This isn't on the same scale as the fabrications of the New York Times' Jayson Blair or the Washington Post's Janet Cooke, who won the Pulitzer Prize for a feature story on an 8-year-old boy who was a heroin addict. The Washington Post returned the prize after it was revealed that the boy didn't exist.

Still, it's a violation of trust for the 5,195 subscribers who rely on their hometown newspaper to fairly and accurately report the news of their community.

It makes me wonder why a reporter would even attempt to cut corners at a small-town newspaper. I mean, the great thing about small towns is everyone knows one another. However, the maddening thing about small towns is everyone knows one another. Readers would look to a feature such as "Two Cents Worth" to find out their friends', relatives' or acquaintances' opinions on current events. An "outsider" would stick out like a sore thumb.

Worse, one of the editions of "Two Cents Worth" that was reportedly manufactured used the photograph of a college senior who was quoted as saying the Dave Matthews Band was her favorite musical group. Why would someone jeopardize a budding journalism career over a feature on people's favorite musical groups? Don't they understand how small the journalism community is (speaking of small towns), and that no editor in his or her right mind is going to take a chance on someone who compromised a newspaper's credibility with its audience?

To her credit, Ellen Ishmael, publisher of The Reidsville Review, wrote to readers that the editor of the newspaper and two reporters are no longer with the paper and other stories written by the reporters are under review.

"This incident does not reflect who we are as a newspaper. As the publisher, I am committed to giving you a fair and accurate news report every morning. I will dedicate myself to regaining your trust," Ishmael wrote.

It's the sort of letter that no editor or publisher wants to write. All because some journalists (and I use the term loosely) took a sacred trust for granted.

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Marjorie Cortez is a Deseret Morning News editorial writer. E-mail: marjorie@desnews.com.