DAMAGE REPORT
After the Chiquita Story

BY NICHOLAS BENDER

On May 3, 1998, Gannett's The Cincinnati Enquirer published an eighteen-page special section detailing the questionable business practices of Chiquita Brands International Inc. The articles were the result of more than a year of research by two Enquirer reporters, Mike Gallagher and Cameron McWhirter. On June 28 of the same year, the Enquirer published a six-column, page-one apology to Chiquita, effectively disowning the articles and condemning the reporting techniques of Gallagher, who had illegally accessed the voicemail of Chiquita executives. Since CJR last reported on these events (September/October 1998), the details of Gannett's $14 million settlement with Chiquita have been leaked, Gallagher has been sentenced, McWhirter has moved to another paper, the former Enquirer editor in chief Lawrence Beaupre is entangled in his own legal struggle with Gannett, and one important source has been revealed.

THE REPORTERS:

Mike Gallagher

In its published apology, the Enquirer announced that Gallagher had been "terminated" for "misconduct." On September 24, 1998, he pleaded guilty to one account of unlawful interception of communications and one account of unauthorized access to computer systems. This occurred during the criminal proceeding of State of Ohio v. Michael Brian Gallagher. During the legal proceedings, he avoided jail by cooperating in the prosecution of George Ventura, the former Chiquita lawyer who had provided the passwords allowing him to hear the voicemail of Chiquita executives. In exchange, Gallagher received five years probation, 200 hours of community service, and no jail time. Reportedly, he now lives in Connecticut. His lawyer was unavailable for comment.

Cameron McWhirter  

McWhirter, who was not accused of any wrongdoing, emerged from the debacle relatively unscathed. He works at another Gannett publication, The Detroit News, covering city hall.

THE EDITOR

Lawrence Beaupre

Following the Enquirer's published apology to Chiquita, the paper's former editor in chief took a corporate post at Gannett's headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. But in April, 2000, the company fired him after he filed a lawsuit against his employer, arguing, in effect, that Gannett had scapegoated him, "assigning [him] principal executive responsibility" for the series despite their own approval of it. It says that Philip Currie, the senior vice president/news, copy-edited each of the articles, and that Gary Watson, president of the newspaper division, was fully aware of the series as well. According to Beaupre, the misrepresentation placed blame for the series on his shoulders, damaging his credibility and his career. He is also suing Nickson, Peabody, the firm that represented Gannett in its negotiations with Chiquita, in which Gannett agreed to an apology and to pay Chiquita the reported $14 million. Both suits are still in the discovery process in the Superior Court, District of Columbia. Beaupre is currently employed as managing editor of Scranton's The Tribune and The Scranton Times.

THE SOURCE:

George Ventura

The once prominent lawyer whose job took him to exotic locales in Central and South America was revealed by Gallagher as the source who led him to Chiquita's voicemail. On June 30, 1999, Ventura pleaded "no contest" to four misdemeanor counts of attempted unauthorized access to computer systems and was sentenced to two years of unsupervised probation and forty hours of community service. He is suing the Enquirer and Gannett for breaking a promise of anonymity.

Nicholas Bender is an intern at CJR.