Tampa Tribune apologizes for big mistake

Newspaper accidentally ran story that Lightning lost

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updated 11:42 a.m. ET June 8, 2004

TAMPA, Fla. - The Tampa Tribune apologized to its readers and the Tampa Bay Lightning Tuesday after mistakenly running an editorial saying the hockey team had lost Game 7 of the Stanley Cup finals.

Publisher Gil Thelen said it was unclear how the mistake was made Monday night as the newspaper rushed to press following the Lightning’s 2-1 victory over the Calgary Flames in Game 7.

The Tribune had prepared two editorials — one for a win and one for a loss. But despite placing the correct editorial in its computerized page-making system, the one prepared for a loss appeared in the newspaper’s 275,000 copies.

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Thelen and Tribune Editor Frank Denton said the newspaper was investigating the error to make sure it doesn’t happen again.

Editorial Page Editor Rosemary Goudreau issued a statement on the newspaper’s affiliated Web site, TBO.com, telling readers “We took a puck in the gut this morning.”

The incorrect editorial that appeared in the paper opened, “The Tampa Bay Lightning didn’t win the National Hockey League’s Stanley Cup last night. But the team had a championship season nevertheless.”

The correct editorial, which didn’t get in the paper, lauded the Lightning and credited the team for generating pride and excitement in the community.

A similar mistake happened to the New York Post last October when early editions of the paper carried an editorial bemoaning the Yankees’ loss to the Boston Red Sox in the American League playoffs. But the Yankees had staged a late rally to tie Game 7 and then won in extra innings.