Tag Archives: apologies

Apology

November 5, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailystarIn the Daily Star of 27 October 2008, we published an article and photographs of Olga Kurylenko which stated that Ms Kurylenko had arranged a nude photoshoot immediately after the filming of Quantum Of Solace. We now accept that Ms Kurylenko did not arrange any such photoshoot after Quantum Of Solace and that this was incorrect.
We wish to set the record straight and apologise to Ms Kurylenko.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

November 2, 2009 – 8:00 am

sundaymailukAN ARTICLE in the Sunday Mail, on April 27, 2007, headlined “Co-op uses human ashes to grit path”, said staff at a Dunfermline funeral home had used ashes to grit a disabled ramp.
Despite printing the article in good faith , we now acknowledge and fully accept that this was not the case.
We apologise to the Co-operative Funeral Care and Bob Aitchison, the manager in Dunfermline, and unreservedly withdraw the allegations. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

How dare you suggest those boys weren’t drunk

October 30, 2009 – 8:00 am

independentIn the item “Jasper started it, honest” (18 October) about the Daily Telegraph’s recent feature on Tunbridge Wells it was wrongly suggested that Jasper Gerard had asked two boys of seventeen to pose for a fake picture showing them drunk, and that the paper had published it without their permission.

We are happy to make it clear that Mr Gerard did not commission the photograph nor was he present when it was taken and we apologise to Mr Gerard. The Telegraph also tells us the professional photographer who did take the picture insists that it was both authorised and genuine. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Sorry for calling you an “evil terrorist”

October 26, 2009 – 8:00 am

sun_uk3On 29 March and 1 April last year we reported that Mr Patel was an evil terrorist who had been jailed for his part in a transatlantic jet terror plot. While he had been convicted under Section 58 of the Terrorism Act of possessing material that might be useful to terrorists, the court accepted that he unwittingly held documents for a friend of his father. Mr Patel has never had any involvement with terrorism acts. We are happy to set the record straight and apologise to him. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , | Comments

Apology

October 26, 2009 – 8:00 am

westaustralianIn our report, Marlborough fined for lying to crime watchdog (page 1, October 23), we incorrectly stated that public servant Paul Frewer was found not guilty of giving false evidence to a Corruption and Crime Commission inquiry into the Smiths Beach development proposal.
Mr Frewer was never charged. The West Australian apologises for the error.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

October 21, 2009 – 8:00 am

couriermailAN article in The Courier-Mail of September 19, 2009, reported on a failed appeal to the Court of Appeal by the Queensland Nursing Council to reinstate the suspension of the registration of nurse, Juanita Graham.
Ms Graham’s registration was suspended by the Queensland Nursing Tribunal last year, but this was overturned by the District Court in February.
The article claimed Ms Graham was alleged to have negligently contributed to the death of a prisoner. We acknowledge Ms Graham was never accused, nor found guilty, of any such thing. We regret the error and apologise to Ms Graham.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

October 19, 2009 – 8:00 am

sundaypeopleON October 7, 2007 we reported that Ms McGuinness had charged the Find Madeleine Fund pounds 20,000 in excess of her agreed fee, which had come as a surprise to the Fund’s managers, and that following a discussion with Gerry McCann, she was forced to part company with the Fund.
We accept that Ms McGuinness did not overcharge the Fund, that she left as planned in September to meet pre-arranged commitments, and she was not forced to resign at all.
We regret any suggestion to the contrary and apologise to her for any distress and embarrassment caused. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged , | Comments

