Blade Will Review Detrich's Award-Winners

Blade Will Review Detrich's Award-Winners

April 16, 2007
By Daryl Lang (PDN)

Following the revelation that photographer Allan Detrich submitted dozens of manipulated photos for publication in 2007, the Toledo Blade is reviewing Detrich's award-winning work from last year.

If the paper finds any evidence of digital alteration in the winning work, it will return the awards, assistant managing editor for administration Luann Sharp said Monday.

In 2006 Detrich's photographs won three first-place awards from the Cleveland Press Club and two honorable mentions from the Ohio News Photographers Association.

Sharp said the review was not expected to take as long as the investigation into of all of Detrich's 2007 work, which took just over a week.

On Sunday, the Blade reported that 79 of the 947 images Detrich had submitted to the paper this year had been digitally altered. The Blade published 27 of the manipulated images in the newspaper and online, and an additional 31 online only.

Detrich resigned from the paper April 7 after one of his front-page photos showing the Bluffton University baseball team was found to be manipulated. Detrich initially claimed he had submitted the wrong photo to the newspaper by mistake. On Sunday he said he had no comment on the Blade's review of his work.

Sharp says the Blade has "no indication that anyone else is involved," in manipulating photos at the paper. Blade director of photography Nate Parsons directed all questions to Sharp on Monday.

The Blade published two examples of Detrich's manipulated photos on Sunday, in addition to the Bluffton photo. Sharp said the Blade editors are discussing whether to publish more examples of his work online. Editors have blocked access to Detrich's photos in the newspaper's archive to make sure none run in the future.

"We basically consider it done," Sharp said, referring to the investigation of Detrich's work. "We know all we need to know."