The Daily Show recently busted Sean Hannity for using misleading footage during a report about Rep. Michele Bachmann’s tea party rally at the Capitol. (See updated information at the bottom of this post.) Hannity subsequently apologized on air:
Yhen, last week, Fox News had to apologize again for doing the same thing. This time it used old footage of Sarah Palin from last year’s presidential campaign while covering her current book tour. In both cases, the older footage made the crowds seem much larger than they actually were. Here’s the on air apology:
And while we’re on the topic of Palin-related apologies, MSNBC also issued an on air sorry after it used Photoshopped pics of the former governor during a segment:
Editor’s Note: Sorry for coming late to this. I meant to schedule this post for Friday, but neglected do so.
Update Nov. 23: Now it appears as though my timing was good. Fishbowl DC today got it hands on an internal Fox News memo that outlines a “zero tolerance” policy regaridng “on-screen errors.” This includes a range of disciplinary actions that management will take against “those who played significant roles in the ‘mistake chain,’ and those who supervise them.” The full memo is below.
One positive aspect of the memo is that it’s not solely about punishing people who make mistakes. In order to try and reduce errors, the channel will “start by going to air with only the most essential, basic, and manageable elements.” Trying to simply things is a good approach; Fox News should also examine the processes currently used to put elements on the air, and figure out how it can improve them.
Subject: Quality Control
We had a mistake on Newsroom today when a wrong book cover went on screen during a guest segment, the kind of thing that can fall through the cracks on any day with any story given the large amount of elements and editorial we run through our broadcasts. Unfortunately, it is the latest in a series of mistakes on FNC in recent months. We have to all improve our performance in terms of ensuring error-free broadcasts. To that end, there was a meeting this afternoon between senior managers and the folks who run the daytime shows in which expectations were reviewed, and the following results were announced:‪ Effective immediately, there is zero tolerance for on-screen errors. Mistakes by any member of the show team that end up on air may result in immediate disciplinary action against those who played significant roles in the “mistake chain,” and those who supervise them. That may include warning letters to personnel files, suspensions, and other possible actions up to and including termination, and this will all obviously play a role in performance reviews. So we now face a great opportunity to review and improve on our workflow and quality control efforts. To make the most of that opportunity, effective immediately, Newsroom is going to “zero base” our newscast production. That means we will start by going to air with only the most essential, basic, and manageable elements. To share a key quote from today’s meeting: “It is more important to get it right, than it is to get it on.” We may then build up again slowly as deadlines and workloads allow so that we can be sure we can quality check everything before it makes air, and we never having to explain, retract, qualify or apologize again. Please know that jobs are on the line here. I can not stress that enough. I will review again during our Monday editorial meeting, and in the days and weeks ahead. This experience should make us stronger editorially, and I encourage everyone to invest themselves one hundred and ten percent in this effort.
In “For peat’s sake, stop” (November 7th), an overenthusiastic spell-checking system led to the word “rewetting” being rendered as “reletting” in three different places. We apologise for any confusion caused.Link
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the federal debt has now reached $500 billion, not $5 trillion as was reported in The Recorder and times yesterday. Sun Media regrets the error.
Wilderness programs: A Nov. 14 article in the Home section about parents deciding whether to send troubled children to therapeutic wilderness programs quoted Dr. Ron Glick as saying, “For a parent, taking this step can be like admitting they are an alcoholic. They are admitting they’ve failed as a parent.” The article did not explicitly clarify that Glick was not calling the parents failures but, rather, was saying parents might feel as though they had failed.Link
We have been asked to make clear that Edgar Wright’s appreciation of Edward Woodward, which appeared in the paper on Tuesday, November 17, was abridged and the full version can be read at www.edgarwrighthere.com/2009/11/edward-woodward-1930-2009/Link
Actually, the paper was asked to acknowledge the fact that it took Wright’s blog post and published an excerpt of it without his knowledge or permission — or any mention that the words had been taken from his blog. This “clarification” clarifies nothing. The Times stole the piece.
