Regret the Error » Uncategorized

More than 25 years later, a correction

Craig Silverman — Wed, 14 Dec 2011 13:00:45 +0000

An article on Thursday about a push to ban horse-drawn carriage rides in Central Park misstated part of the name of an organization to which an upstate New York veterinarian belongs, and it described the carriages incorrectly at one point. The veterinarian, Dr. Nena Winand, is a member of the American Association of Equine Practitioners, not the American Society of Equine Practitioners. And the carriages have four wheels, and therefore are not “hansom cabs,” which are two-wheeled. An accompanying picture caption, as well as a subheading in some editions, and a correction in this space on Friday repeated the error about the cabs. (A reader pointed out this inaccuracy in a letter published in The Times in 1985, but this is the first correction of numerous such references through the years.) Link

A model of how to debunk a bad piece of reporting

Craig Silverman — Fri, 25 Nov 2011 01:41:20 +0000

Paul Bradshaw’s Online Journalism Blog is a good read, particularly for tips and information about data journalism. Earlier today he pointed to a very good post on the Neurobonkers blog, “The worst piece of drugs reporting I have ever read”. It completely rips apart a very lazy and inaccurate story originally published by the Hull Daily Mail. (It’s since been removed by the site.)

What’s enjoyable, and effective, is that the author uses a Prezi presentation to make his points. It’s a nice piece of fact checking. Have a look:

Hull parents warned of cheap new drug as tiny pills sold for as little as 50p on Prezi

Typo gets the wrong man elected in Connecticut

Craig Silverman — Thu, 24 Nov 2011 12:30:32 +0000

Not a media error, but too good to pass up. A report from AP:

A typo has led to the election of the wrong man to a finance board in Derby, Conn.
James J. Butler was the highest vote-getter, winning 1,526 votes for the 10-member Board of Apportionment and Taxation, which monitors the town’s finances.
However, his father, 72-year-old James R. Butler, was the candidate nominated by Democrats. The News Times of Danbury and New Haven Register report that he said he wants the job and that his son is not interested in public office …

Thanks, Daniel!

Yes, knowledge is power

Craig Silverman — Wed, 23 Nov 2011 11:30:55 +0000

Oh typo:

Original was here.

Thanks, Corey!

Tried in the press

Craig Silverman — Wed, 16 Nov 2011 14:31:48 +0000

The Iranian man being sought in connection with a bank scandal in Tehran referred to in a story on Monday, Oct. 31 , is Mahmoud Reza Khavari who lives in Toronto. The Globe and Mail did not suggest or intend to suggest that Mehregan Amirkhosravi of Montreal has been accused of any wrongdoing.

Apology

Craig Silverman — Wed, 09 Nov 2011 12:30:16 +0000

On Sunday, October 16 we carried a story titled “Hopefuls test the waters as Kibaki bids farewell” in which we named and quoted the Grand National Party member Mwangi Makanga, declaring his interest in the Othaya parliamentary seat. We have since learnt Makanga died in a road accident after the interview. The story was based on an earlier interview with the late Makanga. We take this earliest opportunity to apologise to the family for inadvertently quoting Makanga after his death

Thanks, Peter!

Apology

Craig Silverman — Fri, 21 Oct 2011 11:00:23 +0000

The Daily Mirror would like to apologise to Julie Kirkbride and Andrew MacKay for the article which appeared in yesterday’s paper. We acknowledge that Miss Kirkbride was cleared of any wrongdoing over her expenses by the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards and that Mr MacKay, whilst criticised by the Commissioner over his expense claims, acted completely transparently throughout and on the advice of the Fees Office.

Death by media

Craig Silverman — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 11:30:22 +0000

In our obituary yesterday of David Croft, we mistakenly said his wife Ann had also passed away. We wish to make clear that this was wrong and we apologise for the error.

