Journalists are, for the most part, perfectionists.

When we meet to review the day's newspaper at 10:30 each morning, we focus more often than not on the negative: The story we missed, the bad headline, the picture that is not big enough, the design that is weak or the competition that is better. We are rarely pleased and that is a good thing.

That's why more than a few of our senior editors and reporters were upset with our story on, apparently, David Kuntz.

Do you remember it? Diamond Dave, the man who we said was rock singer David Lee Roth, turned out to be a fake.

The famous Van Halen singer was apparently spotted near Brantford in May. Local OPP pulled a man over for erratic driving. He claimed to be David Lee Roth and that he was suffering from an allergic reaction to nuts. He was taken to a Brantford hospital. Later, he was seen leaving with two nurses for a nearby bar, The Liquid Lounge, where they enjoyed the music of a local band. Diamond Dave even got up on stage to sing a few songs. Great story.

Only problem? It wasn't true.

As the story moved around the world, the real David Lee Roth's PR person, an Elaine Schock, told the media it was all a fake.

Turns out the real David doesn't drive, has never been in Brantford, was somewhere else at the time of the incident, and the only thing he is allergic to is criticism.

We had been duped.

Some in the newsroom were upset that Diamond Dave fooled us -- and on the front page. They said we should have known the story was unlikely and been more aggressive in checking the facts.

Journalists are skeptical. People lie and try to influence them. In fact, when the story was first discussed at a news meeting, a couple of editors said right out they thought it was not true.

Others pointed out that we had done our due diligence. We checked with police, who said their records showed it was David Lee Roth. Hospital officials also confirmed the story and we talked with a person in the area who claimed that David Lee Roth was staying at his home. The folks who represent David Lee Roth did not offer comment and deadline was approaching. We put the story on Page 1.

More than 50 years ago, legendary newsman Edward R. Murrow said: "A lie can go around the world before the truth gets its pants on."

Today, in the world of instant news, 24-hour cable, the Internet, blogging and more, news moves even more quickly.

The pressures on getting it right have always been a cornerstone of good journalism. Every journalist lives with the fear of making the "big mistake." The good news is that in the Internet world, it doesn't take long to find out if you have made an error.

After finding out Diamond Dave was a fake, we ran another story on the front page the next day. We (and a lot of others) tried to find the "Fake Dave" -- someone we think now is David Kuntz of Cambridge.

Someone once said journalism is history on the run. It is the first draft. For all our efforts, we are not perfect.

Diamond Dave is out there still. I hope one day we will get his story, too. Dave, if you want to give me a call, I'm still interested in how you fooled all those folks.

David Estok is The Spectator's editor-in-chief. editorfeedback@thespec.com