Regret the Error

The Ubyssey, a student paper at the University of British Columbia, published this correction after a special satirical issue caused problems:

On November 28, 2008, The Ubyssey published an article entitled “RCMP have ‘final solution’ to the ‘fraternity issue.’” The article in question was part of The Ubyssey’s annual all-satire edition. The Ubyssey and staff regret having left its readers with the impression that the RCMP on campus has used violence or excessive force or acted in any manner similar to the Nazi party during the Second World War. The Ubyssey and staff also regret any damage the article may have caused to the reputation of the RCMP member who was named in the article, Cpl. Robert Worsley.

The UBC Insiders blog has some additional background:

What the heck is going on here? Paul Bucci, the paper’s coordinating editor, sat down with UBC Insiders today to explain the circumstances around this unusual correction. Over the summer, legal counsel for Cpl. Worsley sent a letter to The Ubyssey threatening legal action if a correction was not issued. After discussing the matter with the paper’s board of directors and editorial board, it was decided to issue the correction above. In addition, the Ubyssey has agreed to make a $1,000 donation to in Robert Worsley’s name to the charity of his choice. No legal action will be initiated against the paper.

Thanks, Doug!

UPDATE Sept. 30: The Ubyssey published a tongue-in-cheek editorial about the issue. An excerpt:

Finally, we regret publishing an all-satire issue of The Ubyssey without explicitly saying in the issue that it was “all-satire.” It was our assumption that students, staff, faculty and anyone else who read the issue would be able to discern the difference between our regular newspaper that appears for the rest of the year, and an issue containing ludicrous headlines such as “Umbrella police storm campus” and “Three cheers for the AMS.” This appears not to have been the case …

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