A Dallas anchor has filed suit in a Texas court charging several leading media-ethics experts with violating journalism standards by fabricating facts to fit an ethics scenario.

A Dallas anchor has filed suit in a Texas court charging several leading media-ethics experts with violating journalism standards by fabricating facts to fit an ethics scenario. KXAS-TV Fort Worth anchor Mike Snyder says the Society for Professional Journalists, Poynter Institute and experts Jay Black, Bob Steele and Ralph Barney misstated in a 1999 book, Doing Ethics in Journalism, Snyder's involvement with the election campaign of now-Texas Governor George W. Bush. Although Snyder acknowledges that he introduced Dick Armey at a political picnic in 1994, contrary to the book's account, he did not make appearances on behalf of Bush's campaign and did not defend any such actions. The defendants have apologized and have offered to publish a correction, but their attorney told Dallas-area newspapers the errors were immaterial, noting that Snyder was criticized at the time for his involvement in the picnic and disciplined by the station. But Snyder told Broadcasting & Cable that much of what appeared in the book had no basis in fact or published reports anywhere and that he was never contacted for confirmation. "These guys are not cub reporters," he said. "They are the popes of journalism" and violated the standards they actively advocate. Settlement talks are scheduled, according to Snyder, who says any settlement would have to include an admission of fabrication.