Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #10
From the
New York Times:
An obituary yesterday about Eric Rofes, a gay activist and author, rendered the surname of a survivor incorrectly and misstated her relationship to Mr. Rofes. Paula Rofes-Casey — not Casey-Rofes — of Boynton Beach, Fla., is his mother, not his sister. (Go to Article)
•
An obituary on June 7 about the keyboard player Billy Preston included an erroneous credit. He did not play on Bob Dylan's album "Blood on the Tracks." (Go to Article)
•
An obituary on Sunday and in some copies on Saturday about the television producer Aaron Spelling misstated the given name of his brother. He is Daniel, not Randy. The obituary also gave an incorrect title in some copies for the title of a play Mr. Spelling performed in while recovering from a wound sustained in World War II. It was "O Mistress Mine," not "Old Mistress Mind." It also gave an incorrect spelling in some copies for the surname of an actress in that play. She was Lynn Fontanne, not Fontaine. (Go to Article)
newspapers,
media,
errors
Cultural illiteracy department
From the
New Orleans Times-Picayune:
Author's name corrected: A story in Monday's Living section incorrectly spelled the name of author Virginia Woolf. There may be a Virginia Wolfe, as named in that article, but she isn't the famous one.
newspapers,
media,
errors
It's hard to escape the steroid scandal if you're a slugger
From the
Washington Post:
Correction to This ArticleEarlier versions of this story incorrectly implied that Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada has been linked to the
investigation of former Orioles pitcher Jason Grimsley's possible use of performance-enhancing substances. No such link has been established and this version has been corrected.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Hoffman's having a good year, but not that good
From the
Wall Street Journal:
SAN DIEGO PADRES pitcher Trevor Hoffman would have had an earned-run average of 2.84 this season through June 21 according to an analysis meant to remove the effect of luck from the calculation of baseball statistics. A graphic accompanying
a Pursuits article Saturday on the role of luck in baseball incorrectly said his ERA would have been .284.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
sports
Predicting last year's results is usually 100% accurate
From the
Wall Street Journal:
JOHNSON & JOHNSON estimated earlier this year that its sales would rise 6% to 8% in 2006.
An article Monday on the company's acquisition of Pfizer Inc.'s consumer-health business incorrectly said that was the expectation for 2005.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A sad day in Peabody, MA, turns even sadder
From the
Boston Globe:
Editor's note: Because of reporting and editing errors, material taken from a Myspace.com website was mistakenly attributed to George D. Kalogeropoulos in
a story in Sunday's City & Region section about Kalogeropoulos's killing of his father and sister and suicide. The website cited in the story is that of another individual who is unconnected to the events described. The material should not have been published.I imagine reporters rushing to Myspace to learn about otherwise anonymous people who become newsworthy (even for the above tragic reason). I suppose this kind of mistake was inevitable--which doesn't make it any less egregious.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Entomologists get no respect
From the
Baltimore Sun:
An article in Friday's editions misstated the background of a biologist, the date of a lab vandalism incident and the diet of one of the spiders that he studies. Matt Persons earned master's and doctoral degrees at the University of Cincinnati, where a lab was vandalized by an animal rights group in the mid-1990s. The wolf spider is a predator that does not feed on vegetable matter and detritus in the soil.
The Sun regrets the errors.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A big Vioxx "oops" from the New England Journal of Medicine
From the NEJM, released today (full text
here):
Correction
Published at www.nejm.org June 26, 2006 (10.1056/NEJMx060029)
Cardiovascular Events Associated with Rofecoxib in a Colorectal Adenoma Chemoprevention TrialWhich reads, in part:
In the reported results, the test for proportionality of hazards used linear time rather than the logarithm of time that was specified in the Methods section. Analysis using the logarithm of time leads to the following changes: The first complete paragraph on page 1097 should have read, "In a post hoc assessment, visual inspection of Figure 2 suggested that the Kaplan-Meier curves separated 18 months after randomization. However, the results of an overall test of the proportional-hazards assumption for the entire 36-month observation period did not reach statistical significance (P = 0.07)." Therefore, statements regarding an increase in risk after 18 months should be removed from the Abstract (the sentence "The increased relative risk became apparent after 18 months of treatment; during the first 18 months, the event rates were similar in the two groups" should be deleted, as should the sentence beginning "There was earlier separation . . . ") and from the Discussion section (the sentence "In post hoc analyses, the increased relative risk of adjudicated thrombotic events was first observed after approximately 18 months of treatment" should be deleted).
Meaning what, exactly? Well, here's how Reuters explains it (full text
here):
The journal and the authors corrected the May 2005 study to show the risks do not, as originally shown, greatly increase after 18 months. In fact, it is not possible to tell when the risk of heart attack or stroke shoot up, Journal editor Dr. Jeffrey Drazen said."That sound you hear is a thousand product-liability lawyers cursing.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
medicine
The laser gun has yet to be invented
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Guns: An editorial on Thursday about a new technology that gives bullets a unique identifier said it uses a small laser inside the gun to mark each bullet. Lasers are used to etch engravings on the gun parts that are used in the process, but they are not inside the gun.
newspapers,
media,
errors
What's in a name? #5
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Actor's name: The last name of actor Stephen Tobolowsky was misspelled as Tobolowski in a headline in Sunday's Calendar.
Workplace food: In a June 19 Health article about companies serving more healthful food to employees, the name of the company Sodexho was misspelled as Sodhexo.
