Regret the Error

A previous introduction to this story incorrectly implied that a “Yes” vote would overturn the law. In fact, a “Yes” vote affirms the law. Link  Report an error

Alicia Shepard just finished her stint as NPR ombudsman, and her final blog post included this recommendation: Hire someone to handle corrections. Between May 19 and May 27, apparently there were no mistakes made on NPR. I simply do not believe that. What I do believe is that the folks in charge of corrections have [...]

This site was inaccessible for much of last week due to it being temporarily listed as an attack site by Google. As a result, I missed blogging about a few notable items: A Bad Byline From a report on WQAD.com: The Western Courier is an award-winning newspaper at Western Illinois University that takes pride in [...]

This story was a follow-up to a piece that originally aired 10 years ago. At the time, reporter Colin Fogarty profiled an 8-year-old child named Anthony. His last name was withheld because he was a minor. NPR has now been informed by Friends of the Children that they made a major mistake: The Anthony Blackmon [...]

A previous Web version of this story incorrectly said North Korea instead of South Korea in reference to possible trade pacts. Link  Report an error

A tweeted correction from a Canadian Broadcasting Corporation radio show: Apologies to our listeners & to Tom Lehrer. We accidentally referred to him on todays show as *late & great*. Certainly great, but not late.less than a minute ago via webQuirks & Quarks CBCQuirks Thanks, Adrienne!  Report an error

There has already been a lot of discussion and reporting about the mistakes made by various news organizations while reporting the horrific shooting that took place in Arizona on the weekend. (My headline on this post only mentions Rep. Giffords, but she is of course not the only victim.) As news — and errors — [...]

In recent weeks, NPR hosts, reporters and guests have incorrectly said or implied that WikiLeaks recently has disclosed or released roughly 250,000 U.S. diplomatic cables. Although the website has vowed to publish "251,287 leaked United States embassy cables," as of Dec. 28, 2010, only 1,942 of the cables had been released. Link NPR's ombudsman has [...]

A report by the BBC World Service's show Assignment wrongly stated that "millions of pounds raised by Band Aid was used to buy arms." The BBC's Editorial Complaints Unit has now weighed in, stating plainly that there was no evidence to support the reporting. Here's how the BBC itself reported on the apology, which was [...]

Earlier versions of this story reported that Israel expelled the families of Turkey’s diplomats in the aftermath of Israel’s actions against a Gaza-bound aid flotilla. NPR should have reported that Israel recalled the families of its own diplomats from Turkey. Link  Report an error

An early version of this story said that Barack Obama is an American citizen because his mother was an American citizen. Obama is an American citizen because he was born on American soil. Link  Report an error

This story mistakenly said that California spends as much money on corrections as its entire education system. The story should have said that the state spends as much money on corrections as it does on its higher education system. Link  Report an error

The audio introduction to this story said, "Back in 1989, before the dawn of the Internet, three young students at Beijing University were among those at the center of the drama in Tiananmen Square." In fact, accounts of the Tiananmen Square killings were relayed via the Internet in 1989. Link  Report an error

Our critic mistakenly said that an ice age "marked the death of the dinosaurs," rather than their advent. In fact, neither is true. The text of the review has been updated. Link *Correction July 3: Speaking of failure, the word "Jurassic" was misspelled in this headline. It has been corrected. Thanks, Kate!  Report an error

We incorrectly said that South Korean President Lee Myung-bak had killed himself. It was actually former President Roh Moo-hyun who committed suicide. Link  Report an error

We incorrectly referred to a gay rights group as “Equity Illinois.” It is actually called “Equality Illinois.” Link  Report an error

In some broadcasts, we said, “Madden ended his career working for Monday Night Football on ESPN.” In fact, he was working for Sunday Night Football on NBC when he decided to retire. Link  Report an error

We said, “[I]n Paris, two Muslim girls were harassed by a Jewish gang.” In fact, the two Muslim students were boys. Link  Report an error

We said, “Compare that tripling of risk, a 300 percent increase in death [among smokers], to what the study found about red meat — a 30 percent increase.” In fact, a tripling of risk is a 200 percent increase. Link  Report an error

The story incorrectly referred to “the late Joan Didion.” Joan Didion has not died. Link  Report an error

In some broadcasts, we said that “Sen. Kerry may go [to Syria] in the near future.” In fact, he has already returned from Syria. Link  Report an error

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  Report an error

In some versions of this interview, we said N.Y. Giants player Plaxico Burress had shot himself with a “40-millimeter Glock.” We should have said .40-caliber. Link *Correction: This headline originally read “Clarly” rather than “Clearly.”  Report an error

We incorrectly referred to “former Sen. Chuck Hagel.” Hagel is still in the Senate. Link  Report an error

BBC issued an on air apology on Radio 2 Saturday morning in order to try and make amends for the Russel Brand/Jonathan Ross scandal. Below is the text of the apology. (A slightly different version that didn’t mention Mr. Sachs’ wife and family was broadcast prior to this altered version.) On 18 October, the BBC [...]