DG quashes damaging rumours after Compass blunder

Gloria McField-Nixon

(CNS) UPDATED: The fallout of a completely false story published by the Cayman Compass this morning, both in print and online, about a highly respected, very senior civil servant prompted Deputy Governor Franz Manderson to issue a statement Friday evening to stress how factually wrong the article was and his continued confidence in her. The Compass story, written by Brent Fuller, erroneously accused Gloria McField-Nixon, the chief officer in the Portfolio of the Civil Service (PoCS), of a serious crime.

It has since been deleted from the paper’s online edition and it is understood that its parent company, Pinnacle Media Group, has been attempting to withdraw as many printed copies of today’s edition as possible.

Although the article stated that it was about McField-Nixon, it described her as being 38 years old, which she isn’t, and being a former administrator at the Facilities Management Department, having quit the civil service, whereas she has never held that position. In fact, she continues to hold a much higher position and has at times acted as deputy governor, the highest public service position in the Cayman Islands.

However, it appears that the article has spurred rumours that are not only wrong but damaging to McField-Nixon, which Manderson felt compelled to quash in the statement below:

“Overnight, an erroneous story concerning Chief Officer Gloria McField-Nixon appeared online and in print in the Cayman Compass. Whilst efforts have been made to remove this misinformation from public circulation, murmurs persist.

“Anyone who knows Mrs McField-Nixon would instantly have discredited such a story. However, the original release and subsequent republication of this misinformation was highly unfortunate and now requires my action. I can confirm that the story was grossly inaccurate and is fully without merit.

“For two decades, Mrs McField-Nixon has upheld high standards of conduct and ably and steadfastly promoted and guarded the reputation of the Cayman Islands Civil Service.

“Each month I participate in the orientation for new hires and as part of the their induction to a career within the civil service I advise that, ‘Constructive criticism is not only to be expected but sought and that smears are not only to be expected but fought.’

“As Chief Officer McField-Nixon addresses this false information and those responsible for its release, she has my full confidence that she will continue to be a compelling guardian of the truth.”

Update: On Monday morning, 9 October, Compass publisher David Legge published an editorial explaining that the error was due to a last minute edit change. He exonerated the journalist in question, Brent Fuller, and said the person responsible had been fired.