Northwest Handmade deserved to be treated as neighbors

It was an apology. It was a Page 1 correction. It was by the book. It was a mistake.

Last week in this space I mentioned that Northwest Handmade was closing. Because of incorrect information I was given, it was actually Bearweare Graphics, Northwest's neighbor, that was shuttering its doors.

It was my fault for not double-checking the information I received, especially when the news concerned a local business that has earned a reputation for producing and selling quality merchandise while at the same time supporting nearly every local fundraiser who walks through the front door.

No excuses. I got it wrong and I am sorry. Now I am trying to figure out how to stop a mistake like this from happening - especially when this gaffe was something I always warn our new reporters to avoid.

"Always call the phone number in every story you write and if you have a question about any story, ask a local." That's the mantra. Seems pretty simple.

What made it worse in my mind was how I handled the mistake. I handled it like a newspaperman - not a neighbor, not a small businessman, not a community leader, not the guy who preaches shop at home or coined the term "Santa-Point, Idaho-ho-ho" - but more like a big city newspaperman who hides behind a small correction buried in a paper.

We did print an immediate retraction in the next newspaper and made room for a letter from Dan Mimmack to run as soon as he sent it in.

Unfortunately, I wasn't around to follow up. I was at a conference in Philadelphia.

What I left behind were two business owners who were being stopped on the street, called by employees and facing a steady stream of people, some of whom actually had enough courage to ask if they were closing. The rumors were flying fast and furious even after the correction ran.

Instead of running a business, the Mimmacks were distracted by my mistake.

As soon as I returned to town, the first call I made was to the Mimmacks. We had a meeting at the Bee.

While it was uncomfortable to hear what had happened to Dan and Pam Mimmack in the wake of this error, the more unsettling feeling in my stomach was how weak my response was.

"We had employees who thought they were out of a job," Dan said. "We are a solid company but if this would have happened to a business that is barely making it, this would have pushed them over the edge."

The Mimmacks also heard from a few of our competitors who offered to do stories about my mistake. They also heard from a lawyer who was more than happy to take up any potential libel suit they might consider.

"That's not us and that is not what we are about," Pam said.

"We just wanted you to be reminded about how important it is for you to get it right and that people trust you. Most of all, we want you to find a way to guarantee that this won't happen again to anyone else."

The Mimmacks are right, they deserved better from the publisher of the paper they rely on to stay informed on all things local.

My promise is that I will do my best to see that it doesn't happen again. The Mimmacks deserve it … and so do you.

That's what a neighbor and partner would do.

David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.