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New Standard Corrects Stednitz Quote In Michelle Chen Article
May 22, 2007, 13:03

March 30, 2007

Larry Stednitz, an affiliate of Woodbury Reports Inc. reported he received a reply from the publication correcting the article he had complained to about a misuse of his name and comments in an article written by Michelle Chen in 2005. The New Standard is an online news organization that is independent and non-profit, based in Syracuse, New York.

The article in question was published on Nov. 21, 2005 titled "At Some Youth 'Treatment' Facilities, 'Tough Love' Takes Brutal Forms." It was a critical piece featuring Mission Mountain School in Montana and other private schools and programs as unregulated, harsh, punishment oriented work regimes contributing to stories of "horrific experiences reported by young people…." The comments attributed to Larry Stednitz in this article would lead the reader to conclude that Larry Stednitz approved of these harsh practices, which was unfair and inaccurate, thus the reason for his complaint.

After the publication had a chance to review his complaint, they sent him the following comment, which they also added to the article.

A source in this 2005 article wrote us recently to complain that a quote and paraphrase representing him were not placed in appropriate context. After serious review, we have agreed that he was correct. Our reporting suggested that Larry Stednitz, an educational consultant who refers parents to youth facilities and had visited Mission Mountain, was in favor of the "work regimens" described in this story. But a review of the interview transcript original revealed that he was not informed during the interview of the specific practices attested to in the article by other sources. Therefore, we have decided the quote and paraphrase were inappropriate, and have removed them entirely.