Regret the Error » multiple errors

Lessons in geography etc.

Craig Silverman — Thu, 15 Dec 2011 12:00:27 +0000

A map showing reported deaths in Syria since protests began at the beginning of the year contained some errors. The Golan Heights were located north of Damascus, some distance from the Israeli border. The city of Idlib appeared twice, once in its correct location and again near Hama. The same city, normally referred to in the Guardian as Qusayr, appeared twice under two variant spellings as Qusseir and Qusayer. The number of people killed in Sanamayn was given as 12.5 (Deaths in Syria by location, 10 December, page 31). Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Tue, 06 Dec 2011 12:30:19 +0000

IN the Buletin Utama report aired on 7.06.2007, the Nightline report aired on 8.06.2007 and the Buletin Pagi report aired on 8.06.2007, we TV3 reported about a suit brought by Syed Ahmad Tun Nasir and his wife, Syarifah Rugayah Binti Ahmad Alsagoff, against the prominent corporate figure, Tan Sri Dato’ Seri Halim bin Mohammad (“Tan Sri Halim”) and their children, Mariani binti Halim and Hisham bin Halim, and HM Aerospace Sdn Bhd and Othman bin Samat.
We agree that our reports were in relation to the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim filed on 7 June 2007 which was yet to be sealed or issued by the High Court of Malaya at Kuala Lumpur at the time our said reports were published.
We regret that the reports were published in our programmes in which prominence was given to the said action brought against Tan Sri Halim, his children and any other parties named in the said documents.
It has since been brought to our attention that the Writ of Summons and Statement of Claim had not been served on Tan Sri Halim or his children or any other parties named in the said documents at the time our reports were broadcasted.
We accept that we did not give an opportunity to Tan Sri Halim or his children or the other parties named in our reports to deny or explain the said allegations contained in the said reports before its publication.
We also accept that the matters reported by us were derived from the Plaintiffs’ allegations in the said legal suit which at present has yet to be determined and we accept that we have unduly relied on the said allegations and given prominence to it.
We accept that our reports may have caused distress and embarrassment to Tan Sri Halim, his family and the other named parties in the reports.
We therefore apologize unreservedly to Tan Sri Halim, Mariani binti Halim, Hisham bin Halim, Othman bin Samat and their respective families as well as HM Aerospace Sdn Bhd and their Board of Directors for any distress and embarrassment that the reports might have caused them. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 13:30:58 +0000

An obituary last Sunday about Basil D’Oliveira, the South African cricket player, misstated Mr. D’Oliveira’s age when he immigrated to England. He was in his late 20s, not ”well into his 30s.” The obituary also misstated the first year the South African cricket team played an international match after South Africa canceled a visit by the English cricket team in 1968. It was 1991, not 1994. And it misstated the surname of the author of the book ”Basil D’Oliveira, Cricket and Conspiracy: The Untold Story.” He is Peter Oborne, not Osborne. Link

Know thyself

Craig Silverman — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 12:00:03 +0000

An obituary of Richard Scott, the former chair of the Scott Trust, contained errors. The obituary stated that CP Scott was the editor of the Manchester Guardian from 1871 to 1932, when in fact he retired in 1929, to be succeeded by his son Ted. In an appreciation of Richard Scott it was stated that after a boating accident on Lake Windermere in 1932, Richard had swum to shore and looked back out into the lake for his father Ted, who had drowned. In testimony he gave to the inquest, held shortly after the drowning, he said that he had climbed on to the upturned boat on the instructions of his father, who had tried to swim to shore but drowned in the attempt. In addition it was incorrectly stated that Peter Preston became the editor of the Guardian in 1974. In fact it was the following year (Obituary, 14 November, page 32). Link

Texas Monthly knows its Rick Perry and college football

Craig Silverman — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 11:30:37 +0000

Our September 2011 issue contained several errors of fact. The article about Rick Perry’s political career ["The Great Campaigner"] stated that Perry has won ten contested elections. The correct number is eleven. (The 1990 Republican primary for agriculture commissioner was inadvertently omitted from our list.) Kenneth Neighbours, Perry’s opponent in the 1984 Democratic primary for state representative, won 22 percent of the vote, not 10 percent. W.R. “Bob” Hailey, his opponent in the 1986 Democratic primary for state representative, won 24 percent of the vote, not 15 percent. And, contrary to what we wrote, Ann Richards was not the last Democrat to win a statewide election. Dan Morales, Bob Bullock, and John Sharp, among a handful of others, have won elections in the years since. Our college football package also contained a mistake. The item regarding throwback jerseys erroneously stated that Baylor University linebacker Mike Singletary once made 79 tackles in a single game. That is pretty much impossible–even for Mike Singletary. In fact, the most tackles the two-time All-American ever had in a game at Baylor was 33. We regret these errors. Link (sub req’d)