Here’s what Wright posted on his Twitter feed after seeing the story:
In a Nov. 17 story about job cuts at Verizon Communications Inc., The Associated Press, relying on a labor union report, erroneously reported that Verizon is laying off more than 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
In response to AP’s query, a Verizon spokesman on Tuesday confirmed that layoffs were occurring. On Wednesday, the spokesman said Verizon has a “surplus” of employees in the area and is giving people a chance to leave voluntarily through buyouts. The spokesman said layoffs could follow if necessary. Link
We again incorrectly conferred the US presidency on Benjamin Franklin, this time in the unusual context of a boxing article (Money men demand Mayweather after Pacquiao destroys Cotto, 16 November, page 13, Sport).Link
In a Nov. 6 story citing examples of companies that changed their names to repair their images, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Accenture changed its name from Arthur Andersen as a result of an association with the Enron scandal. Accenture, previously known as Andersen Consulting, operated independently from Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm. Andersen Consulting changed its name before the Enron scandal became public and was in no way tied to the scandal.Link
Our August 5th article “Strictly out of Step about changes to the television programme “Strictly Come Dancing” said that Sharon Osbourne had decided against appearing on it because the money on it was “ridiculous”. We are happy to accept that this is incorrect. Sharon Osbourne decided against appearing on it because of her work commitments and busy schedule in America. We apologise for any embarrassment caused.Link
The evening newscast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last night ran an image of the wrong Going Rogue Sarah Palin book. The book written by Sarah Palin is titled, Going Rogue: An American Life. Another book, written by two staffers at the Nation, is called, Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare. (Update Nov. 23: a reader wrote in to note that my original post made it seem as though both books are called “Going Rogue.” I edited the first sentence to eliminate any confusion.)
From a report in the Globe And Mail:
The CBC has admitted it inadvertently displayed the jacket of an anti-Sarah Palin book during a story about the former vice-presidential candidate that aired on The National.
The gaffe came Monday night during a piece on Ms. Palin’s hotly anticipated new memoir Going Rogue: An American Life.
A CBC spokesman confirmed that the network mistakenly put up a graphic depicting the cover of Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare…
CBC spokesman Jeff Keay says the mistake was fixed in a subsequent broadcast.
No mention of a correction. I also wonder if the same thing happened at the Herald in South Carolina, given this correction:
The wrong book cover ran in Monday s Herald with a story about Sarah Palin. Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, hits bookstores today.
Update Nov. 23: Here’s a related report on Yahoo! India:
…the confusion between the books has even struck CNN’s Political Ticker, which quoted Obama adviser David Axelrod saying he’d be borrowing Obama campaign manager David Plouffe’s copy of ‘Going Rouge’.USA Today’s section The Oval wrongly posted the cover of ‘Going Rouge’ with a review of Palin’s book.
It has since corrected the confusion with the statement: Erratum: An earlier posting featured the photo of a different Sarah Palin book. The Oval regrets the error.”
Last week, Fox News Channel apologized for showing the cover of the takedown book while discussing Palin’s memoir.
“We are sure that many people who mistakenly bought our book will have been pleasantly surprised. You learn more about the real Palin in our version,” added Robinson.
In a Nov. 17 video our original headline and caption said pictures within the clip were home video from a wedding. In fact, the video was created as part of a viral marketing campaign on responsible drinking by the brewer Heineken.Link
Our obituary of the US songwriter and producer Luther Dixon was accompanied by the wrong photograph. It showed the singer Chuck Jackson, who is alive. We apologise for this mistake (12 November, page 38).Link
DUE to a production error in last week’s Rouse Hill Times the incorrect photo was published in the story hailing young Tom Hancock’s efforts in martial arts.
The Glenwood five-year-old won two gold and two silver trophies at the recent Australian Open World Martial Arts Championships.
The Times apologises for the error and regrets any confusion that may have been caused.