From the
New York Times:
An article on Friday about an ethics camp in Santa Clara, Calif., where politicians and officials heard accounts of ethical lapses, described as chilling, misspelled the name of an author known for chilling fiction. He is Edgar Allan Poe, not Allen. (Go to Article)
•
A report in the "Arts, Briefly" column on June 16 about the extension of the run of "The History Boys" and other theater scheduling misspelled the surname of an actress who is to appear in "A Spanish Play" at the Classic Stage Company in the East Village in January. She is Linda Emond, not Edmond. (Go to Article)
From the
Washington Times:
The Washington Times yesterday in a story about the Atlas Economic Research Foundation misspelled several names. The correct names are Friedrich Hayek, Elena Ziebarth, Alex Chafuen and Jo Kwong.Please remind the Washington Times reporter to write the names down in a notebook next time. That might help with spelling.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Could the Blair scandal happen again? Maybe
From the
New York Times:
Editorials/Op-Ed
The public editor's June 18 column incorrectly indicated that Jayson Blair, the former Times reporter who brought scandal to the paper in 2003, didn't receive performance evaluations during his time on the metro desk during 2001-2. Mr. Blair was evaluated and an evaluation was specifically provided to the sports editor when the reporter was moved to the sports department. But no evaluations of Mr. Blair's work on the metro desk, then one of the few departments doing regular formal performance assessments, were reviewed by the editors involved when the reporter subsequently was deployed to the national desk. (Go to Article)
To me the revelation here was how backward the Times' personnel practices (such as "doing regular performance assessments" and reviewing them when a reporter transfers) were in those years. This level of amateurishness could be unprecedented at a leading US company.
newspapers,
media,
errors
News page teaches Op-Ed page about one of its contributors
From the
New York Times:
Editors' Note
On Nov. 29 and Feb. 28, the Op-Ed page published articles co-written by Stephen E. Flynn, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, on the need to scan shipping containers. An article last Monday in the news pages of The Times reported that Mr. Flynn had earlier been a paid consultant to Science Applications International Corporation, which manufactured a container-scanning system.
The Times's Op-Ed contract compels contributors to disclose potential conflicts of interest, but not past ones. In this regard, Mr. Flynn did not violate the contract. However, had the editors known of Mr. Flynn's previous relationship with Science Applications International, they would have made that information available to readers. (Go to Nov. 29 Article) | (Go to Feb. 28 Article)
Thumbs up to the Times reporter,
Eric Lipton, for discovering Flynn's vested interest. Thumbs down to the Times op-ed staff, for not discovering it. What are the policies for researching the backgrounds of Op-Ed contributors, whose viewpoints are by definition subjective?
newspapers,
media,
errors
Was anything in this listing correct?
From the
Houston Chronicle:
•The cellist playing tonight with the Houston Symphony is Hrant Parsamian, whose name was incorrect in a story on Page E1 of Friday's Star section. Also, the symphony presents only the second-place winner of the Ima Hogg Young Artist Competition at Miller Outdoor Theatre, not the two top winners. Parsamian was this year's runner-up. The first-place winner of the Hogg competition was Korean violinist Shih-Kai Lin, who will perform in the symphony's annual Houston Chronicle Dollar Concert at 7:30 p.m. July 1 at Jones Hall. Acclaimed pianist Orion Weiss did not participate in the Hogg contest; he was scheduled to perform at Miller on Friday.newspapers,
media,
errors
A slight exaggeration?
From the
New York Times:
The Personal Health column in Science Times on Tuesday, about heart risks associated with jogging, overstated the frequency of heart attacks during marathons. While studies have found that marathon runners may be at increased risk of heart attack for 24 hours after racing, there is no evidence that heart attacks occur "in the course of nearly every marathon." (Go to Article)Marathon runners everywhere have stopped clutching their chests.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A less reliable source, perhaps?
From the
Washington Post:
A June 23 article incorrectly attributed cost estimates for a tax cut on inherited estates between 2012 and 2021 to the nonpartisan Joint Committee on Taxation. The estimates came from the liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities and were based on extrapolations from a cost estimate by the committee for 2007 through 2016.The Center on Budget and Policy Practice's estimate was $279 billion. I would like to see the JCT's number.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Meet me at the corner of 6-1/2 St. and 25-1/3 Ave.
From the
Austin American-Statesman:
A story that began on Page A1 of Thursday's Statesman incorrectly said that a proposed ordinance would impose a 25 mph speed limit on a block of West Sixth Street. It would actually be on a block on West 6-1/2 Street.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Either way you slice it, it's a lot of money
From the
Wall Street Journal:
TWO INFUSIONS of the drug Rituxan for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis cost $9,315. A
Personal Journal article Tuesday incorrectly stated the cost at $18,630.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Technical error by prosecutors in BALCO leak case--oversight or yet another leak?
The New York Times today
had an article on the government's attempt to force
San Francisco Chronicle reporters Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams to reveal their sources for BALCO grand-jury testimony they published. The article leads off as follows:
About eight pages of a 51-page government brief filed in federal court in San Francisco on Wednesday were electronically blacked out to protect what prosecutors said was sensitive material concerning a grand jury's investigation into steroid use in baseball. But the secret passages can be viewed by simply pasting the document into a word processing program. The passages open a window onto a particularly aggressive government leak investigation, one that seeks to force two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to reveal the identity of a confidential source. They also help explain why prosecutors are pursuing the matter so vigorously.
The Times credits the New York Sun with breaking the story. Later in the piece the government is all but accused of leaving the opening intentionally:
Eve Burton, vice president and general counsel of the Hearst Corporation, which owns The Chronicle, said that prosecutors may be guilty of the very thing they are investigating. "It is our hope," she said, "that the government did not leak the document."newspapers,
media,
errors
The Dallas Morning-News almost never has a correction
The
last correction posted on the
Dallas Morning-News website was on 8 June, two weeks ago. Every other newspaper I monitor has posted at least five corrections in that time.
Brilliant reporting, writing and editing? Or not looking too hard for problems?
newspapers,
media,
errors
Lost in translation
From the
Washington Post:
In a June 20 Style music review, a translation of a song title by the group Sin Bandera was incorrect. "Mientes Tan Bien" should have been translated as "You Lie So Well."The original passage:
Hits such as the somewhat melodramatic "Entra en Mi Vida" ("Enter My Life"), "Mientes Tan Bien" ("You Also Lie") and "Suelta Mi Mano" ("Let Go of My Hand") instantly became singalongs.Y tu mama, tan bien.
newspapers,
media,
errors
WSJ law blog brings up Jenkins' option backdating column for discussion
Here's
the WSJ Law Blog's post, on Mr. Jenkins' assertion that the options backdating scandal is much ado about nothing. Interestingly, the writer of the blog, an attorney, takes no position on the merits of Mr. Jenkins' position, especially concerning whether the grants violated the law.
