The paper listed the Hamilton Tiger-Cats as the losing team, rather than the Winnipeg Blue Bombers:

My colleagues at OpenFile Montreal tracked down the copy editor responsible. His name is Steve Faguy and he’s also a well known local blogger. (Faguy occasionally contributes to OpenFile Montreal, too.)

Faguy was a good sport about the mistake, explaining how it happened:

… In fact, I was the one who wrote the pointer (the headline which contained the error) on the front page, and through it all it never hit me that it said “Hamilton Tiger-Cats” and not “Winnipeg Blue Bombers.” To say it’s embarrassing would be an understatement. I could appeal to the fact that it was written in the rush to deadline, that I was low on sleep and that I wasn’t the one who put the names of the teams on the page, but not catching something like that really has no excuse. I await the flood of reader insults. I can’t make fun of other media’s giant front-page mistakes without taking some of the punishment myself. (I expect I’ll be hearing it from my colleagues as well)

My question: why let another local media outlet be the one to offer an explanation for your mistake? I imagine the paper is planning to run a correction in tomorrow’s paper, but why wait until then when the image is being passed around online?

Update Nov. 28, 2011: Just after publishing this post I noticed that Faguy also put up a post on his blog. He writes:

I have, in the past, made light of errors made in various media. In some cases they’re minor and entirely understandable. In some cases there is a fundamental problem with something that has been reported.

And in some cases, it’s technically minor but incredibly embarrassing.

If this had been any other Montreal media, I’d be posting it here with, I admit, a little bit of childish glee. But it was my paper.

And worse than that, it was me

He also confirms there will be a correction tomorrow:

But really, there is no excuse. Just a very embarrassing correction in Tuesday’s paper, some teasing by fellow editors on the sports desk, and some reader email questioning our competence, all of which is clearly deserved.

Thanks, Dave!

Puzzled by the headline? Explanation.

Thanks, Jim!

Thanks, James!

So, here’s what happened…

Music Week recently conducted an interview with the utterly charming and mind-blowingly successful songwriter RedOne. For quite a lengthy period he talked about how he had recently been in the studio with Dive Bella Dive, One Direction, JLS and Cher Lloyd. All great stuff.

After a (slight, honestly) pause, he then discussed how he will be working on a collaboration between Cher and Lady Ga-Ga. Transcribing the interview we put two and two together and came up with…. well, two actually, but the wrong two.

The Cher to whom RedOne referred was, of course, living legend Cher. As in Sonny and Cher. As in Gypsies, Tramps and Thieves. As in Do You Beliiiiieeeeeve In Life After Love. Not Cher as in Lloyd. As in did quite well in X-Factor and has had one, admittedly huge, hit record …

So, as we say, that’s what happened. Music Week has, of course, been ‘flamed’ online for it, and we accept all the barbs and brickbats in good grace.

Tomorrow won’t be any better than today, as the print edition will hit your desks with that completely erroneous story on, you guessed it, the front page. Ignore it. Please. Concentrate on the excellent news about record-breaking single sales, maybe. That’s all totally true, promise.

We have, of course, apologised to all involved. And now, dear reader, we apologise to you.

And you know which Cher track keeps going round and round in our collective consciousness. Altogether now: ‘If I could turn back time…’

Thanks, Catherine!

Previously.

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