Regret the Error

A surplus of employees, but not of tact

Craig Silverman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:46 +0000

In a Nov. 17 story about job cuts at Verizon Communications Inc., The Associated Press, relying on a labor union report, erroneously reported that Verizon is laying off more than 1,000 employees in Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia.
In response to AP’s query, a Verizon spokesman on Tuesday confirmed that layoffs were occurring. On Wednesday, the spokesman said Verizon has a “surplus” of employees in the area and is giving people a chance to leave voluntarily through buyouts. The spokesman said layoffs could follow if necessary. Link

Congrats, President Franklin

Craig Silverman — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:00:37 +0000

We again incorrectly conferred the US presidency on Benjamin Franklin, this time in the unusual context of a boxing article (Money men demand Mayweather after Pacquiao destroys Cotto, 16 November, page 13, Sport). Link

But they did change their name

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:58 +0000

In a Nov. 6 story citing examples of companies that changed their names to repair their images, The Associated Press erroneously reported that Accenture changed its name from Arthur Andersen as a result of an association with the Enron scandal. Accenture, previously known as Andersen Consulting, operated independently from Arthur Andersen, the accounting firm. Andersen Consulting changed its name before the Enron scandal became public and was in no way tied to the scandal. Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:40 +0000

Our August 5th article “Strictly out of Step about changes to the television programme “Strictly Come Dancing” said that Sharon Osbourne had decided against appearing on it because the money on it was “ridiculous”. We are happy to accept that this is incorrect. Sharon Osbourne decided against appearing on it because of her work commitments and busy schedule in America. We apologise for any embarrassment caused. Link

Going Rogue sparks cover confusion

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:27 +0000

The evening newscast of the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation last night ran an image of the wrong Going Rogue. The book written by Sarah Palin is titled, Going Rogue: An American Life. Another book, written by two staffers at the Nation, is called, Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare.

From a report in the Globe And Mail:

The CBC has admitted it inadvertently displayed the jacket of an anti-Sarah Palin book during a story about the former vice-presidential candidate that aired on The National.
The gaffe came Monday night during a piece on Ms. Palin’s hotly anticipated new memoir Going Rogue: An American Life.
A CBC spokesman confirmed that the network mistakenly put up a graphic depicting the cover of Going Rouge: Sarah Palin An American Nightmare…

CBC spokesman Jeff Keay says the mistake was fixed in a subsequent broadcast.

No mention of a correction. I also wonder if the same thing happened at the Herald in South Carolina, given this corection:

The wrong book cover ran in Monday s Herald with a story about Sarah Palin. Palin’s new book, Going Rogue, hits bookstores today.

MSNBC.com infected by viral campaign

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:26 +0000

In a Nov. 17 video our original headline and caption said pictures within the clip were home video from a wedding. In fact, the video was created as part of a viral marketing campaign on responsible drinking by the brewer Heineken. Link

Fun with photos

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:24 +0000

Our obituary of the US songwriter and producer Luther Dixon was accompanied by the wrong photograph. It showed the singer Chuck Jackson, who is alive. We apologise for this mistake (12 November, page 38). Link

The wrong five year-old to mess with

Craig Silverman — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 12:00:00 +0000

DUE to a production error in last week’s Rouse Hill Times the incorrect photo was published in the story hailing young Tom Hancock’s efforts in martial arts.
The Glenwood five-year-old won two gold and two silver trophies at the recent Australian Open World Martial Arts Championships.
The Times apologises for the error and regrets any confusion that may have been caused.

Fuzzy numbers etc.

Craig Silverman — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 12:00:31 +0000

LAST week’s NIE resource on Science questions answered by CSIRO incorrectly stated that there are 12 zeros in one billion billion. There are 24 zeros if a million times a million is doubled. Many now regard a billion as a thousand times a million. This would be 18 zeros when doubled.

