Regret the Error

The dang justices showed up

A story about the Miller County Quorum Court published Sept. 20 omitted the word only in a sentence. The sentence should have read: She was disappointed only two justices-Dean Langdon and Jimmy Hickey-attended last Thursday's JDC committee meeting.
The sentence was contained in a paragraph about Juvenile Detention Center administrator Joann Smith's remarks during the Quorum Court meeting.

Link

Jews and Latinos -- not that different after all

The photo caption in this story mistakenly identified Lawrence Rosenberg as Luis Vagle.

Link

Lessons in geography, #502

A map of the US gulf states had Arkansas where Mississippi should be; Arkansas is the unidentified state above Louisiana; Alabama, which is east of Mississippi, was missing; and Georgia extended west into the area that should have shown Alabama (Tens of thousands ordered out of Texas, etc, page 17, yesterday).

Link 

Errors after dark

Following the publication of the Sept. 14 story "New Orleans After Dark," Jonathan Brown of the New Orleans Police Department contacted Salon. He identified himself as the officer who pulled over Joshua Clark and Ellen Harris for being on the streets after curfew. He reported that when he asked the pair to vacate the car, he and his partner drew their guns, but neither he nor his partner said, as the story stated, "We have our guns drawn! We are going to shoot you if you move!" Brown also reported that, contrary to the story, he did not mention his mother; his friend Mario left for Tallahassee and not Hammond; and that the gun he carries is a Glock and not a 9mm. Joshua Clark responds that due to the duress of the incident, his recollection of what the officers said was faulty. "Unfortunately, I was not able to follow up with the officers to clarify the details," he said. "But that's no excuse. I deeply regret the mistakes." The story has been corrected to reflect the incident as both Clark and Brown remember it.

Link

Do (not) vote for Roberts

Tuesday's A2 summary of a Times editorial said Democrats should not vote to approve Judge John G. Roberts Jr. It should have said that Democrats should vote to approve Roberts.

Link

Lost in translation

This past Saturday, Canada's National Post published a letter from an Israeli law professor. Anyone with some knowledge of Hebrew, however, could see that the professor was a phony. His signed name translates to "son of a bastard." Norman Spector, the former publisher of the Jerusalem Post, took note of the gaffe on his blog, calling it "one of the oldest hoaxes in the newspaper business." The Toronto Star's Antonia Zerbisias, who writes the best media blog in Canada, received an email from someone claiming to be the hoaxster. He/she says the Post was targeted because:

...WE WANT TO DESTROY THE CREDIBILITY OF THE NATIONAL POST BY THEIR PRINTING FALSE LETTERS, WHICH HAS ALREADY SUFFERED PLAGIARISM, FABRICATION OF STORIES AND RAPIDLY DECLINING CIRCULATION.

Here's some info on plagiarism and fabrication at the Post. It's interesting to see that a group who disagrees with the ideological slant of a newspaper immediately cites its lack of accuracy and credibility as justification for criticism. This, of course, is nothing new. But it drives home the point that striving for -- and maintaining -- the highest level of accuracy and ethical reporting is the first line of defense for the media. Errors and plagiarism arm partisan critics with easy ammunition.

This isn't to suggest the goal is to silence all criticism and debate; it's about having a debate focused on issues and ideas, rather than process.

Here's the letter in question:

Re: It's Now Up To The Palestinians, editorial, Sept. 13.
I would like to add to your fine editorial about the ball being in Palestinian hands. There must be rule of law in Gaza, and not the looting and the utter chaos we have seen in the last few days. Otherwise Western countries, and Israel, will see no need to create an independent Palestinian state in Gaza and the West Bank.
Gaza, where unemployment is rampant, will have to attract foreign investors, yet they will be deterred by its lawlessness. Gaza authorities, as they observe other Arab countries, have a stark choice -- imitating the collapsing country of Iraq and the failed state of Somalia or pursue democracy as in Lebanon. Canada, whose constitution and jurists are renowned throughout the world, should send its experts to help rebuild Gaza.
Ben Mamzer, Professor of Law, Faculty of Law, Hebrew University, Jerusalem.

Some show about some guy named Raymond

A television review yesterday about "How I Met Your Mother" and "Out of Practice," on CBS, misstated the name of the popular show, ended last season, that the network is trying to replace with another hit. It is "Everybody Loves Raymond," not "All About Raymond." Link

And, yes, this is a "Stanley correction."

A "hyper-correction"

From the "Spy" colum in the Telegraph:

Despite previous comments made by the Prince of Wales about the decline in the proper use of the English language, I'm forced to report a howler he made in a speech on Sunday. At the unveiling of the Battle of Britain monument on the Victoria Embankment, Charles announced: "It gives my wife and I the greatest possible pride.''
Clearly, what Charles meant to say was: "It gives my wife and me.''
"It's bad grammar, a schoolboy error and one that any good script doctor should have noticed,'' says my pedantic mole.
Language boffins at Oxford University Press confirm the gaffe. "This is a very common mistake,'' says the English language expert Angus Stevenson.
"The technical term for this error is hyper-correction. People tend to commit it when they try to sound posh, which is ironic in the case of Prince Charles, who's heir to the throne.''

Link

Roomies? Buddies?

An editorial on Sept. 11 about mismanagement at the Federal Emergency Management Agency said its former director, Michael D. Brown, had been the college roommate of his predecessor at the agency, Joe Allbaugh. A spokeswoman for Allbaugh says the two men did not know each other in college.

A Sept. 13 commentary about FEMA said that former director Michael D. Brown was a "college buddy" of his predecessor, Joe Allbaugh. The two have been friends for more than 25 years but did not know each other in college.

Link

Buried, alive

In the Sunday Metro section, the deaths and funerals list stated incorrectly that Charles W. Miller, 60, of Suwanee was cremated. The body was not cremated. Link

Because of a reporting error, a story on Page A-1 of Sunday's Times incorrectly reported attorney Jack Furman was dead. He is alive. Link