By the way, here's an example of Mr. Jenkins' doubletalk as he tries to rationalize the issue:
The one lesson that should be reinforced is that overseeing CEO incentives is among the most important board responsibilities, and boards should keep control of it and do it clearheadedly. Yet there is nothing categorically corrupt or improper about backdating to justify a conclusion that the boards here weren't doing just that.Huh?
Wall Street Journal,
options
WSJ Op-Ed columnist misses the mark on options backdating rationalization
Have you read all those stories about the suspicious practice of options backdating (here's
one of my posts on the subject)? The
Wall Street Journal's op-ed columnist Holman Jenkins (
here's the article) has a simple explanation for us. It turns out that it's an "innocuous and even sensible" practice!
Who knew?
Jenkins spins out numerous hypotheses for why backdating of options has occurred. It can "simplify the negotiation" of an options package by holding the price constant while the number of options is discussed. It helps CEOs avoid "gaming" the stock price by timing the grant just before good news is announced. (More realistically, Mr. Jenkins says that it "eliminates a source of ill will" with the executive. You got that right.)
Oh, and it's perfectly understandable that companies would need rigged compensation packages during the late '90's, when the bubble "created unusual challenges for tech companies trying to recruit and keep talent."
And he credits higher pay for CEOs to a dynamic market for talent, not "board cronyism." (See
this post on Home Depot CEO Bob Nardelli for a different view on that topic.)
Options are supposed to be performance-based. If the price is set artificially low, options generate potential returns immediately, at minimum diluting the connection between pay and performance.
Jenkins is right about one thing, at least. The illegality of this practice is not yet clear. But only the most naive or cynical observer would look at options backdating as an innocuous practice.
Boards, if you want to give CEOs cash, increase their bonus or salary. And tell the shareholders about it.
Mr. Jenkins, if you intended to give the other side of the story with respect to options backdating, please try again.
newspapers,
media,
Wall Street Journal,
CEO compensation
Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #9
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Arthur Franz obituary: The obituary of actor Arthur Franz in Monday's California section incorrectly stated that his one starring role was in the 1952 film "The Sniper." Franz had several starring roles, mainly in B movies. The obituary also stated that Franz supplied the narration for "The Caine Mutiny." He narrated "Sands of Iwo Jima." He played a naval officer in "The Caine Mutiny," not "Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man."newspapers,
media,
errors,
movies
Scott Boras may think of himself as God, but Luke Hochevar doesn't
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Baseball: An article in Sports on June 7 quoted pitcher Luke Hochevar, drafted by the Kansas City Royals, as referring to "Scott" — Scott Boras, his agent — when in fact he used the word "God." Here is the correct quote: "God had a plan in this, and his master plan definitely worked. It was tough through it — you go through it and you fight it — but when it all comes down to it, God has a plan for you, and he definitely worked a miracle in my case."newspapers,
media,
errors,
baseball
Waiting for Godot's correction
From the
New York Times:
An article in The Arts on April 13 about Barney Rosset, the publisher who brought Samuel Beckett's work to the United States, misstated the terms of his deal to publish "Waiting for Godot." Grove Press, which Mr. Rosset owned, agreed to a contract with Les Éditions de Minuit, Beckett's French publisher, that called for a $200 advance — not $150 — for "Godot" (and $400 advances for the novels "Molloy" and "Malone Dies"). The deal also included a 7.5 percent royalty for the first 3,000 copies of "Godot" that were sold and 10 percent thereafter (along with an additional 2.5 percent for the translation). The royalty was not 2.5 percent.
The article also included a quotation from Mr. Rosset in which he said that Les Éditions de Minuit had said that Grove Press could not publish "Waiting for Godot." According to Georges Borchardt, a literary agent who negotiated the contract, Minuit was delighted to make the deal.
This correction was delayed by a reporting lapse. (Go to Article)
Frank Prial wrote the offending article (and by extension, committed the "reporting lapse." He also made errors in a recent obituary of Paris restaurateur Claude Terrail. That's two recent Times articles with significant mistakes (refer to this post). Mr. Prial, consider yourself on notice.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #8
From the
San Francisco Chronicle:
In an obituary Wednesday of San Francisco Art Institute Professor Richard Fiscus, the name of his longtime companion was misstated. He was Howard Troy. (6/16)newspapers,
media,
errors,
obituaries
Golf columnist has trouble keeping score
From the
Wall Street Journal:
Corrections & Amplifications
June 19, 2006; Page A2
Tiger Woods first won the Masters golf tournament in 1997, and Phil Mickelson first won it in 2004. The Golf Journal column in Saturday's Pursuits section incorrectly said Mr. Woods first won the Masters in 1996 and Mr. Mickelson in 2003. Mr. Mickelson hit an errant shot on the final hole of the 2001 AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am tournament. The column incorrectly said that happened at the 2003 tournament. Mr. Mickelson recently purchased a time-share in St. Andrews, Scotland. The column incorrectly said he had bought a condo.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Correction: horror-movie villains are NOT fighting the tobacco industry
From the
New York Times:
A picture caption on the table of contents of the Magazine today misstates the given name of an anti- smoking advocate. He is Matthew Myers, not Michael.But I did hear
Freddy Krueger just started to work for RJ Reynolds.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A superb critique of Supreme Court "knock and announce" editorial
The following letter appeared today in the
New York Times:
To the Editor:
I, too, disagree with the Supreme Court's stance outlined in "The Don't-Bother-to-Knock Rule." However, I fear that your editorial perpetrated a sin of omission that may be significant in understanding this decision.
If I understand the case correctly, the police had a warrant to search the premises. Nowhere did your editorial mention a warrant.
For a reader unfamiliar with the case, the editorial left the impression that now the police can simply arrive without a warrant at anyone's door, anytime, announce that they are outside and three seconds later just enter the house. That is decidedly not the case.
Although I think the Supreme Court decision is wrong, the police did have a warrant, and that makes the case different from what your editorial led the casual reader to believe.
