For journalists, integrity is essential. In a field where the sole interest is reporting the truth, one must have the public's trust that what is being written is what really happened. Without that trust, a journalist might as well be a novelist as far as intended readers are concerned.

It is with these ideas in mind that a recent piece written by Detroit Free Press columnist Mitch Albom falls disturbingly short of meeting that journalistic ideal to report the absolute truth.

In a column that ran on April 3, Albom reported that former MSU basketball players Mateen Cleaves and Jason Richardson were present at MSU's Final Four loss to North Carolina and that they were dressed in MSU clothing. In fact, neither Richardson or Cleaves were in the stands of that game. That portion of Albom's column was entirely untrue.

In a retraction published in the Detroit Free Press last week, Albom explained that he had spoken to both men prior to the game, and they stated their intentions to attend the game in Spartans gear. Since Albom had to file the column on Friday, prior to the game, he inserted the factual error and assumed that both players would carry out their intentions to attend the game.

As it turned out, though, both men encountered conflicts that prevented them from being in the stands.

The Detroit Free Press has suspended Albom to investigate the situation, and rightly so. No paper can afford to report blatant falsities to its readers, and even lauded columnists have a responsibility to maintain journalistic excellence. Although it seems clear that Albom was not intentionally trying to mislead the public, to report something that has not taken place as fact is yarn spinning, not journalism. Action must be taken to ensure glaring errors like this are not repeated.

It's important to note that Albom is certainly not the only Free Press staff member at fault in this case. The column in question doubtlessly went through numerous hands before it was printed. Copy editors and other staffers that read over the column certainly must have known that Albom couldn't possibly have witnessed Cleaves and Richardson in the stands and yet decided that they could run the column in good conscience.

According to a report on this issue in The Chicago Tribune, the column was actually printed prior to the time the MSU-UNC game even took place.

Whatever the outcome of the investigation, it seems as though the Free Press will have to take a hard line on this issue. Although harsh punishment might seem excessive for what could be seen as an unfortunate error, it's important that the paper send a clear message to its readers that inaccurate reporting is not tolerated in any way, shape or form.

The Free Press is Michigan's largest paper and is generally excellent in all respects. It must assure its readers that the error is a one-time thing and that swift, serious action was taken to ensure nothing similar happens in the future.

After all, the paper's integrity is at stake.