'I was wrong', reporter says

(Headquarters, AP) The Associated Press reporter who interviewed an up-and-coming video editor about her skills on Wednesday has officially retracted.
"I was wrong," the reporter, whose name is being withheld for confidentiality purposes, said in a confession on her personal blog, "Nicole Hearn said absolutely nothing about the ease of video editing. She, in fact, said quite the opposite, namely, that she didn't understand how everyone did it. 'I can't stand sitting at a desk for two days on end just watching the same thing over and over and trying to coordinate music and footage with pictures and ideas; it is almost intolerably dull for me'." The confession on the blog led to an anonymous police report and the arrest of the reporter earlier today; she was booked on the suspicion of falsifying information and libel.
"Believe me, I did not maliciously report this way," she told a fellow reporter early this afternoon, "I thought it was in the best interests of Nicole and accurately conveyed the emotions that she would have wanted to feel in the situation, not necessarily the ones that she did feel."
Hearn agrees with the assessment, and is urging county prosecutors not to press charges. "I felt a connection with [the reporter] immediately and felt that she did what she thought was best under the circumstances. She was privy to what only few people were: my skills (or lack thereof) had been disturbing me greatly over the previous hours and I knew that despite the positive feedback I was receiving, there were critics out there who weren't thrilled with the work in its entirety and really believed that it needed more editing before it was finished. The night of the report I was headed back to the computer to try to rework things and, yes, I'll say it honestly: I was grumpy. I know that [the reporter] did what she felt was in my best interests, and I am thankful to her for that."
Does the news damage credibility on Nicole's part? "I think that a reporter has to express what feelings came across, not necessarily what was said," the reporter's lawyer was heard saying earlier today, "And I think that [the reporter] definitely met that qualification. Especially in light of the fact that the outstanding critics are now very pleased with the results of Hearn's work."
The Chief of Police says that he hasn't heard enough to assess the situation and the county prosecutors could not be reached for comment. "All is well that ends well," Hearn said in a report this afternoon, "I am confident that this situation will blow over, like it did for me last week." The Associated Press stands behind their reporter and is endorsing the Hearn plea to drop charges, which they feel will be appropriate in this situation. "There are no hard feelings, and the situation is clearly already handled," AP editor Price August said in a preliminary hearing statement, "Sometimes, we make mistakes."