Apology

October 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

irishindependentIN the edition of the Irish Independent of Saturday, October 10, under the headline: ‘Coughlan: I was powerless to stop board giving car to Molloy’, Tanaiste Mary Coughlan is quoted as saying that a FAS board member, Mr Niall Saul, had told her that the issue of former director general Rody Molloy’s car was going to be discussed at a meeting of the board. It has been brought to our attention that the Tanaiste did not say this. What she said was that she had heard Mr Saul discussing the matter in a recent radio interview.
We fully accept that Mr Saul had no involvement whatsoever in the negotiation of Mr Molloy’s package, or discussions of any sort with the Tanaiste or any of her officials on that topic at any point. We note that Mr Saul was not present at the FAS Board meeting at which Mr Molloy’s package was discussed. We further recognise that in the radio interview, Mr Saul was merely offering an opinion on the issue of such severance packages in general, based on his professional experience in dealing with such matters. We regret the error and apologise to Mr Saul for any embarrassment caused. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

EDDIE McGRADY MPIn our edition dated June 7, 2009 we published an article under the headline “I Wanna Live Like Commons People” regarding expense claims by Eddie McGrady MP.
We acknowledge that our article was unfair to Mr McGrady and that his expenses were in fact entirely justifiable.
Mr McGrady also pointed out, and we accept, that in his case the hotel provided better value for taxpayers than a claim for a second home in London.
Mr McGrady also remains fully committed to openness and transparency in relation to MPs expenses and supports the planned system overhaul.
We unreservedly apologise to Mr McGrady and very much regret any distress and embarrassment caused to him by publishing these allegations.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Sorry for calling you a drunk

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

mirroruk2In yesterday’s edition of the paper in the Pat Flanagan column under the heading ‘Just Put A Cork In It’ we falsely identified Mary Black as being a self-confessed alcoholic.
We accept that this allegation is absolutely untrue and has no basis or foundation in fact.
We unreservedly withdraw this allegation and apologise to Mary Black for the personal distress caused to her by this publication.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Apology

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

waikatoA story in yesterday’s Waikato Times reported businessman John Spencer was selling an $80 million luxury yacht. This John Spencer is listed as a New Zealand “rich-lister” and his Whangarei company Flyghtship Construction built the yacht. However, the story included a photograph of a different John Spencer, the chairman of Tainui Group Holdings. The Times apologises for its error and is investigating how the mix-up happened. Meanwhile, a piece in yesterday’s paper promoting this week’s edition of Your Weekend, the glossy magazine that comes with today’s newspaper, carried the cover of last week’s edition. We apologise to readers for any confusion.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Respect for the dead

October 13, 2009 – 8:00 am

plymouthheraldWe would like to point out that Furn Scoles, who died in 2005 from a fractured skull, did not take heroin, as we stated in our story on Paul Ellis, who was convicted of his manslaughter four years ago (The Herald, October 8).
The Herald offers its sincere apologies to the Scoles family for this error and for any distress it has caused.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Apology

October 7, 2009 – 8:00 am

guardianSteve Bunce: In Bunce takes the biscuit (1 October, page 12, Sport) we wrongly suggested that Steve Bunce, the boxing commentator, controlled the website bringbackbunce.net and had claimed on the site to have high-profile supporters, including Bertie Ahern and David Blunkett. We accept that Mr Bunce could not have made any such claims, as he did not set up and does not control this website. We apologise to Mr Bunce for the error. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Uncategorized | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

October 6, 2009 – 8:00 am

torontosunA headline on an article in the September 29 edition of the Toronto Sun concerning contract work done by Courtyard Group for the Ontario provincial government was both inaccurate and unfair. In fact, the Toronto Sun has no knowledge, or any reason to believe, that Courtyard acted improperly in any way in agreeing to perform, and in performing, work for the Ontario government or its agencies. The Sun apologizes for any injury or inconvenience. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Apology

September 28, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailyteleukIn her review of Seven Days in the Art World by Sarah Thornton (Nov 1, 2008) Lynn Barber took issue with Dr Thornton’s assertion that she (Ms Barber) was among the 250 people who had been interviewed for the book, either face to face or by telephone. In fact, Ms Barber did have a pre-arranged telephone interview with Dr Thornton two years earlier which lasted over 30 minutes. We and Ms Barber therefore now accept that it would be wrong to suggest that Dr Thornton made a false or dishonest claim to have interviewed Ms Barber and apologise to Dr Thornton for any distress caused by any contrary impression the review may have given.
In addition, the review commented on Dr Thornton’s use of a practice known as “reflexive ethnography” which Ms Barber equated to “copy approval”. Dr Thornton points out that she did not give interviewees the right to alter any material she had written about them and that she always maintained complete editorial control of the final product and used the feedback provided by her subjects entirely as she saw fit. Link