Pew report reveals bad news about public’s view of journalists’ accuracy

Craig Silverman — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 16:46:23 +0000

The Pew Research Center released a report yesterday that provides an overview of the public’s attitude towards the press from 1985 to 2011. When it comes to accuracy and issues of credibility, there’s a lot to digest. Mostly, it’s bad news. From the report:

Negative opinions about the performance of news organizations now equal or surpass all-time highs on nine of 12 core measures the Pew Research Center has been tracking since 1985. However, these bleak findings are put into some perspective by the fact that news organizations are more trusted sources of information than are many other institutions, including government and business.

Poynter’s Julie Moos offered a summary of the findings:

Only one-quarter of those surveyed say news orgs get the facts right, a new low since 1985 when the question was first asked. Two-thirds (66 percent) say stories are often inaccurate, a new high. And nearly three-quarters of Americans believe that journalists try to cover up their mistakes, rather than admit them.

By that measure, things have gotten worse. We make lots of mistakes and we try to cover them up, according to a notable percentage of the American population. Pretty fundamental problems. Here’s a relevant chart from the report.

A breakdown of the numbers over time:

Perhaps not surprisingly, people tend to have more trust in the news organizations they use the most:

On the plus side, press organizations are more trusted than some other institutions.

Wrong secretary

Craig Silverman — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 11:00:01 +0000

Tim Geithner is the US treasury secretary, not secretary of state (Greece under more pressure after finance ministers put brakes on bailout payment, 17 September, page 41). Link

And that’s all we’re telling you

Craig Silverman — Mon, 12 Sep 2011 11:00:52 +0000

A feature examining the growing number of pornographic websites that show people suffering from anorexia used a case history purporting to be of a victim, “Ronny Bi”. That case history has now been removed from the article because it lacked sufficient verification (‘Superstars of starvation’, 6 April, page 1, Society). Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 11:30:28 +0000

In 2010, The Press published two articles that concerned Mr Clive Cousins, a Christchurch lawyer. They implied that Mr Cousins was professionally negligent in the preparation of a property mortgage.
The Press accepts that this was not correct, that Mr Cousins had no involvement in the preparation of the documents, and unreservedly apologises to Mr Cousins for any damage to his reputation and personal distress.

Bad for business

Craig Silverman — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 13:00:31 +0000

HKR Architects is restructuring its business and moving its headquarters to London, as correctly reported in Home News yesterday. However, in an article in the Property supplement, it was stated that the firm had gone into liquidation. That is not the case and the company continues to trade in Ireland, the UK and internationally. We regret this error for which we apologise to HKR. Link

And that’s all we’re telling you

Craig Silverman — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 11:00:24 +0000

A story on page I1 Saturday said the sister of interior designer Darlene Provost, Lynn Dunn (nee Provost), had died after battling cancer. That information was incorrect.

Thanks, Doug!

Reuters gets lingo wrong in Jersey Shore story

Craig Silverman — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 13:00:22 +0000

Reuters recently carried a report about Abercrombie & Fitch offering money to Jersey Shore star The Situation to stop wearing its clothes. Here’s how the report began:

Teen clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch Co (ANF.N) has offered money to get away from what it sees as an undesirable Situation.

The preppy retailer has offered to pay cast members from MTV’s popular show “Jersey Shore” to stop wearing its clothes, it said in a news release late on Tuesday.

The company is “deeply concerned” that Michael “The Situation” Sorrentino “could cause significant damage” to the brand’s “aspirational nature.”

MTV, a unit of Viacom Inc (VIAb.N), released a statement in response that called Abercrombie’s offer “a clever PR stunt.”

The story also noted Abercrombie & Fitch previously embraced the show:

The offer could be considered an abrupt about-face for a company that previously sold T-shirts emblazoned with the wording “The Fitchuation,” and “G.T.L.” — the show’s common reference to a pre-party routine of “gym, tan laundry.”

Except the original text of the story reported that G.T.L. stood for “gym, tan lunch.” The story now carries this correction at top:

Corrects paragraph seven to say G.T.L. stands for “gym, tan laundry,” not “gym, tan lunch”

Thanks, Daniel!