Warren Kaplan
Merrick, N.Y., June 16, 2006
Very well said, Mr. Kaplan. An omission can be worse in many cases than an explicit error. What is left out can significantly change the impact of what's actually said. In this case, the fact that the case involved a warrant in many minds (including Mr. Kaplan's and my own) added ambiguity to the civil liberties impact of the decision--ambiguity that the Times editorial improperly stripped away.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
omissions
Perhaps they could have called it the Mazda Hummer
From the
Wall Street Journal:
THE CX-7, a new vehicle from
Mazda Motor Corp., weighs about two tons. A
Weekend Journal article Friday incorrectly said the vehicle weighs nearly four tons.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A-Rod can't get any respect in New York
From the
New York Times:
A chart with the Milestone Watch on the Baseball Spotlight page on Sunday, about
Vladimir Guerrero's approaching 1,000 runs batted in, omitted a player who has compiled six seasons with at least 30 home runs, at least 100 R.B.I. and at least a .300 batting average. He is
Alex Rodriguez.
newspapers,
media,
errors
How soon we forget #2
From the
Wall Street Journal:
CONNECTICUT SEN. Joseph Lieberman ran for vice president as a Democrat in 2000. A page-one article Saturday about Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney incorrectly stated that Mr. Lieberman ran in 2004.newspapers,
media,
errors,
politics
Op-ed details need verification, too
From the
Washington Post:
Correction to This ArticleThe 1989 Supreme Court decision on flag burning was not unanimous, as stated in a June 15 op-ed piece. The case was decided by a 5 to 4 vote.Here is the first paragraph of the piece, by former Senator Bob Kerrey, about a proposed Constitutional amendment making flag-burning unlawful:
With campaigns at full tilt and the Fourth of July just around the corner, the Senate's new priority is to debate and vote on yet another resolution to amend our remarkable Constitution. This time it's an amendment that would allow Congress to prohibit a form of protest that a large majority of Americans do not like: the burning or desecration of the American flag. Since 1989, when the Supreme Court decided unanimously and correctly that these rare, unpleasant demonstrations are expressions of speech and therefore protected by the First Amendment, there have been many such attempts. Fortunately, all have failed.There's a big difference in the impact of the sentence if it had read "Since 1989, when a divided Supreme Court decided 5-4, yet correctly, that these rare unpleasant demonstrations are expressions of speech..."
Which means the editors needed to verify that assertion before printing the piece. Op-ed pieces are full of opinion. That's fine. They also, though, need to be correct when citing facts. Otherwise, they're no more persuasive than the rantings of a guy sitting at the bar.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
opinions
Mark Cuban owns lots of stuff, but not a boat
The
Miami Herald has a brief about
the conspicuous consumption of NBA owners (no scoop there):
Team owners Micky Arison (Heat) and Mark Cuban (Mavs) didn't arrive by limo, helicopter or Range Rover. The millionaires both came by boat and docked on opposite sides of the arena. Cuban's Utopia II is nice enough -- if a bit modest, at 60 feet. Arison's Sirona III is a Shaq-sized monster, well more than 100 feet long.Also,
this, from a local Miami TV station:
Cuban docked his yacht next to the American Airlines Arena and posted a large "Go Mavs" banner on the yacht.... NBC 6 cameras saw Cuban's yacht, Utopia II, pulling away from the AAA on Wednesday.Finally, a note of sanity; the
Palm Beach Post gets it
right:
But Cuban doesn't own the blue and white yacht docked outside the arena, nor any other boat. "I wish I did," he said, laughing. "I would have my lawyers there."
It was suggested that perhaps Arriola confused Cuban with Heat owner Micky Arison of Carnival Cruise Line fame.
"Micky has got a couple of them," Cuban said. "I don't even own a rowboat."
Which meant Cuban had to take a less exciting form of transportation to AmericanAirlines Arena: "The way I come to every game — just on the team bus.
And, finally,
the retraction from the Herald:
The Utopia II is not Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban's boat. An item in a celebrities column on Page 5NB in Wednesday's NBA Finals Special Section was incorrect.newspapers,
media,
errors,
sports
Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #7
From the
New York Times:
Because of an editing error, an obituary on Tuesday about Kenneth R. Thomson, the Canadian publishing magnate, referred incorrectly to one of his surviving children. Taylor is his daughter, not a son. (Go to Article)newspapers,
media,
errors,
obituaries
And don't eat the peonies, either
From the
Atlanta Journal-Constitution:
> Picnics are not allowed at the Atlanta Botanical Garden. A News for Kids story in Monday's Living section about a Father's Day event at the garden incorrectly stated that picnics are allowed.
newspapers,
media,
errors
What's in a name? #4
From the
New York Times:
An article on Sunday about efforts by Senator Daniel K. Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii, to win federal recognition for his state's native people misstated the given name of his spokeswoman. She is Donalyn Dela Cruz, not Donna. (Go to Article)
•
The Beliefs column on Saturday, about the potential clash of same-sex marriage and religious liberty, misstated the surname of the professor at the University of Maryland School of Law who participated in a conference on the topic. She is Robin Fretwell Wilson, not Williams. (Go to Article)
From the
Philadelphia Inquirer:
The Inquirer incorrectly gave the last name of the chairman of the Delaware County Democratic Committee in an article published Monday. He is Cliff Wilson. Also, while the results of the election for party chairman are in dispute, neither Wilson nor his challenger, Bruce H. Bikin, has filed any court action.
From the
Miami Herald:
A story Saturday on Page 1B of Metro & State about the reunion of a mother dying of breast cancer and her 13-year-old daughter from Honduras misspelled VITAS Innovative Hospice Care.From the
LA Times:
Ann Coulter: A Regarding Media column in Saturday's Calendar about commentator Ann Coulter gave an incorrect first name for the spokeswoman for some of the 9/11 widows. Her name is Kristen Breitweiser, not Karen.From the
Wall Street Journal:
ROLF DE VEGT is senior director of business development at Airgo Networks Inc. An article yesterday about wireless technology incorrectly spelled his last name as De Zegt.
