Regret the Error

Our obsessive cataloging of corrections occasionally enables us to spot a pattern. Whether it’s the failure of newspapers to identify someone they initially misidentified in a photo, or the inability of newspapers to accurately report on, well, newspapers, we sometimes feel as though we’re listening to a broken record. Such was the case when we spotted this correction in the Washington Post:

A May 14 article about Sen. John McCain’s speech at Liberty University incorrectly referred to the chairman of Focus on the Family as the Rev. James Dobson. Dobson is not an ordained minister.

We knew we’d read that one before. (The GetReligion blog also felt a sense of déjà vu.) So we fired up Nexis, did a search for “James Dobson and correction,” and were less than shocked to turn up more than 20 similar corrections going back to 1989. What publication ran that 1989 correction, you ask? The Washington Post. GetReligion also spotted two recent Newsweek corrections that we have included below. So here they are in all their glory: The James Dobson Is Not A Reverend/Minister/Evangelical Corrections. Bow your heads and pray we never see another one.

Roll Call
May 11, 2006
In the May 10 edition of “Heard on the Hill,” James Dobson of Focus on the Family was misidentified as a reverend. He has a Ph.D. from the University of Southern California in the field of child development.

The San Diego Union-Tribune
April 27, 2006
A headline April 20 with a story about the 70th birthday of Dr. James Dobson misidentified him as an evangelist. A child psychologist and best-selling author, he is the founder and chairman of Focus on Family, a nonprofit Christian ministry that helps families.

Newsweek
Feb. 20, 2006
In the Feb. 13 article “God’s Green Soldiers,” we incorrectly identified James Dobson as a reverend. He in fact has a Ph.D. in child psychology and goes by Dr. Dobson. Newsweek regrets the [error].

Wall Street Journal
November 5, 2005
Correction of Oct 28 page-one article; James Dobson is psychologist and chairman of Focus on the Family

Sun-Sentinel
August 17, 2005
A July 12 column by Michael Mayo on Page 1B of the Local section, about the Broward schools SpongeBob video controversy, contained two errors. Activist James Dobson is not a reverend, and Dobson did not assert that the cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants is gay.

Newsweek
Aug. 8, 2005
In our Aug. 1 issue, a sidebar on lobbying groups (“A
User’s Guide to the Groups”) incorrect[ly] identifies James Dobson as a
reverend. He in fact has a Ph.D. in child psychology and goes by Dr.
Dobson. Newsweek regrets the error.

Times-Picayune (New Orleans)
August 6, 2005
Headline clarified: In a headline in Thursday’s editions, James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, a nonprofit organization that focuses on Christian values in the home, was called a minister. Although he runs a ministry, his degrees are in psychology as well as marriage and family counseling.

The Cincinnati Enquirer
June 10, 2005
Dr. James C. Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, is a psychologist, author and radio broadcaster. A June 3 story on the 2nd Congressional District race misidentified him.

The Kansas City Star
March 9, 2005
An item in The Buzz on Sunday incorrectly referred to James Dobson, chairman of Focus on the Family, as “the Rev. James Dobson.”

St. Petersburg Times
January 29, 2005
Focus on the Family founder James Dobson is a psychologist and a marriage, family and child counselor. A column Friday stated an incorrect profession.

The San Francisco Chronicle
October 3, 2004
Articles on March 14 and Sept. 19 erroneously used the title “the Rev.” for James Dobson, the founder of the Focus on the Family. Dobson is not ordained.

Slate Magazine
January 23, 2004
In a Jan. 19 Chatterbox column, Timothy Noah erroneously referred to the Rev. James Dobson. Dobson is actually a lay Ph.D. (in child development), not an ordained minister.

Chicago Tribune
September 4, 2003
In a story Friday on Page 8 of the main news section, James Dobson, head of the Colorado-based family advocacy group Focus on the Family was misidentified with the title “Rev.” and called an evangelist. He is neither an ordained minister nor an evangelist.

Austin American-Statesman
February 21, 2003
Page B1 of Sunday’s Metro & State section, a story about religious groups debating the issue of homosexuality misidentified James Dobson, founder and president of Focus on the Family. He is not a minister.

The Montgomery Advertiser
November 9, 2002
Setting it straight: A story in the Oct. 13 edition of the Montgomery Advertiser used an incorrect professional title in reference to James Dobson, founder of the Focus on the Family ministry. Dobson is not a reverend. He holds a doctorate in child development.

Wall Street Journal
May 11, 2001
Correction of May 9 Politics & Policy article, James Dobson, founder of Focus on the Family, oversees a radio ministry, but he is not an ordained minister.

The Nation
October 30, 2000
In Alexander Cockburn’s October 2 “Beat the Devil,” Focus on the Family’s president, James Dobson, was erroneously referred to as a “Reverend.”

Kansas City Star
November 23, 1996
Because of a reporter’s error, religious broadcaster James Dobson was identified as a minister in an Oct. 27 profile of Sam Brownback, successful candidate for U.S. Senate. Dobson is a licensed psychologist. The profile also implied that the organization Dobson heads, Focus on the Family, supported Brownback’s candidacy. Dobson made a personal endorsement of Brownback; Focus on the Family does not endorse candidates.

Chicago Tribune
October 31, 1995
An editorial Thursday incorrectly referred to the head of Focus on the Family as Rev. James Dobson. He is not a minister.

Orange County Register
March 2, 1993
James Dobson is a Christian counselor. Because of a reporting error, Dobson was misidentified in a story in the Metro section of Monday’s editions of The Orange County Register.

The Houston Chronicle
January 19, 1993
A story Sunday incorrectly described James Dobson, the head of a Colorado Springs, Colo., evangelical ministry, as a member of the clergy. He is a psychologist.

The Washington Post
June 13, 1989
In a report yesterday about the Moral Majority, James Dobson was identified incorrectly as a minister. He has a PhD in clinical psychology.