Emails reveal former McClatchy education reporter may have had an affair with Miami schools chief she covered

The Miami Herald has disclosed recently-released emails indicate a former education reporter may have had a romantic relationship with Alberto Carvalho, the 44-year-old married man recently selected to lead the Miami-Dade County Public Schools, while she was writing stories about him for the Miami Herald.

27 year old Tania deLuzuriaga, now a reporter with the Boston Globe, covered the Miami-Dade County Public schools during her tenure at the Herald from October 2006 to September 2007.

Addressing the controversy, Miami Herald editor Anders Gyllenhaal says the emails raise questions about the objectivity of the Herald's coverage of Carvalho:

The e-mails also raise questions about the objectivity of The Herald's schools coverage last year. The Herald's ethics policy prohibits reporters from having a ''close personal relationship'' with people they cover, and conflicts of interest must be disclosed to editors.

''There are long-standing and very clear standards when it comes to relationships with the people we cover,'' Herald Executive Editor Anders Gyllenhaal said. "If these e-mails are real, this violates some of the most basic rules of our profession.''

''The paper will report most aggressively on this case and determine exactly what happened,'' he said.

The newspaper is reviewing deLuzuriaga's School Board coverage from last year -- including at least 24 stories in which Carvalho was quoted or named.

In one email, deLuzuriaga talks about her and Carvalho being partners and helping each other in their careers. Read the emails and you get the idea she'd shape her reporting to make Carvalho look good. And ignore issues that should be investigated.

Carvalo, who initially claimed the emails had been "doctored," now says they are probably real but he doesn't remember them. (Uh huh, sure.)

Via Herald Watch, here is a link to the emails.