 Janet Weaver’s mug shot |
The editor of the Tampa Tribune was arrested yesterday morning for driving under the influence, saying she was “deeply embarrassed” by the incident.
Police arrested executive editor Janet Weaver about 12:30 a.m. Her blood alcohol level was measured at .085 and .081, according to a report by the Tribune. Florida law stipulates someone is drunk when his or her blood alcohol is .08 or greater.
“I am deeply embarrassed on every level,” Weaver is quoted as saying. “As a journalist, as a representative of the Tribune and certainly as a person. I have tried to conduct myself in a way that would make the people who care about me proud, and I certainly don’t feel that this morning.”
Weaver says she had had dinner out and was on her way home when she was pulled over. She spent five hours in jail and was released on $500 bond.
The executive editor, who has been with the paper since July 2004, says she was eager for the publication to cover her arrest.
“The newspaper holds public figures accountable for their behavior all the time, and when one of us is in the spotlight, we have an obligation to our readers to disclose that,” Weaver said.
Weaver says she would apologize to the Tribune staff for embarrassing them.
The Tribune broke the story on its own website less than two hours after her 5:30 a.m. release, reported Editor & Publisher.
“I tried to find [Tribune editors] between 2 and 3 o’clock in the morning, but I wasn’t able to get a hold of anyone,” Weaver told the trade paper.
Courts editor Howard Altman wrote the initial story and posted it with Weaver’s mug shot, which he found online.
“I banged it out and wrote it from home and they go it up,” Altman said. “The attitude here is great transparency and I appreciate that.”
Commenting about her condition upon arrest, Weaver said, “”I did not feel impaired, but clearly my breathalyzer showed differently.”
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