassic mansion at 1 Mt. Nord St. in Fayetteville.

On Sept. 16, the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal reported that Lindsey & Associates Inc. in Fayetteville had the listing. That’s because we found the $1.95 million property through Lindsey’s Web site, which, like nearly all real estate sites, is linked to the local multiple listing service. While talking to David Lewis about the property, we mentioned seeing the 5,456-SF house on Lindsey’s site and heard no mention of any other listing agent.

At any rate, we erred in not finding out that Alexander, Merry-Ship & Alt was the listing agent of record. We offered to correct the error as we would normally do in our highest-profile column, “Whispers.” But Alt said the correction belongs “on the back page with the other major media gaffs.”

We routinely make as much fun of ourselves as we do other publications in “Outtakes,” even when that means pointing out what most would consider a minor mistake. We usually limit our criticism of others to obvious major gaffs — such as those involving publication policy, ethics, news judgment and the misreporting of “important” information.