The mysterious Heywood James
Interesting correction in today's Globe (scroll down):
Because the subject of an interview provided misleading
information, a man quoted in a Page One story Tuesday about employees
who telecommuted during Monday's snowstorm was incorrectly identified
as Heywood James, 41, of Needham, and an employee of Fidelity
Investments. Fidelity has no employee by that name.
In case you missed it, here's what the Globe originally said about how "Heywood James" spent his Monday:
Waking up yesterday to snowdrifts nearly a foot high at his home in
Needham, James decided it wasn't worth the time and effort to get to
his office in downtown Boston. He looked forward to fewer interruptions
from colleagues and had an idyllic notion of more time with the
children.
His plan to do financial modeling and field customer
calls was working fine until about 10 a.m., when a snow-laden branch
outside his house snapped, taking his cable, phone, and Internet
connection down as well.
"There was nothing I could do but go to
work," said James, 41, of Fidelity Investments, where only about 10
percent of the colleagues in his division were in the office.
So: Heywood James doesn't work at Fidelity. But does he exist, period? Did the Globe hear from an actual Fidelity employee who used an alias? Or a real guy named Heywood James who lied about his employer? Or just someone who made up a bunch of stuff for the hell of it? (By the way, the snapping branch was a great touch.)
This could become a case study in the perils of "open-source reporting," since the Globe had a Contact-us-if-you're-telecommuting message posted at Boston.com. during the storm. I'm still trying to get a fuller explanation from the Globe; if I do, I'll update this post.
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