LAST week’s NIE resource on Science questions answered by CSIRO incorrectly stated that there are 12 zeros in one billion billion. There are 24 zeros if a million times a million is doubled. Many now regard a billion as a thousand times a million. This would be 18 zeros when doubled.
FOLLOWING last Sunday’s story (”Charles goes on health drive after hospital scare”) Clarence House has asked us to make it clear that the Prince of Wales was not rushed to hospital in the summer. Nor were there any fears he was having a heart attack. The hospital visit of which we were informed was a routinely scheduled check-up.
We are happy to make this clear and apologise to His Royal Highness. Link
An article on Nov. 1 about libraries with rare-book collections open to the public misstated the period of time covered by Oscar Wilde’s college notebook, at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles. It was written during 1876 and 1878, not 1876 and 1978. And because of an editing error, the article rendered incorrectly part of the Latin title of Galileo’s “Starry Messenger,” at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, Mo. It is “Sidereus Nuncius,” not “Sidereus Nucius.”Link
A story in the November 9 edition of the Toronto Sun quoted several unsupported allegations about “alleged misspending” and “influence peddling” involving the Toronto Port Authority. The Toronto Sun has no knowledge and is aware of no evidence to substantiate those allegations. The article also wrongly cited claims that the TPA “cost taxpayers $10 million a year” when in fact it has been profitable in 2008 and 2009 and pays a royalty to the federal government. The Sun apologizes for the errors, innuendo and any injury or inconvenience that may have resulted from the publication of the article.Link
ON 18 September 2009, we published an article in which Warren Furman, also known as the Gladiator “Ace”, was reported as denying “internet rumours” that he had raped Jordan. In doing so, the article implied that these “rumours” were sufficiently serious to require a response from Mr Furman.
In fact the “internet rumours” consisted of very few ambiguous posts on an internet chat forum.
They have since been deleted. We wish to make it clear that neither the posts nor any other matter, provided the basis for the false suggestions that Mr Furman may have raped Jordan. We apologise unreservedly to Mr Furman for the distress and offence caused to him by the article appearing to suggest otherwise.
In case you hadn’t noticed, I recently added a “What I’m Reading” sidebar to the site. It’s over there to the right. I link to relevant articles that I find interesting or of note. Every once in a while, I post a round-up of some of those links to make sure you don’t miss out on them. They’re all worth checking out. Enjoy.
The Public Editor – Recession, Revolution and a Leaner Times – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com
The New York Times | November 1, 2009
“Now, with an around-the-clock news cycle, reporters file throughout the day, and copy can be edited over a smoother cycle, she said. That is the goal, but the editing staff is dealing with much more copy than before, some online articles are now read by a single editor instead of four or five, and I hear regularly from readers complaining about errors in grammar, spelling and word usage.”
A review of LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger’s book “Shooting Stars” in the Nov. 1 Outlook section should have disclosed that a book by the reviewer, Allen Barra, had been reviewed by Bissinger in another publication.
And:
A review of Jon Krakauer’s book “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” in the Sept. 13 Outlook section should have disclosed that the reviewer, Andrew Exum, had served as an unpaid adviser to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, whose role in the aftermath of Tillman’s death is described in the book.Link to both
The wrestler Andre “the giant” Roussimoff has not retired from films, as we said. He died in 1993 (Ah, Mr Valuev, we’ve been expecting you. . ., 10 November, page 11, G2).Link
In the Nov. 7 article that ran in Globe T.O., T.o.night No Afternoon Delight, several errors were made. The newspaper consists of 30 per cent advertising, not 50 per cent as written, and most, not all, of its content comes from wire services. Its proprietor, John Cameron, attended the University of Western Ontario three years ago, not last year, and the late broadcaster Bill Cameron is his cousin, not his father’s uncle.Link
ON 17 July 2008 in our front page article “Ron the Lash” we falsely reported that whilst recovering from an operation to his ankle Cristiano Ronaldo had “gone on a bender” at a Hollywood nightclub where he splashed out pounds 10,000 on champagne and vodka and threw his crutches to the ground and tried to dance on his uninjured foot.