Apology

Craig Silverman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:55 +0000

FOLLOWING last Sunday’s story (”Charles goes on health drive after hospital scare”) Clarence House has asked us to make it clear that the Prince of Wales was not rushed to hospital in the summer. Nor were there any fears he was having a heart attack. The hospital visit of which we were informed was a routinely scheduled check-up.
We are happy to make this clear and apologise to His Royal Highness. Link

That’s a lengthy college career

Craig Silverman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:37 +0000

An article on Nov. 1 about libraries with rare-book collections open to the public misstated the period of time covered by Oscar Wilde’s college notebook, at the William Andrews Clark Memorial Library in Los Angeles. It was written during 1876 and 1878, not 1876 and 1978. And because of an editing error, the article rendered incorrectly part of the Latin title of Galileo’s “Starry Messenger,” at the Linda Hall Library of Science, Engineering and Technology in Kansas City, Mo. It is “Sidereus Nuncius,” not “Sidereus Nucius.” Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:17 +0000

A story in the November 9 edition of the Toronto Sun quoted several unsupported allegations about “alleged misspending” and “influence peddling” involving the Toronto Port Authority. The Toronto Sun has no knowledge and is aware of no evidence to substantiate those allegations. The article also wrongly cited claims that the TPA “cost taxpayers $10 million a year” when in fact it has been profitable in 2008 and 2009 and pays a royalty to the federal government. The Sun apologizes for the errors, innuendo and any injury or inconvenience that may have resulted from the publication of the article. Link

Apology

Craig Silverman — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 12:00:10 +0000

ON 18 September 2009, we published an article in which Warren Furman, also known as the Gladiator “Ace”, was reported as denying “internet rumours” that he had raped Jordan. In doing so, the article implied that these “rumours” were sufficiently serious to require a response from Mr Furman.
In fact the “internet rumours” consisted of very few ambiguous posts on an internet chat forum.

They have since been deleted. We wish to make it clear that neither the posts nor any other matter, provided the basis for the false suggestions that Mr Furman may have raped Jordan. We apologise unreservedly to Mr Furman for the distress and offence caused to him by the article appearing to suggest otherwise.

Regret the links

Craig Silverman — Fri, 13 Nov 2009 12:00:06 +0000

In case you hadn’t noticed, I recently added a “What I’m Reading” sidebar to the site. It’s over there to the right. I link to relevant articles that I find interesting or of note. Every once in a while, I post a round-up of some of those links to make sure you don’t miss out on them. They’re all worth checking out. Enjoy.

Toward a Slow-News Movement Mediactive
mediactive.com | November 8, 2009
Dan Gillmor on speed v. accuracy

Jayson Blair Addresses W&L Journalism Ethics Institute :: Washington and Lee University
wlu.edu | November 6, 2009

The Public Editor – Recession, Revolution and a Leaner Times – Op-Ed – NYTimes.com
The New York Times | November 1, 2009
“Now, with an around-the-clock news cycle, reporters file throughout the day, and copy can be edited over a smoother cycle, she said. That is the goal, but the editing staff is dealing with much more copy than before, some online articles are now read by a single editor instead of four or five, and I hear regularly from readers complaining about errors in grammar, spelling and word usage.”

Reuters Editors Blog Archive Are we now too speedy for our own good? | Blogs |
Reuters UK | October 27, 2009

CNBC: We’re Not Going To Apologize For Blowing Friday’s Microsoft News (GE)
The Business Insider | October 26, 2009

Esther Dyson: Release 0.9: We’re All Fact-Checkers Now
The Huffington Post | October 21, 2009

Reviewing the reviewers

Craig Silverman — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 12:00:57 +0000

A review of LeBron James and Buzz Bissinger’s book “Shooting Stars” in the Nov. 1 Outlook section should have disclosed that a book by the reviewer, Allen Barra, had been reviewed by Bissinger in another publication.

And:

A review of Jon Krakauer’s book “Where Men Win Glory: The Odyssey of Pat Tillman” in the Sept. 13 Outlook section should have disclosed that the reviewer, Andrew Exum, had served as an unpaid adviser to Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, whose role in the aftermath of Tillman’s death is described in the book. Link to both