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

September 22, 2009 – 8:00 am

sun_uk3IN a report on May 5, 2009, headlined “Riddle of Boruc, the brunette and his hair straighteners”, we claimed that Artur Boruc had brought two girls to the house he shares with partner Sara Mannei and had sex with one of them. We published a picture which we said showed him straightening one of the girls’ hair. We now accept the picture was in fact of Mr Boruc and his younger sister Paulina in Poland some years earlier, and that neither did Mr Boruc invite back nor have sex with either of the girls in our story. We apologise to Mr Boruc and Ms Mannei for any embarrassment caused.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , | Comments

Apology over Al Qaeda remark

September 18, 2009 – 2:43 pm

A columnist with The Punch, a Rupert Murdoch-owned website in Australia has apologized for what he calls “a stupid and offensive joke.” The apology:

A few weeks ago I made a stupid and offensive joke in a piece written in the immediate aftermath of the drawn opening Ashes Test.

It involved the alleged time-wasting tactics of the English side in the dying moments of the game, and referred to a private SMS exchange with a friend of mine which joked about the appearance of 12th man Bilal Shafayat.

While I wrote in the piece that the text message was clearly offensive – and had construed the piece as a self-deprecating look at the stupid behaviour of sports fans – the decision to publish this private SMS was of itself the truly stupid aspect of the article. This is because it was not only insulting and demeaning to a decent man and sporting professional in Bilal Shafayat, but anyone else who faces ridicule on the basis of their appearance.

I was going to apologise at the time and shut the piece but I didn’t, for two reasons. The first was that I didn’t want to be accused of trying to whip the issue up to drive traffic to the website. And given that life doesn’t come with a reverse button I thought that shutting the piece was a convenient out and that I should just wear it, as shown by our publication of many comments critical of the piece.

We have had a request from Bilal Shafayat through his lawyers for us to delete the piece from the website and we have now done that.

I’ve also written to him personally and use this post to say publicly that I wish that life did come with a reverse button and that I’d never published this stupid joke. We’re not going to invite comment on this post because I don’t want it to be a traffic-driving exercise, nor to open up a debate about whether the apology is warranted or not. I think it’s totally warranted and it’s offered sincerely and without reservation to Mr Shafayat and anyone else who found the piece distressing.

And here’s the “joke” (full column is available online here):

The question “Did the Poms cheat?” was perhaps put most succintly by mate Steve, watching the game online in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, who inquired via text message in the final few overs this morning: “WHY IS THERE A MEMBER OF AL QAEDA HOLDING A F***ING GLOVE AND A FAT POM IN A TRACKSUIT OUT IN THE MIDDLE?” It’s a fair if offensively-crafted question, and one which is now on every Australian mind, none more so than Ricky Ponting.

Thanks, Steve!

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Online | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

September 17, 2009 – 8:00 am

dailypostIN yesterday’s Daily Post we published an article headlined ‘Drink drive rap for road safety mum’.
David’s mum Edwina Wares The article was a report of a court case in which Edwina Wares, 51, of Melyd Avenue, Prestatyn (pictured above) had admitted driving with excess alcohol, almost a year since her son David Wares, 22, was killed in a high speed collision.
We would like to point out that the photograph accompanying the report and captioned with Edwina Wares’ name was published in error.
In fact, the photograph was of Stephanie Brown, Road Safety Officer for Denbighshire council (pictured right), who is not connected in any way with Mrs Wares’ drink drive prosecution.
Stephanie Brown, road safety officer We apologise unreservedly for the error, and for any distress caused to Ms Brown.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , | Comments

Two years later, we’re sorry about saying you ran a cult

September 16, 2009 – 9:25 am

dailymailAn article on May 25, 2007, ‘The Cult Guru Who Stole My Son’ made claims that William Van Gordon was a ‘brainwashed zombie’ and Edo Shonin brainwashed him and that the Buddhist retreat which they ran was a cult. We accept this is untrue. We apologise to both men for the contrary impression given. Link

Thanks, @Lucie_M!