We now accept that Cristiano did not “go on a bender”, did not drink any alcohol that evening, did not spend pounds 10,000 on alcohol, nor throw his crutches to the floor or try to dance.
We also accept that he did not act irresponsibly nor jeopardise his recovery and in fact made a full recovery from his injury in record time. We apologise to him for the embarrassment and offence caused and have agreed to pay him substantial damages and his legal costs. Link
Our article of October 17 headed “Priest brands resort ‘most godless in UK’ incorrectly attributed the quote to Rev. Archie Coates vicar of St. Peter’s, Brighton. In fact he said that it had been dubbed that by others. The report that he had been reprimanded for the comment was therefore unfounded. We apologise to Rev. Coates for any embarrassment our article may have caused him.
The article titled “JFF doc warns athletes about dietary supplements” which appeared in Sunday Observer of November 1, which claimed that two products – Visalus’ Vi-Shape and Neuro energy drink – were tested and approved by local anti-doping authority JADCO on behalf of the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), was erroneous.
The PLCA is seeking to set the record straight by claiming that: “The Jamaica Anti-doping Commission (JADCO) at no time tested or approved the supplement Vi-Shape or any other supplement for use by the PLCA, but rather confirmed that the ingredients listed on the products’ containers did not appear on the WADA list of banned substances 2009.”
JADCO, for their part in clarifying the matter, stated: “JADCO at no time tested or approved the supplement Vi-Shape or any other supplement for use by the Premier League Clubs Association.
“JADCO was approached by the Premier League Club Association with a list of ingredients said to be constituents of the supplement Vi-Shape for us to verify whether or not these substances were on WADA’s list of prohibited substances. JADCO verified that the ingredients did not appear on the list of banned substances, but that verification was based on the following disclaimer: JADCO does not endorse any product. We can only verify if the substances presented on the label in a particular product are prohibited. Verification is based on the ingredients of the given products presented to us.
This assessment is only valid for the Supplement Facts Sheet attached by the manufacturer. We cannot endorse or verify any hidden substances or ingredients but only verify the supplemental facts and cannot be held accountable or responsible for adverse findings due to hidden substances. As a result of the clarifications from both bodies, The Observer would like to withdraw any part of the story that inferred that the Visalus products were tested and approved by JADCO.
We regret the error and any inconvenience that may have accrued as a result.
I offered some basic advice for preventing factual errors in this post. You should also download the free Regret the Error accuracy checklist here. Then read my Columbia Journalism Review column that explains why checklists are so effective.
Finally, you have any tips or tricks for helping prevent errors, please share them with me, so I can share them with others.
Note: The formatting of older posts can be a bit wonky due to the switch to WordPress. Also, the images in older posts are not automatically loading. Just click on the link to see the image.
The Daily Show recently busted Sean Hannity for using misleading footage during a report about Rep. Michele Bachmann’s tea party rally at the Capitol. (See updated information at the bottom of this post.) Hannity subsequently apologized on air:
In “For peat’s sake, stop” (November 7th), an overenthusiastic spell-checking system led to the word “rewetting” being rendered as “reletting” in three different places. We apologise for any confusion caused.
The Canadian Taxpayers Federation says the federal debt has now reached $500 billion, not $5 trillion as was reported in The Recorder and times yesterday. Sun Media 
Wilderness programs: A Nov. 14 article in the Home section about parents deciding whether to send troubled children to therapeutic wilderness programs quoted Dr. Ron Glick as saying, “For a parent, taking this step can be like admitting they are an alcoholic. They are admitting they’ve failed as a parent.” The article did not explicitly clarify that Glick was not calling the parents failures but, rather, was saying parents might feel as though they had failed.
We have been asked to make clear that Edgar Wright’s appreciation of Edward Woodward, which appeared in the paper on Tuesday, November 17, was abridged and the full version can be read at 
In a Nov. 17 story about job cuts at Verizon Communications Inc., The Associated Press, relying on a labor union report, erroneously reported that Verizon is laying off more than 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
We again incorrectly conferred the US presidency on Benjamin Franklin, this time in the unusual context of a boxing article (Money men demand Mayweather after Pacquiao destroys Cotto, 16 November, page 13, Sport).