* * *
RANDALL LEE is the director of the Securities and Exchange Commission's Pacific regional office. Yesterday's Fund Track column incorrectly identified Mr. Lee as Randall Fons.
newspapers,
media,
errors
The Globe clarifies its screw-up on Jefferson Price
From today's
Boston Globe:
Correction: An editor's note published on Saturday about a July 2005 article on a Catholic Relief Services volunteer in Sudan implied that the author, freelance writer G. Jefferson Price III, had not disclosed to the Globe that he was working for CRS. In fact, in an e-mail accompanying Price's submission of the article, and in a notation at the end of the article, Price did disclose that he was working for the organization. Editors failed to review those materials adequately; because of Price's affiliation with the organization, the Globe should not have published the article.This blog posted on the impact of Jefferson Price's affiliation with Catholic Relief Services
here and
here. Both the
Baltimore Sun and Globe editors didn't take this seriously enough--as it turns out, in each case they knew about Price's affiliation and still published his material without scrutinizing its connection with CRS issues/priorities.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Sorry, Canada
From the
San Francisco Chronicle:
A story on Saturday about Iran's uranium enrichment program mistakenly omitted Canada as a member of the G-8 group of industrialized countries. (6/13)Here's the Chronicle's list:
President Bush and the leaders of Russia, Japan, Britain, France, Germany, Japan and Italy are to gather in St. Petersburg for the G-8 summit meeting.Japan 2, Canada 0. Sounds like a World Cup score.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Vonage commits press-release abuse
Vonage, the rumbling, bumbling, stumbling VoIP provider, issued a
news release last week proclaiming that the
FTC had ended its inquiry into the company's telemarketing practices regarding 911 disclosure.
Not so fast.
On Friday, the company issued
another release that said, "Vonage has not, however, received a closure letter from the FTC, and until the Company receives such letter the FTC's inquiry into this matter remains open."
media,
errors,
IPO
The stars are in the lower right corner, correct?
From the
New York Times:
A picture of the flag of the Netherlands on June 4 in Play, The Times's sports magazine, with an article about challengers to Brazil, the favorite for the World Cup championship, was printed upside down. The red stripe should be on top, with white in the middle and blue on the bottom.
Sort of like this...
newspapers,
media,
errors
The Seinfeld curse hits again
From the
Los Angeles Times:
Emmy nominations: An article in Saturday's Calendar section about new Emmy nomination practices included "The New Adventures of Old Christine" in a list of low-rated shows. The CBS series is the second-highest rated comedy this season.
newspapers,
media,
errors
My suggestion: use the cable guide
From the
Arizona Republic:
Friday and Saturday grids, June 11, TV Week, Pages 32-43
All of the Friday grids were incorrectly printed as Saturday's grids and all of Saturday's grids were printed as Friday's.and
Friday Afternoon, June 4, TV Week, Page 37
The noon-6 p.m. grid printed for Friday was incorrect.newspapers,
media,
errors
How soon we forget...
From the
Philadelphia Inquirer:
An editorial on Friday gave an incorrect year for when the United States hosted the World Cup. It was in 1994.newspapers,
media,
errors
Blogs and mainstream media - parasitic or mutualistic?
The
Times today has an
interesting article on how certain celebrity blogs (
Gawker, etc.) scooped
People magazine by posting pictures of the Jolie-Pitt baby in advance of the magazine's release date. People had paid $4 million or so for the exclusive rights to the pictures.
Most interesting was the debate within the article where people weighed in on whether the scoop was hurtful or helpful to People. Here are two separate quotes from People's managing editor
Larry Hackett:
"As a guy who went through all the efforts to get these pictures, my initial reaction was anger," Larry Hackett, the managing editor of People, said in an interview on Friday. "Someone's taking your stuff....""I must confess, I think it helps," [Hackett] said. "Clearly, the blogs have betrayed a huge amount of interest in these photographs and people want to see them."Here in a nutshell is the mainstream media's conflicted relationship with new media. Whether it's blogs and magazines, record labels and fan sites, film studios and pre-release rumor mills, the media companies hate that they can't control these forums but love the publicity that comes from them.
Is the relationship
parasitic (where one benefits at the cost of the other), or
mutualistic (where the engagement is good for both)?
To me it's obvious. The pre-release photos served to amplify people's interest in the legitimate photos, in the same way that freely sharable mp3's can build buzz for new bands, gossip about a movie before release can energize the box office.
The companies' legal departments don't agree, of course (Gawker got a cease-and-desist letter within one hour of posting). And the marketing departments seem conflicted too.
media,
Blogs,
marketing,
celebrities
Yet more options backdating allegations
The
Wall Street Journal today has
another in its series of articles on suspicious option grants. Today they profile
Monster Worldwide, the web-based job listing service, and online educator
Apollo Group, with a mention to
Michaels Stores, which has initiated a review of its option grants.
The blacklist so far numbers forty-eight companies, including:
Comverse Technology
Boston Communications Group
Meade Instruments
UnitedHealth
Juniper Networks
Sycamore Networks
etc., etc.
What we need now is a list of companies which
didn't engage in this practice. At this rate, it'll be a short list. Anyone?
stock options,
backdating,
Investing,
Economics
Ultra-high-pitched ringtone shows kids are smarter than we think they are
From the
New York Times:
In that old battle of the wills between young people and their keepers, the young have found a new weapon that could change the balance of power on the cellphone front: a ring tone that many adults cannot hear.The article can be found
here. The ring tone was derived from an annoying high-frequency noise generator (from a company called
Compound Security) that merchants can use to keep kids from loitering in front of their stores. Apparently adults, as they age, lose the ability to hear sounds this high (17Khz).
I listened to the
sample, and could not hear a sound.
media,
ringtones,
mobile phones
The FBI gets its facts wrong--Speed Racer is still at large
From the
Baltimore Sun:
Because of incorrect information provided by the FBI, the nickname of a man suspected of being a serial bank robber who was caught by an Ellicott City restaurant owner was incorrect in yesterday's editions. The man is not known as "Speed Racer," according to FBI spokeswoman Michelle Crnkovich.
It's too bad, because the nickname provided much of the fun of the article's lead paragraph:
The man suspected of being a serial bank robber nicknamed "Speed Racer" just wasn't fast enough - he was chased down by a 240-pound restaurant owner and former soccer player who tackled and held him after a robbery in Ellicott City on Wednesday.
The entire article is here.
