Regret the Error » los angeles times

Hoggers, not joggers

Craig Silverman — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:00:40 +0000

Rural reality TV: In the Dec. 1 Calendar section, an article about reality TV series focusing on rural areas referred to the shows “American Hoggers” and “Lady Hoggers” as “American Joggers” and “Lady Joggers.” Link

Lethal, not legal

Craig Silverman — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 12:00:16 +0000

Oregon death penalty: An article in the Nov. 23 Section A about Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber’s declaration on the death penalty said that his decision canceled the scheduled Dec. 6 execution of Gary Haugen and came a day after the Oregon Supreme Court had cleared the way for Haugen’s death by legal injection. It should have said lethal injection. Link

Readers notice errors and can tell if a story has been edited, according to research

Craig Silverman — Mon, 07 Nov 2011 02:46:29 +0000

The Los Angeles Times has been hearing complaints from readers about typos and grammatical errors. The feedback was mentioned in this piece. Just about every newspaper these days gets complaints of that nature, and it’s good that readers speak up.

But what’s notable about the Times story is the information offered up in response by readers’ representative Deirdre Edgar:

When readers write in about errors, it shows they care, and that’s a good thing. Research done for the American Copy Editors Society this spring confirmed what the Readers’ Rep inbox tells us.

Fred Vultee, a journalism professor at Wayne State University, studied a group of readers over a three-month period. His findings:

Readers who read more news tend to be more critical than people who read less.

Dedicated readers expect a higher level of quality than casual readers, particularly in terms of grammar and professionalism.

Readers notice grammar errors and find them troubling and distracting.

Readers notice writing that is garbled and confusing, and when words are misspelled or misused.

Most readers are less concerned about errors of style and story structure than they are about professionalism and grammar. “They really don’t care if you abbreviate ‘road,’ Vultee said. “They don’t care if you start a paragraph with a number.”

I hadn’t heard about Vultee’s work, and there’s a summary of it here. There’s one other key finding that’s worth noting:

Readers can tell edited from unedited stories in significant ways.

That’s an interesting finding. I hope to learn more from Vultee about some of the differences noted by readers.

An army dog

Craig Silverman — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 12:30:01 +0000

Pet cemetery: A caption that accompanied an Aug. 1 article in Section A about pet owners picking cheaper services for deceased pets said the dog Skippy, who is buried at Pet Haven Cemetery & Crematory in Gardena, played television’s Lassie. In fact, Skippy was an Army K-9 Corps dog. Link

Title issues

Craig Silverman — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 12:00:53 +0000

Tom Wolfe: A July 10 article about an exhibition of author Tom Wolfe’s illustrations referred to one of his books as “The Painted Bird.” The correct title is “The Painted Word.” Link

And:

Mexican actors: A July 10 article about Mexican actors working in Hollywood translated the film title “No Eres Tu, Soy Yo” as “I’m Not You, I’m Me.” The correct translation is “It’s Not You, It’s Me.” Link

Confusing quote

Craig Silverman — Mon, 18 Jul 2011 11:00:08 +0000

Chinese film: An article in the July 14 Calendar section about the movie “Snow Flower and the Secret Fan” said director Wayne Wang believes a number of recent Chinese blockbusters have failed to connect with American audiences because the storytelling isn’t ambitious. In fact, he described the storytelling as confusing. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 11:00:01 +0000

Declaration of Independence: A story about the Declaration of Independence on the Kids’ Reading Room page in the July 3 Comics II section said that Congress adopted the Declaration on July 2, 1776, and signed it two days later. Congress declared independence on July 2, 1776, and adopted the Declaration two days later; signing didn’t begin until Aug. 2 that year. In addition, the article said that when Thomas Jefferson was drafting the Declaration in June, the words he wrote for the opening were, “When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another….” Those are the opening words in the Declaration that Congress adopted, but they are not what Jefferson wrote in his first draft. He wrote, “When in the course of human events it becomes necessary for a people to advance from that subordination in which they have hitherto remained….” Link

Blame Israel

Craig Silverman — Thu, 26 May 2011 13:00:16 +0000

Photograph: A May 20 letter to the editor incorrectly said a conservative Israeli newspaper digitally scrubbed Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton from a photo of Obama administration officials monitoring the raid on Osama bin Laden. The newspaper that altered the photo is based in Brooklyn, N.Y. Link

Know thyself

Craig Silverman — Thu, 05 May 2011 12:00:51 +0000

Daniel Hernandez: An article in the April 28 Calendar section about author-journalist Daniel Hernandez identified Hernandez as a former Los Angeles Times staff writer. Hernandez is a former Los Angeles Times staff writer and a current staff blogger and news assistant in the Times’ Mexico City bureau. Link

LA Times Osama obit gets 9/11 date wrong

Craig Silverman — Wed, 04 May 2011 12:00:58 +0000

Bin Laden obituary: The obituary of Osama Bin Laden in the May 2 Section A incorrectly reported the date of his Al Qaeda network’s terrorist attacks on the United States as Sept. 11, 2011. The attacks took place in 2001. Additionally, the obituary omitted the day Bin Laden was killed. It was early Monday in Pakistan. Link

It’s complicated

Craig Silverman — Tue, 03 May 2011 12:00:34 +0000

Madame Nhu: In the April 28 LATExtra section, the obituary and accompanying headlines on Madame Ngo Dinh Nhu, South Vietnam’s unofficial first lady during the early part of the Vietnam War, referred to her as Ngo Dinh Nhu. That was her husband’s name. Her birth name, as the story said, was Tran Le Xuan. In Vietnamese culture, most women continue to use their family name after marriage. However, Tran Le Xuan chose to be known as Madame Nhu. Link

Thanks, Steve!

Food, not mood

Craig Silverman — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 12:00:56 +0000

Sunday Conversation: In the Calendar section elsewhere in this edition, the Sunday Conversation column with Wayne Pacelle, president of the Humane Society of the United States, gives the release date for his book "The Bond" as April 1. Pacelle's book will be out April 5. Also, the article quotes Pacelle as saying, "People used to think animals were operating by instinct and mindlessly pursuing mood and mating opportunities." Pacelle said "food," not "mood." The errors were detected after the section went to press. Link

Mistaking satire for reality

Craig Silverman — Fri, 04 Mar 2011 13:00:42 +0000

Political novel: Tim Rutten's Feb. 2 Op-Ed column about Simon & Schuster's promotion of the political novel "O" cited two passages it said were from the book, saying they demonstrated the author's partisanship. Neither passage actually appeared in the book. They were both taken from a parody that appeared on the website of the British newspaper the Guardian. Link

In other words, not a hit

Craig Silverman — Wed, 02 Mar 2011 13:00:20 +0000

Sound mixers: An article in the Feb. 23 Calendar section about Ed Novick and Mark Weingarten, longtime friends who were competing against one another as Oscar nominees for sound mixing, said that one of the few times they had ever worked together was on a musical called "Shag" that was never released in theaters. In fact, it was released in 1989. Link

Fuzzy numbers etc.

Craig Silverman — Fri, 21 Jan 2011 13:00:36 +0000

Golden Globes: A critic's notebook on the Golden Globes in the Jan. 18 Calendar, about how passion and quality can pay off in the movie business, described "Barney's Version" as "a $3-million adaptation of Mordecai Richler's acerbic novel and largely backed by Canadian interests." In fact, the budget was $30 million. Link