3 other papers besides Chicago Tribune identify false bylines in Journatic stories

Three more newspapers said that hyperlocal content provider Journatic used false bylines on a number of stories they have published, both in print and online. The San Francisco Chronicle, Houston Chronicle and Chicago Sun-Times joined the Chicago Tribune in identifying the use of aliases in stories produced by Journatic, an ethics breach prompting growing concern as more newspapers outsource content.

"We've produced lots of stories in lots of places and we've since decided we're going to go in and look at every byline we've ever done," Journatic co-founder and CEO Brian Timpone said. Journatic's use of false bylines came to light during a national radio broadcast during the weekend. "This American Life," which is produced by Chicago public radio station WBEZ-FM, included a segment on aliases in several Journatic-produced stories that ran this year on TribLocal websites, prompting an investigation by the Tribune. That review is under way and expected to wrap up within the next week, according to executives.