Guardian apologizes for articles about Aston Villa

Craig Silverman — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 11:30:37 +0000

The Guardian published articles about Aston Villa which contained a number of inaccuracies that might have led some readers to believe that Martin O’Neill’s management of the football club cost “phenomenal” sums of money with very little by way of success and that as a result he was justifiably dismissed without compensation.
We accept that Martin O’Neill resigned from his position. He would like to make clear that he achieved a very satisfactory conclusion to his claim for constructive dismissal. Under his stewardship Aston Villa progressed from 16th place in the Premier League to three consecutive sixth-place finishes. In his final year the team also reached the final of the Carling Cup and the semi-final of the FA Cup.
Figures cited in the articles were for Reform Acquisitions Limited, the parent company for a number of companies connected with Aston Villa. The only company with which Mr O’Neill had any direct connection as an employee was that responsible for the professional football club. We accept that the group loss was not Mr O’Neill’s responsibility. The wage bill for Aston Villa FC was £69m, not £79m.
We stated that investments in player transfers alone amounted to £138m. That figure is for expenditure on players and does not include money raised from sales of players. We are happy to put the record straight and apologise to Martin O’Neill (Aston Villa reveal cost of Martin O’Neill’s time in charge, 1 March, page 2, Sport; Villa must rely on academy players to balance books, 1 March, page 3, Sport; In sickness and in wealth: a guide to the latest accounts at England’s top clubs, 19 May, page 4, Sport). Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 11:30:26 +0000

A REPORT was published in the Carmarthen Journal dated October 12 headlined Farmer in tirade after officers visit over sewage spill.
In the report it was stated that Robert Adrian Maskell was arrested. This was not the case. We are happy to clarify and apologise for any distress or embarrassment caused.
The report said that Mr Maskell ‘dumped’ sewage into the river. In fact slurry and sewage had seeped into a stream at Cwmgest Farm, as dirty water had escaped into the surface water system at various places on the farm.
The Journal is happy to clarify. In the report it is said that fish were killed in the incident. We are happy to clarify that eight dead fish were found.

The uncorrected story is still online.

New York Times, hip hop experts

Craig Silverman — Thu, 22 Sep 2011 11:30:44 +0000

A music review on Sept. 5 about the Rock the Bells hip-hop show on Governors Island, where 11 albums were performed in their entirety, included several errors.
The rapper who made the album “Heavy Mental” is Killah Priest, not Killa Priest.
The album by Raekwon re-enacted at the concert is “Only Built 4 Cuban Linx,” not, as the program rendered it, “Only Built for Cuban Linx.” The full title of another album re-enacted is “Mos Def & Talib Kweli Are Black Star,” not simply “Black Star.”
One of the songs on Erykah Badu’s album “Baduizm” is “Otherside of the Game,” not “Other Side of the Game.” The title of a song performed by Nas is “Live at the Barbeque,” not “Live at the Barbecue.”
And Large Professor, a member of Main Source, was born in Harlem — not Queens, which is where he was raised. Link

NYT reprints then corrects rumor from News of the World

Craig Silverman — Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:30:42 +0000

An article on Monday about the excitement in the Russian republic of Dagestan generated by an elite Cameroonian soccer player hired by an obscure club there that is owned by Sulyman Kerimov, a Russian oligarch, misstated the salary of the player, Samuel Eto’o. He is being paid $30 million per season, not $30 million over three years.
The article also erroneously included a wealthy American industrialist of Russian descent among a group of sporting oligarchs who have purchased or sought to purchase professional teams. The industrialist, Len Blavatnik, never expressed interest in purchasing the West Ham United team of Britain. So it is not the case that he ”tried and failed in an attempt to buy West Ham United,” a rumor that had been generated by a speculative article in the now-defunct News of the World tabloid on July 11, 2010, which was refuted at the time by Mr. Blavatnik’s representatives. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:00:07 +0000