The Sun's correction was a bit misleading. The FBI's error was not in messing up the nickname--the man caught was not in fact the bank robber known as "Speed Racer." Which is a story in itself. The serial bank robber "Speed Racer" is still at large in Baltimore. The Baltimore Examiner had a much clearer take on the story, here.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Lies, damned lies and statistics
From the
Washington Times:
The Washington Times on May 12 incorrectly reported the results of a study published in the Journal of Family Psychology regarding the percentage of acts of severe violence committed by males on their female intimate partners. The correct figure is 3.6 percent, which is significantly lower than the 7.5 percent of acts of severe violence committed by females on their male intimate partners.The erroneous figure was 8.6 percent. In cases like this, I really appreciate the
Times' policy of trying to explain how the error occurred. Did the reporter mistranscribe the figure? Did an editor who thought 3.6 percent sounded wrong turn the '3' into an '8'? We'll never know.
Anyway, the corrected statistics make me curious to read another story: is it true that females perpetrate "severe violence" on their male partners twice as much as the reverse? Why? That would be an interesting story to read.
newspapers,
media,
errors
All Latin American strongmen must look the same to them
From the
Miami Herald:
In a brief on Page 14A Saturday about former Nicaraguan President
Daniel Ortega, a photo of Venezuelan President
Hugo Chávez was mistakenly used.
Let's see if you can tell one from another:
newspapers,
media,
errors
Jefferson Price fallout spreads
From today's
Boston Globe:
Editor's note: An article in the Globe on July 24, 2005, about a Catholic Relief Services volunteer in Sudan was written by G. Jefferson Price III, a freelance contributor. Editors failed to follow Globe policy ensuring a thorough review of contributors' affiliations, and this week learned that Price was a consultant at the time for Catholic Relief Services. Had Price's involvement with Catholic Relief Services been known, the article would not have been published.newspapers,
media,
errors
Veteran freelance reporter on Catholic Relief Services payroll
The
Baltimore City Paper had
a bombshell last Wednesday on a veteran columnist for the
Baltimore Sun,
Jefferson Price:
...After taking a buyout in June 2004, the former foreign editor and correspondent had been writing opinion pieces for The Sun under a pair of yearly freelance contracts. Since January 2005, he’s also been on the public relations payroll of Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the Baltimore-based humanitarian aid organization run by the U.S. Roman Catholic Church....According to the article, the Sun stopped publishing Price's column in May but didn't inform readers that it was doing so or the reason for it.
Well, now we know. The Sun fired Price because he was writing pieces at the direction of CRS on issues important to CRS. Another excerpt from the article:
“This is an ethical breach of major proportions,” says Sun editorial page editor Dianne Donovan, who says she canceled Price’s column early this month after she discovered that he was, in fact, routinely writing about CRS-affiliated programs in his columns—and had been all along.Of course, it turns out that Donovan knew that CRS was funding Price's travel, but somehow she and the Sun editors believed that he wouldn't write about CRS issues.
Associate editorial page editor Will Englund echoes Donovan’s position, saying it was understood at The Sun that Price was to “stay away from writing directly about CRS activities and find his own material. . . . Maybe this was a line that couldn’t actually be drawn.” The two editors most closely involved in supervising Price’s column, op-ed editor Richard Gross and assistant editorial page editor Ann LoLordo, did not respond to questions from Media Circus. Gross declined to comment; LoLordo said she was too busy to talk.
Umm, yep. I'd be too busy to talk, too, if it were me. Please read the entire
CityPaper article: it's excellent.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Creative demographics
From the
San Francisco Chronicle:
A story Monday asserting that the number of whites in Oakland had surpassed that of African Americans, and that the city's overall population had declined, was based partly on U.S. Census Bureau estimates and not an actual count of the population. Therefore, it is impossible to verify the trends reported in the story. In addition, the sum of racial data presented in a pie chart accompanying the story was more than 100 percent. That is because the U.S. Census Bureau does not count Latinos as a racial category, so they should not have been included in the chart. (6/9)
Here is the third paragraph of that article:
For the first time since the 1970s, whites have edged past blacks, according to census data. And though whites lead by only the tiniest margin, the implications speak to deep changes within the city and reflect a trend seen in black communities statewide as the Latino population grows, analysts said.But, as stated in the correction, "it is impossible to verify the trends reported in the story." So this story has really lost its quantitative basis, and is now merely a qualitative look at the changing demographics of Oakland. Also, the correction states that the assertion is "based partly on US Census Bureau estimates" which leaves unsaid an important point--what else is it based on?
Add to that a pie chart that double-counts Latinos. Oops.
All told, a pretty sloppy writing and editing job on this story.
newspapers,
media,
errors
How does the Times select its obituary subjects?
Continuing the end-of-the-week death theme (unplanned, I assure you), I saw that the Public Editor's blog
published an email exchange that sheds light on how the
New York Times chooses the subjects for obituaries in the paper. It's worth reading for that purpose. But I also found it fascinating for how one editor of the paper deals with what is in most industries a customer complaint. It's pretty rare that a letter-writer gets a personal response, and rarer still to see it published.
The emailer,
Dr. Carla Golden of Ithaca College, is asking for obituary consideration for the
late Cornell professor Lee C. Lee. The response from obituaries editor
Bill McDonald indicates that the paper was unaware of Dr. Lee's passing, but will look into whether publishing an obituary is warranted. In what could be a rather artful blow-off, McDonald doesn't make any commitments about when this determination would be made, or whether the paper will let Dr. Golden know if they decide not to do the obituary.
We'll keep an eye out and see if Dr. Lee's obituary makes it into the paper.
newspapers,
media,
obituaries
Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #6
From the
New York Times:
An obituary on Wednesday about Claude Terrail, former proprietor of the Paris restaurant
La Tour d'Argent, reversed the marriages that produced his surviving son and daughter and misstated the given name of his daughter. His son,
André, is from his second marriage, not his first; his daughter, from his first marriage, is Anne, not Barbara. (
Go to Article)
newspapers,
media,
errors,
obituaries,
New York Times
Sorry, Harry: time to mothball "Executive Pursuits"
I've been spending too much time today reading "
Fire Joe Morgan." Those guys are really funny, but reading it too much gets me as cranky as they are.
