The Washington Post and its magazine this weekend published three Editor’s Notes, one of which included an apology. As I pointed out in a recent column for Columbia Journalism Review online, the Post rarely makes apologies. Here’s the apology/Editor’s Note from magazine editor Tom Shroder:
In the Jan. 25 issue of the Magazine, we ran an essay in the XX Files headlined “Suspended Disbelief.” The author was writing about the dilemma she felt when a friend’s husband was sent to jail for molesting a young girl, despite his protestations of innocence. In the end, she discovered that even though she wanted to believe her friend’s husband, she couldn’t quite do it.
The column had factual errors, and editors in the Magazine, including me, failed to catch them. The author wrote that the man had been talked into accepting a plea agreement, and implied that there had been only one accuser. In fact, the man had turned down the plea offer, and had been tried and convicted. Also, more than one girl made accusations. The inescapable conclusion is that the man’s guilt was not as ambiguous as presented. No names were used, but the families of the victims only too readily recognized the circumstances and were understandably upset by the implication of the story. Today, I want to apologize for our errors and publish a letter from a victim’s grandmother …
The magazine also felt the need to publish an Editor’s Note to apologize in advance for a column, headline and illustration in this week’s issue:
The headline, illustration and text of “Below the Beltway,” a column in The Washington Post Magazine today, may cause offense to readers. The magazine was printed before a widely publicized incident last week in which a chimpanzee attacked and badly mauled a woman in Stamford, Conn. In addition, the image and text inadvertently may conjure racial stereotypes that The Post does not countenance. We regret the lapse.
The column, which is written by Pulitzer winner Gene Weingarten, is online here. This is the illustration:
The online version of the column doesn’t include the Note. Finally, the paper published this Editor’s Note:
A Feb. 19 Page One article disclosed an FBI investigation into the personal life of the late Jack Valenti, former White House aide to President Lyndon B. Johnson. The piece should have stated more expressly than it did that the investigation produced no evidence that Valenti was gay or had a sexual relationship with a photographer who was mentioned in FBI records but whose name was redacted from those files. The motivation for the investigation is not clear from the files provided by the FBI. In addition, The Post should have made clear that it contacted Valenti’s immediate family before the piece was published. After considering the matter, they requested that no statement from the family be included in the article. The Post should have indicated that the family knew of and was given an opportunity to address the facts presented in the article.
Thanks, G!
UPDATE Feb. 23: The Washington City Paper received a comment from Post executive editor Marcus Brauchli about the cartoon Editor’s Note:
The decision to run Editor’s Notes at major dailies doesn’t rest with the paper’s lower rungs. This is an executive editor’s prerogative, and Marcus Brauchli, who holds that title at the Post, says there are two reasons for the note.
No. 1: “[T]he magazine had gone to press before the incident in Connecticut. We wanted readers to understand that, so they wouldn’t think us callous in our choice of words and images.”
OK, unnecessary but understandable. But what about the racial part?
Here’s Brauchli on that: “[S]ome people in our newsroom thought the illustration and some language in the article was potentially problematic. We debated internally whether the illustration or the piece could be interpreted by anyone, even in a stretch, as racially insensitive. We concluded, regretfully, that such an interpretation might be made, and we wanted to let readers know that The Post neither intended nor tolerates the use of racial stereotypes.”
A Reliable Source item in the Nov. 21 Style section describing Michael Lohan’s dinner at Teatro Goldoni incorrectly indicated that he shared the wine that was ordered by his table. Lohan, who does not drink, did not have any wine. 
In a previous edition of this story, it was stated that Olivia de Havilland had won an Academy Award in 1939. She was actually nominated, but did not win. The story also stated that de Havilland won an Oscar for the 1948 film “The Snake Pit.” Again, she was nominated but did not win. 
The Value Added column in the Nov. 17 Business section should have said that a typical Chevrolet dealership sells 400 units per year, compared with Toyota’s 1,800 per year. The column incorrectly characterized those numbers as monthly figures. The column also incorrectly calculated that dealerships earn $150,000 in profit before taxes for every $1 million in sales. The correct figure is $15,000. 
Critic Tom Sietsema should have recused himself from reviewing the Commissary, a restaurant featured in the Oct. 29 Food section. He and one of the restaurant’s owners had earlier had a personal relationship. The Washington Post regrets that he reviewed this restaurant, and will remove the review from its online archive. 
A photo caption in the Oct. 22 Style section incorrectly referred to Bill O’Reilly as a “right-wing pundit.” The Fox News host presents himself as an independent. 
A statement in the early edition of the Oct. 14 Sports section referring to Johnny Rockets and Dick Clark Productions was intended to identify them as other business interests of Washington Redskins owner Daniel Snyder, not as businesses with any troubles. 
An Oct. 13 Style article on negative politics misstated the title of a book by David Mark. It is called “Going Dirty,” not “Dirty Politics.” 
The Aug. 11 obituary for Isaac Hayes incorrectly reported that a song called “Big Time Champ” was on the album “Hot Buttered Soul.” No song with that title appeared on the four-song album or was recorded by Mr. Hayes. 
A memoir in the July 13 Magazine about an explosion at a summer day camp incorrectly reported a NASA statement on the shuttle Challenger disaster. NASA eventually did release the transcripts of the astronauts’ voice recordings, and there was no mention of an astronaut saying, “Please, hold my hand.” 
In the Department of Human Behavior column in the July 14 A-section, Jay Goldstein of the University of Maryland was referred to as “Bernstein” in some instances. 
A July 10 A-section article misstated the number of mosquito nets the Group of Eight leaders pledged for an anti-malaria initiative. They pledged 100 million nets, not 100,000. 
A July 2 Food column incorrectly said that winemakers Gray Hartley and Frank Ostini were having difficulty obtaining the Hartley Ostini Hitching Post Highliner Pinot Noir after the movie “Sideways” made it popular. It was Vermont Restaurant owners Michael Gelzhiser and Manuel Mesta who were having a hard time getting the wine after the film was released. 
A May 31 Page One article on 
From Al Kamen’s column:
A review of Rick Perlstein’s “Nixonland: The Rise of a President and the Fracturing of America” in the June 1 issue of Book World incorrectly reported that the book gives the wrong address for Richard Nixon’s former residence in New York. In fact, as “Nixonland” correctly states, Nixon lived in an apartment on Fifth Avenue in the early 1960s, after leaving the vice presidency. He later lived in a townhouse on East 65th Street. 
A May 19 KidsPost article incorrectly implied that large pretzels served at a birthday party at the Montessori School of McLean were baked by a student’s mother. They were bought at the Heidelberg Pastry Shoppe in Arlington. 
The recipe for Irish Whiskey Cake in the April 30 Food section called for an incorrect amount of whiskey in the glaze. It should be 1 cup, not 1 tablespoon. 
The Media Notes column in the April 28 Style section incorrectly said that Atlanta has two newspapers with the same owner. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is a single newspaper. 
