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Today we published an article about an episode of racist behavior by Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring. In doing so, our initial story, headline, tweet and alert used a phrase that wasn't appropriate. As politics editor, I want to share what happened nyti.ms/2DVLogd?smid=n…
The initial coverage was based on Herring's statement that in 1980, he put on "brown makeup" and a wig to try to dress as the rapper Kurtis Blow while an undergraduate at UVA. We relied on Herring's quote to inform our initial language; we used the phrase dark makeup in our story
The coverage should have said blackface; once we realized this, we made the change. It was never my intent to hide the change we were making. This was a breaking news story, and the headlines and text in breaking news stories are often revised and updated.
Our reporters are focused on obtaining accurate and timely information, and they are doing a great job. We updated our coverage to say blackface because blackface was the best word to convey the behavior and carried the appropriate connotations.
If you have any comments or feedback, please email me at pdh@nytimes.com. nyti.ms/2DVLogd?smid=n…