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , , | Comments

Telegraph-Journal apologizes for fabricated quote in wafergate story

September 16, 2009 – 8:00 am

telegraphjournalNew Brunswick’s Telegraph-Journal continues to atone for an erroneous report from earlier in the summer that set of a scandal in Canada. After apologizing to the prime minister, firing its editor, and suspending its publisher (he’s now back with the paper’s parent company), the paper on Saturday apologized to Monsignor Brian Henneberry for fabricating a quote from him in the offending report:

In its troubled report on the communion service at former governor general Roméo LeBlanc’s funeral mass in July, The Telegraph-Journal said prominently, on the front page, that Monsignor Brian Henneberry, a senior Saint John priest, had “demanded” that Prime Minister Stephen Harper explain what he had done with the communion wafer that he had been given. The newspaper has determined that Monsignor Henneberry said no such thing and believes that the false assertion was wholly the product of improper editorial manipulation.

The newspaper has concluded that the sensational manner in which it presented its interview with Monsignor Henneberry resulted in a serious distortion of his actual remarks which were otherwise competently reported. Monsignor Henneberry’s intent was simply to explain Roman Catholic belief and practice in a factual way after The Telegraph-Journal contacted him. It was not to accuse Prime Minister Harper of wrong-doing or to insinuate wrong-doing.

The Telegraph-Journal regrets this breach of journalistic principles and apologizes sincerely to Monsignor Henneberry for it.

The paper is under new editorial leadership and this latest apology could be a result of some form of internal investigation. Yet we still don’t know who decided to push the story into print, who came up with the allegation that the prime minister had pocketed the now-famous wafer, and who engaged in this “improper editorial manipulation.” (I think they mean fabrication, but I’ll just have to guess.)

So, again, who made this call? Former editor Shawna Richer lost her job over the incident, but did she come up with the false accusations and a fabricated quote? We still don’t know. As admirable as it is for the paper to continue to detail problems with the story, it has yet to explain what happened.

Amazing that it can print two apologies, punish two senior executives, and still keep such important details hidden. I’m not the only one to notice. Just read this bang-on comment on the apology (I added the hyperlinks for background):

The apology is welcome, even at this late date, but it magnifies the seriousness of the affront to journalism which was committed in the reporting of the former governor general’s funeral in July. It was really quite an apalling lapse, when all the particulars are added together. So much so that no concerned reader could be satisfied with anything less than a full account of who did what and why (if known). The euphemism “improper editorial manipulation” is simply frustrating, in part because it implies that there is such a thing as proper editorial “manipulation.”

Any hesitation to name names is understandable, but this did not stop the T-J from “outing,” by name, a student reporter who messed up on a few unimportant facts and another who submitted a translated column from a French-language newspaper as her own work. Needless to say, the “improper editorial manipulation” admitted to in today’s apology was a far more egregious offence. Yet we can only guess who was at fault.

Well said.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , | Comments

Hartford Courant apologizes for repeated plagiarism*

September 10, 2009 – 8:00 am

hartfordcourantI initially didn’t post about this story because it struck me as a tale of well-meaning aggregation gone wrong, but it seems that the issue was bigger than that. The bottom line is that the Hartford Courant has apologized for repeatedly and knowingly plagiarizing the work of its competitors.

Here’s an excerpt from a statement by the paper’s publisher:

Throughout our history we have served the community by highlighting wrongdoing and violations of ethics when we find them. It is only right that we focus the same light on ourselves when we are wrong.

