Oops! Doesn’t South Florida make enough mistakes? We still haven’t lived down the whole hanging chad, totally incompetent voter thing from the Bush-Gore election and that was eight years ago. Eight years ago!?
 

Now, South Florida and its newspaper, the Sun-Sentinel, can be blamed for almost single-handedly ruining United Airlines. And with last minute e-fares that can get you where you want to go for a lot less money than other airlines, college kids can’t afford to see a United-free world.
 

So what happened? Somehow, the Sun-Sentinel picked up a Chicago Tribune story from six years ago about the company’s bankruptcy filing and reprinted it on its web site this morning. Bloomberg then cited the article and all hell broke loose. With this little, tiny mistake United’s stocks plummeted, falling more than 75 percent today.
 

It’s safe to say United is none too pleased. The Chicago Tribune, originator of the article at the center of the debacle, reports on the fallout:

In a statement this morning, United said it has demanded a retraction from the Sun-Sentinel and is launching an investigation. United exited bankruptcy in February 2006.

"United continues to execute its previously announced business plan to successfully navigate through an environment marked by volatile fuel prices and continues to have strong liquidity,'' the statement added.

So, travelers breathe easy, we aren’t left with just American Airlines. Not yet, at least.
 

But University of Miami journalism majors take note. You, too, can work at the Sun Sentinel without doing any original reporting or the slightest fact checking. Hard work is overrated.