Which brings me to Harry Hurt III, the writer of "Executive Pursuits," a biweekly column in the
New York Times Sunday Business section.
When I first saw this column, I thought: there are not enough articles on ultra-expensive leisure activities in newspapers today. And now there is a regular column on this topic! Hooray!
Not really.
Who is the Times aiming at with this column? Ninety-nine percent of even their readers won't get within a country mile of Hurt's adventures. A sampling:
And the column is written with a tone stuffier than a forty-year-old New Yorker Talk of the Town piece. Such as: "
Left alone to labor in gloom, I was hoping to take the edge off the cold dark night even as the words of my existentialist hero, Albert Camus, rattled my brain."
Finally, we are treated to glimpses of Hurt's personal life that are as banal as they are overweening:
I don't know what I feel about Hurt, but it certainly isn't envy.
At any rate, Times editors, it's time to put this column out of its misery. There's gotta be a better use for the newsprint it takes up.
newspapers,
media,
New York Times
Additional pain & suffering: obituary errors #5
From today's
New York Times:
An obituary on Tuesday about
Alex Toth, a comic book artist and animator, omitted his second marriage, to Guyla Avery, who died in 1985. (
Go to Article)
newspapers,
media,
errors,
New York Times,
obituaries
The Dallas Morning-News has a correction!
Yes, folks, the
Dallas Morning-News has admitted to a mistake. Out of the eighteen papers of national prominence that I monitor every day, the Morning-News is the
last to report a correction. I had almost given up hope.
...oh, yeah, here it is:
Corrections
10:50 AM CDT on Wednesday, June 7, 2006
Friday's Guide section listed an incorrect location for A Ride With Bob, a touring production presented by Casa Mañana. The production will run June 16-18 at Casa Mañana Theatre in Fort Worth.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Role reversal
From the
New York Times:
A film review of "District B13" in Weekend on Friday reversed the description of two characters. Damien is the supercop; Leïto is the righteous denizen of a grungy Paris suburb. Screening information with the review referred incorrectly to its rating. It is R, not unrated. (Go to Article)I thought that was the case. Damien wasn't nearly righteous enough and Leïto didn't seem super at all.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
New York Times,
movies
The eclecticism of a newspaper illustrated in seventy-five words
Two consecutive corrections from the
Los Angeles Times:
Peter Viereck obituary: The obituary on poet and conservative theorist
Peter R. Viereck in the May 20 California section identified his 1995 book, "Tides and Continuities," as his last collection. His most recent collection of poetry was "
Door," published in 2005.
Tart
baking temperature: In the May 31 Food section, the recipe for raspberry tart with hazelnut crust and
lemon verbena ice cream left out the baking temperature for the crust. It should be 350 degrees.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Alert: Precious the Skateboarding Dog is still alive
From the
Baltimore Sun:
Because of incorrect information provided to The Sun, an article about Charles Village in Sunday's Maryland section reported that Precious the Skateboarding Dog had recently gone "to the great skateboard in the sky." Precious is still alive.
The Sun regrets the errors.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Vonage lawsuit firm makes a math error
Business Week's Deal Flow blog (via the
NY Times' Dealbook) reported today that
Motley Rice, a firm leading a
class-action case against the recent Vonage IPO, made a major blunder in
their filing. They claim that the financial advisors (Citibank and others) claimed an exorbitant 17% of the IPO proceeds for their services. The claim was printed in bold and italicized, as follows:
Investors were willing to and did pay these large underwriting fees --
that accounted for 17% of the purchase price of the shares sold in the Offering -- and did not question the millions of dollars in additional compensation realized by the affiliate of defendant Citigroup in connection with the Offering, because investors believed that such fees were being paid, in substantial part, to assure that the underwriters had conducted a thorough analysis of the transaction -- commonly referred to as a
“due diligence” investigation.
The correct percentage was a standard 7%. The culprit? Everyone's favorite scapegoat, the typo. I guess they're too ashamed to admit to an arithmetic error, especially one that passed through Motley Rice's own
"due diligence." Why didn't the partner who reviewed the document (and who likely ordered the bolding of the charge) fess up to his/her mistake?
I'm starting to warm up to lawsuit reform.
errors,
IPO,
legal
In search of corrections at the Dallas Morning-News
As I mentioned yesterday, I have been unable to find corrections in the
Dallas Morning-News as I have at seventeen other newspapers of national stature. I don't believe that the reporters and editors at the Morning News are infallible. At this point, I will assume that I have been looking for them in the wrong place. So, I'm going hunting for corrections at the Dallas Morning-News. Today I filled in their online error reporting form with the following information:
I look for corrections in your paper every day and have found none for the past two weeks. The link I use is http://www.dallasnews.com/s/dws/dn/corrections/vitindex.html. Is this the right location for corrections? If not, where should I look online for Dallas Morning-News corrections?I'll keep you posted on the results of this campaign.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Mistaken identity
From the
New York Times:
A Media Talk report in Business Day on Monday about the logistical problems of honoring about 70 employees of The Washington Post who have accepted buyouts misidentified one departing reporter. He is Charles R. Babcock, not Chuck Babington. (A Charles Babington works for the paper, but is not leaving.) (Go to Article)Mr. Babington, you may claim your belongings at the security office. Unfortunately, your desk has already been reassigned, but we have another for you in the basement. So sorry for the mix-up.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
New York Times,
Washington Post
Reaction to Feldstein's TGR proposal
Feldstein's Harvard colleague Greg Mankiw is skeptical of the proposal, criticizing the bureaucracy it involves (see entire post here:
Greg Mankiw's Blog: Feldstein on Gasoline).Mankiw says, "As I am sure Marty would agree, this system is functionally equivalent to an increase in the gasoline tax, with the tax revenue rebated lump-sum to the public. I have said many times that I like the idea of higher gasoline taxes, but Marty's scheme leaves me cold. Do we need to create a new administrative bureaucracy because politicians are afraid to use the word
tax?"
I think Mankiw misses an essential point here. This isn't a gas tax in sheep's clothing. "Rebated lump-sum to the public" is the operative phrase. A gas tax that gets dumped into the federal Treasury is bound be far more wasteful of the taxpayer's money than the administrative bureaucracy Feldstein's proposal would require.
