Two days after Lee Morgan’s historical marker was unveiled, The Philadelphia Inquirer published this demeaning and defamatory headline.
Writing for The Inquirer, Shaun Brady dug up fake news that Lee Morgan’s gravesite had “vanished” and a white fan “unearthed” it. Even if the claim were true, why did Brady and his editor, Bedatri Choudhury, devote coverage of the dedication ceremony to “news” first reported by NPR in 2022?
Shaun did not interview Lee’s family members. In an email, Choudhury wrote, “In retrospect, he should’ve spoken to Mr. Morgan’s family.”
Lee is buried alongside his father, Otto Morgan. There was a callous disregard for the emotional distress and harm the false claim would inflict on Lee’s family.
After I complained that Brady’s “different angle” portrayed the family in a false light, the headline was changed.
An Update was added at the end of the article: “This story has been updated to clarify that the grave of Lee Morgan was never lost, but simply covered over.”
The Update begs the question: If Lee’s gravesite was never lost, what was the point of Brady’s story? Nine of the 17 paragraphs are about the “discovery” and the “discoverer.” Lee Morgan played second fiddle to a random white man.
The headline was changed but the damage had already been done. The body of the story will live forever on the Internet.
While the family explores their options, I want The Inquirer’s journalistic negligence to become a case study about the importance of fact-checking and editing.
