On Friday, Columbia Journalism Review online published my latest weekly column. Read it here. I also wrote a Saturday op-ed for the Toronto Star about the year in errors and corrections. Below are excerpts from both pieces.
CJR column:
The Year in Errata
About a month ago, I began the laborious and depressing task of scouring the archives [...]
Message: On 21 November we published an article headed “Nominet chairman embroiled in governance row: sits on own salary committee”. Contrary to that article, we wish to make it clear that Mr Gilbert, the chairman of Nominet, does not sit on a committee which determines his remuneration. We apologise to Mr Gilbert for any embarrassment [...]
We apologise to Roy Keane for the inaccurate suggestion in Keane ‘unstable’, says Sunderland owner (6 December, page 3, Sport), that Roy Keane has an unstable personality, that he was unable to cope as manager of Sunderland AFC and that they were happy to see him go. We wrongly referred to Per-Magnus Andersson as the [...]
Santa Cruz City Councilman Ryan Coonerty was misidentified in a story about the tree-sit at UC Santa Cruz that appeared on Page A1 of Sunday’s edition and again on Page A1 Monday in a story about Shakespeare Santa Cruz. Coonerty is the immediate past mayor; the new mayor is Cynthia Mathews. Link
Thanks, Tony!
Because of an editor’s error, a photograph of Neil Diamond was incorrectly used in a review of Neil Young at the DCU Center in Worcester in Monday’s Telegram & Gazette. Link
Thanks, Jason!
In her column, “These bigots imperil our nation’s future” (29 September 2008) Yasmin Alibhai-Brown referred to Sir Andrew Green of Migrationwatch in discussing the British Council’s report on British and Italian young people’s views on national identity and Europe. She alleged that Sir Andrew [...]
The name of home furnishings retailer Bed Bath & Beyond was misspelled as Bed Beth & Beyond in a Marketplace article Friday on retail liquidations. Link
Thanks, Jack!
We mistakenly appointed Bill Gates to the post of US defence secretary in an article with the headline: Obama’s education secretary is Chicago schools chief, 17 December, page 21. Robert Gates is currently secretary of defence in the US. Bill Gates is the founder and chairman of Microsoft and a philanthropist. Link
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 policewoman accused in a Newcastle upon Tyne court of being a pounds 100-an-hour prostitute is alleged to have had up to 20 clients a week, not 20 a day (Page 20, December 9). Link
Editor’s Note: This site doesn’t accept advertising. It’s purely a volunteer effort on my part, and I’d be grateful if you’d consider purchasing a copy of the Regret the Error book, which won an award from the National Press Club this year. You can learn more about the book and read some reviews here.
Trend of [...]
As noted in this year’s edition of the Crunks, 2008 saw an example of institutional plagiarism (the Bulletin), as well as an incident of institutional fabrication (Mainichi Daily News). Both are mentioned below, along with the rest of this year’s notable examples of plagiarism and fabrication. On the more positive side of things, this year [...]
A PHOTO IN Sunday’s Daily News incorrectly identified a member of the Newburgh Free Academy swim team as Michael Mele, a person of interest in the disappearance of Laura Garza. The young man circled in the picture is not Mele.
In the Dec. 8 “Technology,” Farhad Manjoo originally criticized SnapTell’s iPhone application for failing to recognize products like a bag of Cheez-Its and a bottle of Arm & Hammer laundry detergent. The SnapTell application is designed to identify only books, CDs, DVDs, and video games. Link
An article last Sunday about the film adaptation of the novel “The Reader” misspelled the German expression that means coming to terms with the past. It is Vergangenheitsbewältigung, not Vergangenheitsbewaltigung.
The article, using information provided by people involved with the film, also included an incorrect date, in some copies, for the movie’s release in Germany. It [...]
In a Dec. 6 story about a letter NASCAR chairman Brian France sent to Congress asking for support of a financial bailout for the Big Three automakers, The Associated Press reported that France asked for the best “for our general country.”
France’s correct quote was “for our great country.”
Julie Jones, author of “‘Above all … don’t perform!’”: Playing to the Camera of Luis Bunuel, in Cineaste, Vol. XXXIII, No. 3, informs us that she received a letter from Juan Luis Bunuel, the filmmaker’s son, who, while saying that he liked the article, pointed out that the photos that appeared on page 23 are [...]
A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that a mannequin of a saint holding a statement wishing atheists a merry Christmas was among the pending display requests. The request is for a mannequin of Satan holding a statement against atheists and wishing them a merry Christmas. Link
An editing change to Philip Hensher’s copy last week (‘My Other Life’, Books) resulted in: ‘I can see myself now in an alternative life as the fat lady who comes into the rehearsal room…’ whereas he wrote: ‘I can see myself now in an alternative life, as the fat lady comes into the rehearsal room [...]
This story about a transgender inmate in the Central California Women’s Facility in Chowchilla incorrectly identified Terry Thornton as a state prison spokesman. Thornton is a spokeswoman. Link
Thanks, Kynn!
My weekly Columbia Journalism Review online column is live on the site. The topic: obiticide. Death by media. An excerpt:
Death by Obiticide
I have some bad news to pass along this week: two people were killed as a result of sloppy journalism.
It happens more often than you might expect. It’s frequent enough, in fact, that I’ve [...]
A CNS story slugged Scientist Sentencing that was transmitted Monday incorrectly stated that the defendant, Abraham Lesnik, admitted during the sentencing hearing that he had a drinking problem when he took classified documents from Boeing’s El Segundo plant to his Valley Village home.
In fact, Lesnik never referred to anything involving alcohol. Instead, he told the [...]
We said former New Jersey Gov. William Cahill was “convicted of a crime.” Although Cahill’s campaign manager, his appointed state treasurer and his appointed secretary of state were convicted of corruption charges, Cahill was never charged, let alone convicted, of any crimes. Link
Sew and sow: As we sow, so we weep (One life used up after vets sow Edgar’s face back on, World, page 32, December 11).
A quote in Wednesday’s Eagle from BRIDGE Executive Director Gwendolyn Hampton VanSant that read, “We don’t want any invisible, unwanted and undocumented people in the area,” was intended to express VanSant’s desire for long-term immigration reform so immigrants will be given amnesty and will no longer be undocumented. She was not implying that her organization [...]