So, it’s incumbent upon me as publisher to tell you that we failed to meet our own standards and, as we would with anyone else, we are flagging it, calling it wrong and taking action.

In short, after an extensive internal review, we have determined that over the last several weeks The Courant plagiarized the work of some of our competitors. This was not our intent, but it is in fact what happened. We are taking corrective action to prevent it from happening again. We have also disciplined the individuals involved.

There’s not much detail there, so here’s a nut graf from Editor & Publisher:

Last week, Chris Powell, managing editor of The Journal Inquirer in Manchester, Conn., complained in a letter to Graziano that the Courant had been “misappropriating on a wholesale basis local stories published in the Journal Inquirer” since late July, according to a Journal Inquirer report. Jeffrey S. Levine, the Courant’s senior vice president and director of content, said the letter prompted the Courant’s review of its aggregation practices.

AP also has some good background. Finally, a blog maintained by former Courant staffers offers additional details, including an internal memo that describes some fairly outrageous behavior (emphasis mine):

It is and has always been our policy to offer proper attribution. Over the last few weeks, The Courant carried several news stories in which the original news source attributions were removed and credit was given to a Courant staffer.   This was plagiarism.  It happened on our watch. Disciplinary action for those involved, including ourselves, has been taken today.  We’ve put procedures in place to insure that these mistakes never happen again.

The site reports that “Six people at the Hartford Courant, including Content Manager Jeff Levine and Editor Naedine Hazell, have been disciplined by Tribune for their role in plagiarizing material from their competitors’ newspapers.”

Thanks to all who sent this in.

*Correction Sept. 15, 2009: The word plagiarism was misspelled as “plagiairsm” in this headline. Thanks to a commenter for spotting this typo. Update Sept. 16: As David pointed out in the comments, my corrected spelling of the word omitted the second “i.” Very sloppy. I apologize.

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers, Plagiarism, Uncategorized | Also tagged , , , | Comments

Apology

August 31, 2009 – 8:00 am

expressIN our article "Tennis legend Martina and the Russian beauty" on August 25, we reported that Martina Navratilova and Julia Lemigova were believed to be engaged after being photographed on holiday in St Tropez, each wearing rings on their left hands. There is no truth in this. The pair are not engaged and have not exchanged rings. We apologise to Ms Navratilova and Ms Lemigova for our error and any embarrassment we may have caused. Link

 

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Newspapers | Also tagged | Comments

Apology

August 26, 2009 – 8:00 am

On Sunday, August, 2, in our article Robin Hood And His Merry Hell In The Pub, we said that Russell Crowe had been banned from, amongst others, the Brickmakers pub in Windlesham, Surrey whilst staying in the area filming a new Robin Hood epic. We have been informed that Mr Crowe has never been to the Brickmakers pub and therefore the incident never took place. We also acknowledge that Mr Crowe has not been banned, ejected or asked to leave any pub in Windlesham, Surrey or anywhere else in the UK during the shooting of Robin Hood. We apologize to Mr Crowe for the embarrassment and stress caused directly by our error. Link

Via Gossip Cop.

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Apology

August 24, 2009 – 8:00 am

independentIn our article, “Annie get your lawyer: Leibovitz sued over $24m loan” (1 August 2009) we quoted an anonymous source who said that Art Capital Group were ‘pretty scary guys, they are predatory lenders’. The article also included a statement from Annie Leibovitz’s publicist that the lawsuit brought by Art Capital Group is part of its continued harassment and attention-getting efforts. We accept that the allegations are false and apologise to Art Capital Group.’ Link

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Blame it on the gypsies

August 20, 2009 – 8:00 am

sun_uk3SURREY Police have not blamed gipsies for an attack on their force helicopter, no staff in their operations rooms were threatened by gipsies and no gipsy site was being targeted for a raid as we reported on May 14. We apologise for the mistakes and are happy to set the record straight. Link

Thanks, Telsa!

 

By Craig Silverman | Posted in Major Errors, Newspapers | Also tagged , , | Comments