An article in some editions on Nov. 25 about a dispute involving turkeys sold at farmers’ markets in New York by Tamarack Hollow Farm contained several errors.
The financier who invested in the farm, Michael Liebis, was born in Israel, not Brooklyn.
And while Mr. Liebis and Mike Betit, the owner of the farm, in Burlington, Vt., did indeed travel between New York and Vermont on business, they said they did not do so five times a week, though they continue to disagree about how many trips they did make.
They met as early as 2006, not in 2009. And at the time the two formed a partnership, Mr. Betit was selling at three greenmarkets, not one.
These errors were raised with The Times in April. This correction was first delayed because e-mails went astray and later because of research.
Because of an editing error, two picture captions on Wednesday with an article about a conflict over an affordable housing project in Woodstock, N.Y., were reversed in some copies. Iris York, an opponent of the project, was shown at the right, standing on the perimeter of the complex site. And Susan Goldman, a supporter, was at the left, in a cafe. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Fri, 16 Sep 2011 11:00:58 +0000

A feature article about Fukushima six months after an earthquake and tsunami triggered the meltdown of three nuclear reactors at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant contained some errors. References to the amount of radiation a person receives during a chest x-ray were incorrect: the amount is 0.1 millisieverts, not 0.1 microsieverts. We also incorrectly stated that a “six-hour transatlantic flight adds 0.5 and a whole-body CT scan 12 microsieverts”: that should be millisieverts. In addition, we wrongly spelled Masayoshi Son as “Sun” and incorrectly referred to the “Nagasaki Atomic Bomb Disease Hospital” when it is the (Japan Red Cross) Atomic Bomb Hospital. Finally, in a sentence comparing the distribution of caesium and strontium radioisotopes we wrongly suggested that strontium is heavier than caesium. However, the atomic weight of strontium is 87.62 and that of caesium 132.9 (Is Japan still safe?, 10 September, page 24, Weekend). Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 11:00:08 +0000

In a Sept. 8 story about a South African girl with progeria, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Ontlametse Phalatse is the first black child diagnosed with the aging disease. The Progeria Research Foundation said it is aware of two other cases of black children diagnosed with progeria who have died. The AP also erroneously reported that two South Africans have been diagnosed with the disease. The foundation said more than two South Africans have been diagnosed and that two, including Phalatse, remain alive. The AP also erroneously reported that the number of children diagnosed has risen from 48 to 80 worldwide. The foundation said the number has increased by 48 percent from 54 to 80. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Fri, 02 Sep 2011 11:30:32 +0000

Following our article “Carnival losing ad cash to rival” (August 18), the Chronicle would like to make a clarification. The story covered a dispute between the producers of Burnham Carnival’s official programme and a rival issue.
In the picture with the story is Robin Harrington not Keith Brown, as stated.
Mr Harrington is pictured holding a copy of the official programme and local magazine the Burnham and Dengie Hundred Review, not a rival publication as reported.
In the article, comments attributed to Keith Brown were in fact the words of Keith Williams, editor of the Burnham and Dengie Hundred Review and a member of the committee. It was also stated that the official programme raises £6,000.
The carnival raises about £6,000 in total, towards which programme funds contribute.
We would like to apologise for any confusion caused.

The uncorrected article is here.

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:00:43 +0000

An article on Aug. 14 about the Greek island of Hydra, which has become a stronghold of contemporary artists, misstated the distance of the island from Athens and the body of water that diners at a taverna there would have seen. It is about 45 miles from Athens, not 120 miles, and the taverna would have looked out over the Saronic Gulf, not the Aegean Sea. And because of an editing error, the article erroneously attributed a distinction to the island. It is not a Unesco World Heritage Site. Link

Rest is fine

Craig Silverman — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:30:49 +0000

An obituary on Wednesday about Ralph D. Albertazzie, the pilot of Air Force One during the Nixon administration, referred imprecisely to one mission he flew. In July 1971 he flew Henry A. Kissinger to Pakistan and another pilot secretly flew Mr. Kissinger on another plane from there to China, where he discussed plans for President Richard M. Nixon’s trip there. Mr. Albertazzie did not ”take Mr. Kissinger to China” on that mission, nor did he fly President Nixon there four months later. (He did fly Mr. Kissinger to China in October of that year, then flew Nixon there four months after that.) The obituary also referred incorrectly to ”The Flying White House,” the book Mr. Albertazzie wrote with J. F. terHorst. In that book Mr. Albertazzie wrote about himself in the third person, not the second. Link