Regret the Error - Latest Comments

Re: Fox News apologizes for using misleading footage, again

CraigSilverman — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:47:40 -0000

Thanks for catching that typo.

Re: Fox News apologizes for using misleading footage, again

Nat Gertler — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 12:27:37 -0000

"Trying to simply things is a good approach"

I agree. And starting by simplying the word "simplify" is a great start!

Re: Tough love

AgnesYazzie — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 13:54:46 -0000

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Re: Going Rogue sparks cover confusion

deb212 — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 22:53:23 -0000

Yes, it was the same thing at The Herald in Rock Hill, South Carolina. I was teaching a class on nonfiction text features using sequential issues of the paper when my students discovered the apology, if you can call it that, and quickly found the "mistake."

Re: Fuzzy numbers etc.

Nat Gertler — Sun, 22 Nov 2009 11:27:59 -0000

And they still get the math wrong.
If a million times a million is doubled, you don't get a billion billion. You get either two billion or two thousand billion, depending on which definition of "billion" you're using. The concept they're looking for is if a million times a million is squared. That will give you your number with 24 zeroes, which is either a billion billion (under the larger definition of "billion") or a million billion billion (under the smaller definition.)

Re: But they did change their name

twitter-18775552 — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 15:06:26 -0000

True - according to a 2002 NY Times article*:

"Accenture, formerly known as Andersen Consulting, was separated from Arthur Andersen in 2000 by an arbitrator who resolved a longstanding dispute between them, and Andersen has since worked to build its own consulting practice.

Andersen was paid about $27 million by Enron for consulting and about $25 million for audit services in 2000."

So, Arthur Andersen did consulting for Enron, but not as "Andersen Consulting" or Accenture.

* http://www.nytimes.com/2002/02/01/business/enro...

Re: Reuters corrects story about “German Lego giraffe penis”

corimic — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 06:12:11 -0000

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Re: Science for everybody!

swingtrading3 — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 10:45:16 -0000

Interesting post. I have made a twitter post about this. Others no doubt will like it like I did.

Re: BBC Trust calls on BBC.co.uk to improve fact checking, updating of articles

gtnellis — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:02:51 -0000

The BBC policey of NOTadvertising seems to have gone to pot, every day programnes run late, due to BBC 1, 2, 3, 4, T. V. plus various radio channels advertising their local programnes

Re: Technology breeds ambitious reporting

craigspva3 — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 01:06:14 -0000

Interesting post. I have made a twitter post about this. Others no doubt will like it like I did.

Re: Technology is incredible

swingtrading — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:35:17 -0000

Nice one. I have stumbled and twittered this for my friends. Others no doubt will like it like I did.

Re: Apology

devika_melora — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 14:33:55 -0000

I can't help but wonder exactly how much fact-checking was done here. I would think that any sensible person, especially a reporter, who hears such an outlandish claim would do a LOT of research to verify the story. And then it took them 2.5 years to publish an apology? I wonder if the funeral home finally contacted them after they discovered why people stopped using their services.

Re: Sterilize ‘em all! (If they fit this specific criteria)

Harry — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 11:31:07 -0000

It should read: ...these specific criteria, or this specific criterion.

Re: Sorry for calling you an “evil terrorist”

viclogic — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 11:54:44 -0000

He had been jailed and convicted under Section 58? But Mr. Patel is innocently having those documents? So then a suspect, even though convicted, cannot yet be proven a guilty. It's nice that the Sun admitted that error and Mr. Patel has been cleared-out. But still, media should take a great responsibility in providing people with just information. Sometimes errors cannot be corrected without a great wound.

Re: UPDATED: Harvard math prof Dr. Shing-Tung Yau claims New Yorker story defamed him

swingtrading2 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:19:33 -0000

Insightful read. I have stumbled and twittered this for my friends. Others no doubt will like it like I did.

Re: NYT public editor addresses errors made in Cronkite article; some basic advice for preventing errors

jennifer104 — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 00:58:29 -0000

Does “intellectual heft” in reporting compensate for inaccurate reporting?
Absolutely not. Your job as a reporter is to report the facts. If you can't get that right, then you should consider another line of work.

Re: Boxer loses, bursts into teats

Frank — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:50:32 -0000

Two r's in morron.

Re: Speed versus accuracy in journalism: towards a new debate

CraigSilverman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:43:38 -0000

Thanks for the comment, Jeff. I did a strikethrough on that "always" in the absolute sentence. Nice catch. I can just imagine some of my favorite copy editors lashing me for that one. I'm happy you caught it.

And I hadn't seen Denton's comment, which is very interesting.

Re: Speed versus accuracy in journalism: towards a new debate

CraigSilverman — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 09:33:43 -0000

Thanks for your comment. I don't think we disagree at all, and your point is valid. For your scenario, my post is suggesting that the reporter and editor should think about whether or not it's essential that the story be published without that additional information. Is speed really important for that specific story, or would it be okay to wait for the callback? It's about having that conversation and making a conscious decision.

Re: Speed versus accuracy in journalism: towards a new debate

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 03:08:49 -0000

It's not that I disagree, but practically speaking, it can take hours and hours to get a return call for a comment or quote. Sometimes you have to go with what you have and update with additional information later. It's particularly true in the political world, where responses can be slow in coming. With a deadline looming and still no return call or email, what does one do? Tell the boss to "hold the presses"? In real-life journalism, the ideal sometimes collides with the practical and the necessity.

Re: Speed versus accuracy in journalism: towards a new debate

jeffjarvis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 15:48:56 -0000

Really good piece, Craig. (Thanks for the hat tips).

If I were a copy editor laboring over and delaying this, I'd be amusing myself over your twitterable sentence (which I did, indeed, tweet):

"Accuracy is not always an absolute." Hmm. Isn't an absolute always an absolute? Thus if it's not always an absolute it's never an absolute? Just asking.....

See also Nick Denton saying flat out that they don't fact-check before publishing: “We aim to get the truth over time. The verification model is post-publication rather than pre-publication. Our readers correct us and we apologize and we change it. We don’t have time to check it all before.”

http://www.observer.com/2009/media/asme-confere...

Re: A look at the role of the ombudsman

robynmellon — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 07:59:43 -0000

i ned hoppy with the error

Re: Creative correction

Name — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 11:32:03 -0000

Someone must have been a big fan of BJ and the Bear.

Re: Boxer loses, bursts into teats

doug438 — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 01:35:43 -0000

what is teats?

Re: Boxer loses, bursts into teats

Cliffh — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 15:04:36 -0000

I am a friend of Chris this fight meant alot to him he worked very hard you insensitive morons need to back off