In a rare decision, the paperback edition of Seth Mnookin's book about the New York Times and Jayson Blair, "Hard News," will include a three page corrections section. Editor & Publisher has the details:
Mnookin says he only made a few errors but, to continue his commitment to “transparency,” he is “offering up a relative rarity in the world of book publishing: a corrections section.”
Most of the corrections (like the Times') are of a minor scale, such as the executive dining room of the paper being located on the 11th, not 14th floor, and Clyde Haberman stringing from City College of New York, not Columbia University.
The more substantial correction concerns the original's assertion that two Timesmen, Jon Landman and Jim Roberts, had a testy relationship. Mnookin notes that this was based on a New York magazine story and that Landman tells him that though the two editors are not “drinking buddies,” they do share mutual respect.
The errors mentioned above were of course easily preventable by making a few phone calls, but Mnookin's willingness to add a corrections section is commendable.