Remember, a government surplus that took nearly ten years to create was utterly blown in a couple of years (by a supposedly fiscally-conservative government).
TGR creates the incentive to conserve without topping up the government spending trough to fund more bridges to nowhere.
Feldstein,
oil,
economics,
TGR
Tradeable Gasoline Rights (TGR) - whaddaya think?
Martin Feldstein, in an
op-ed column in today's
Wall Street Journal, proposes a system of Tradeable Gasoline Rights, similar to tradeable pollution rights except with individuals rather than organizations as the traders, as a way to spur conservation of oil without a gas tax or mandatory fuel economy standards.
It's an interesting idea. I want us to reduce dependence on foreign oil, but I don't love the idea of throwing tens of billions of additional dollars into the federal coffers, where they'll certainly be spent (effectiveness of the spending is an entirely different matter). And Feldstein has a pretty good argument as to why fuel economy standards, while well-intentioned, won't make enough difference to reduce our overall consumption quickly.
One question would be how much the system would cost. Of course, changing the gas tax system would cost a ton as well.
TGRs--maybe an idea whose time has come?
Wall Street Journal,
oil,
TGR
Whatever you do, don't name your organization FEMA
From the
Baltimore Sun:
An article about an investigation into the dangers of a flavoring chemical in Saturday's editions contained an incorrect reference to the Federal Emergency Management Agency. The reference should have been to the Flavor and Extract Manufacturing Association. The Sun regrets the error.
Reading the above-referenced article, it seems that both FEMAs may use the same PR company.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Corrections tally - wrap-up
We looked at corrections from eighteen newspapers over a six-day period. We counted them. This was not a scientific test, nor did we try to analyze the types of corrections made. Simply totaled them up.
The Top 3:
New York Times 46
Los Angeles Times 31
Wall Street Journal 19
The Bottom 3:
Dallas Morning News 0
Washington Times 0
New Orleans Times-Picayune, Austin American-Statesman (tie) 4
And some observations:
- The papers with the most corrections also had the most original content.
- The papers with the most corrections also had the most aggressive policies toward identifying and addressing errors in the paper (see prior post on the San Francisco Chronicle, which finished fourth in this tally)
- And, finally, there are too many dumb mistakes in all the papers (I'd wager that the Dallas Morning News and Washington Times don't look hard enough to find them). The time pressure of web publishing has had an impact, I'm sure. But there's a lot to be said for several careful reviews of drafts, Google searches to corroborate basic information, etc.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Rep. Simmons only wishes it were $400 million for the Mystic aquarium
From the
New York Times:
Week in Review An article last Sunday about earmarks, the legislative practice of setting aside money in spending bills for special projects, included erroneous amounts, based on information in the Congressional Record, for the Missouri Forest Foundation and the Mystic Aquarium in Connecticut. Congress approved $750,000 for the forest foundation, not $750 million; and $400,000 for the aquarium, not $400 million. (Go to Article)
newspapers,
media,
errors,
New York Times,
Congress,
earmarks
Corrections tally - day 6
newspapers,
media,
errors
Corrections tally - day 5
We'll do our last tally tomorrow, then post an assessment early next week.
newspapers,
media,
errors
A correction in the making, about corrections (the other kind)
From the
Corrections page of the
LA Times website:
SACRAMENTO — State corrections officials on Friday blamed bacteria in milk for an outbreak of gastroenteritis that struck 1,300 inmates at 11 state prisons last month.
Acting Corrections Secretary James Tilton said investigators from the state Department of Health Services had linked the illness to a batch of milk produced by a dairy at one of the prisons, Deuel Vocational Institution in Tracy.
[...umm, wait... isn't this supposed to be the section where mistakes in the paper are corrected?...]
State epidemiologists made the connection after learning that among the inmates who experienced vomiting, diarrhea, headaches and other symptoms, milk appeared to be the common item consumed.
As a precaution, Tilton said the milk produced between May 8 and May 18 — about 25,000 half-pint cartons — was recalled and thrown out. Stephen Beam, chief of milk and dairy food safety for the California Department of Food and Agriculture, said officials inspected the prison's milk processing plant and found that all operations met or exceeded state standards.
[...really, is there a mistake here somewhere you're trying to point out?...]
Beam said elevated bacterial counts in samples from the recalled batch probably were caused after production, maybe during packaging.
"We've yet to identify any one aspect that is the culprit," Beam said. He said the outbreak does not suggest there is any ongoing concern with milk production or pasteurization at the prison.
[...to the Editor: this belongs in the state news section...]
The dairy at the Tracy prison, east of San Francisco, produces about 6,000 gallons of raw milk per day, providing jobs for inmates while supplying milk to state and county facilities.
Gastroenteritis hit first at Deuel, on May 16. Test results and cultures from stool samples confirmed Campylobacter, a bacterial organism, as the cause. The disease then spread to prisons elsewhere in the San Joaquin Valley and also in Folsom, the Sierra foothills and Norco in Riverside County. Some inmates were hospitalized, but most were treated in their cells.
Whew! I thought they'd never shut up. This is the danger of using word search to identify corrections, without reading what the search results say.
newspapers,
media,
errors,
corrections,
Los Angeles Times
On second thought, better cancel that service, Chicagoans!
From the
Chicago Tribune:
June 2, 2006
- A story on Page 7 of Monday's Business section, in describing a service that enables someone to record a phone conversation, failed to state that it is illegal to record a phone conversation in Illinois without the consent of all parties involved in the conversation.
newspapers,
media,
errors
Nathaniel Hawthorne's other woman
From the
Boston Globe:
Correction: Because of a research error, the wrong portrait accompanied a story about Sophia Peabody Hawthorne and her husband, author Nathaniel Hawthorne, in yesterday's City & Region section. The correct portrait of Sophia Peabody Hawthorne is shown at left.By the way, the correct portrait was
not shown on the web correction page. A portrait accompanies the article, but it's unclear whether that is the erroneous portrait or the corrected one. And who was the other woman initially pictured? And what was her connection to Hawthorne? We want to know.
newspapers,
media,
errors