In a Nov. 6 story citing examples of companies that changed their names to repair their images, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Accenture changed its name from Arthur Andersen as a result of an association with the Enron scandal. Accenture, previously known as Andersen Consulting, operated independently from Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm. Andersen Consulting changed its name before the Enron scandal became public and was in no way tied to the scandal. 
Our August 5th article “Strictly out of Step about changes to the television programme “Strictly Come Dancing” said that Sharon Osbourne had decided against appearing on it because the money on it was “ridiculous”. We are happy to accept that this is incorrect. Sharon Osbourne decided against appearing on it because of her work commitments and busy schedule in America. We apologise for any embarrassment caused.
The evening newscast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last night ran an image of the wrong 
In a 
DUE to a production error in last week’s Rouse Hill Times the incorrect photo was published in the story hailing young Tom Hancock’s efforts in martial arts.
LAST week’s NIE resource on Science questions answered by CSIRO incorrectly stated that there are 12 zeros in one billion billion. There are 24 zeros if a million times a million is doubled. Many now regard a billion as a thousand times a million. This would be 18 zeros when doubled.
FOLLOWING last Sunday’s story (”Charles goes on health drive after hospital scare”) Clarence House has asked us to make it clear that the Prince of Wales was not rushed to hospital in the summer. Nor were there any fears he was having a heart attack. The hospital visit of which we were informed was a routinely scheduled check-up.
An article on Nov. 1 about libraries with rare-book collections open to the public misstated the period of time covered by Oscar Wilde’s college notebook, at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles. It was written during 1876 and 1878, not 1876 and 1978. And because of an editing error, the article rendered incorrectly part of the Latin title of Galileo’s “Starry Messenger,” at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, Mo. It is “Sidereus Nuncius,” not “Sidereus Nucius.” 
A story in the November 9 edition of the Toronto Sun quoted several unsupported allegations about “alleged misspending” and “influence peddling” involving the Toronto Port Authority. The Toronto Sun has no knowledge and is aware of no evidence to substantiate those allegations. The article also wrongly cited claims that the TPA “cost taxpayers $10 million a year” when in fact it has been profitable in 2008 and 2009 and pays a royalty to the federal government. The Sun apologizes for the errors, innuendo and any injury or inconvenience that may have resulted from the publication of the article.
ON 18 September 2009, we published an article in which Warren Furman, also known as the Gladiator “Ace”, was reported as denying “internet rumours” that he had raped Jordan. In doing so, the article implied that these “rumours” were sufficiently serious to require a response from Mr Furman.
A review of LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger’s book “Shooting Stars” in the Nov. 1 Outlook section should have disclosed that a book by the reviewer, Allen Barra, had been reviewed by Bissinger in another publication.
In the Nov. 7 article that ran in Globe T.O., T.o.night No Afternoon Delight, several errors were made. The newspaper consists of 30 per cent advertising, not 50 per cent as written, and most, not all, of its content comes from wire services. Its proprietor, John Cameron, attended the University of Western Ontario three years ago, not last year, and the late broadcaster Bill Cameron is his cousin, not his father’s uncle.
ON 17 July 2008 in our front page article “Ron the Lash” we falsely reported that whilst recovering from an operation to his ankle Cristiano Ronaldo had “gone on a bender” at a Hollywood nightclub where he splashed out pounds 10,000 on champagne and vodka and threw his crutches to the ground and tried to dance on his uninjured foot.
The article titled “JFF doc warns athletes about dietary supplements” which appeared in Sunday Observer of November 1, which claimed that two products – Visalus’ Vi-Shape and Neuro energy drink – were tested and approved by local anti-doping authority JADCO on behalf of the Premier League Clubs Association (PLCA), was erroneous.
