In this year’s round-up of the Year in Media Errors and Corrections, I unveiled the Ian Mayes Award for Writing Wrongs. It is given to the “publication or person that demonstrates wit and wisdom in the writing of corrections.” The winner is David Hummerston, the, deep breath, Saturday editor, editorial counsellor and readers editor of the West Australian.
Hummerston was surprised by the honor. To be honest, he wasn’t sure it was a good thing at first. But now he’s proud, and so is his paper. The Thursday edition of the West Australian included a fun item about the award. Can you spot the errors?
At first glance, it could appear to be a very dubious prize for this newspaper’s Saturday editor, editorial counsellor and readers editor David Hummerston.
Hummerston’s prize is not for the longest series of titles for a newspaper executive.
Rather he has beaten some of the top newspaper people and newspapers around the globe, including the likes of the New York Times and The Guardian, to win the inaugural Ian Mayes Award for Writing Wrongs.
The prize has been awarded by the journalism advocacy site regrettherror.com. The site’s head honcho, Canadian journalist Craig Silverman, is pushing for newspapers to improve standards and to correct stuff-ups promptly.
The gong is named after the legendary readers editor of The Guardian, Ian Mayes, who stepped down last year, and recognises publications or people who demonstrate wit and wisdom in writing corrections.
We hate to admit it, but Hummerston’s Corrections and Clarifications colums have often been more entertaining than IC, and with a hole lot less erorrs.
Our favourite, and one recognised by the judges, is Hummerston’s correction published in October after our economics editor performed a posthumous merger of John Maynard Keynes and Milton Friedman to create a composite economist called Milton Keynes.
“Milton Keynes is an English town famous not only for its grid system of roads and its herd of concrete cows but because in 1998 it was deemed so boring that even chartered accountants refused to move there,” Hum wrote. “The ‘crazy’ ideas comment was intended for John Maynard Keynes, who was voted one of Time Magazine’s most important people of the 20th century – and who was not boring.”
Nor should corrections be dull. Congradulations, Hum.
Here’s the amusing corrective article they published the next day:
