Regret the Error

Ah, the writing life

We underestimated Charles Dickens' earnings when we stated that a major novel would have netted him £10,000 "in today's money" (Dickens' war on filth, page 16, G2, October 20). We meant Victorian money.

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All TV execs look alike

An entry in the Business Digest yesterday about CBS's replacement of its news chief misidentified the adjoining picture. It showed Sean McManus, the new president of CBS News, not Leslie Moonves, chairman of CBS.

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A (incorrect) soldier's tale

There were a number of errors in our story 'A soldier's tale' (23 October). 'Chris' Hickey was misnamed Christopher, rather than his actual name, Christian, and his village was wrongly printed as East Brierley rather than East Bierley. The photograph of him in a suit was wrongly captioned. It showed him at a friend's wedding, not his own, as we stated.

Here's the story (sub req'd), which has not been corrected online.

And his brother is Cody, not Codeine

Because of an editing error, a sports article in some copies on Sunday about the University of Alabama's 6-3 football victory over the University of Tennessee misstated the given name of a linebacker who is a leader of the Alabama defense. He is DeMeco Ryans, not Demerol.

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A guide of where not to go

There were a number of inaccuracies in last week's Weekender on Kyneton. The flour mill and bakery is not currently functioning or open to public, as reported, and Ronaldo's and Gonella's have closed. The Club Hotel, which the author visited earlier this year, has since shut. We apologise for any inconvenience or embarrassment the report may have caused.

USA Today alters Condi photo

USA Today is catching heat for altering a photo of Condoleezza Rice that made her look somewhat demonic. Here's the editor's note that the paper has attached to the story where the photo appeared:

Editor's note: The photo of Condoleezza Rice that originally accompanied this story was altered in a manner that did not meet USA TODAY's editorial standards. The photo has been replaced by a properly adjusted copy. Photos published online are routinely cropped for size and adjusted for brightness and sharpness to optimize their appearance. In this case, after sharpening the photo for clarity, the editor brightened a portion of Rice's face, giving her eyes an unnatural appearance. This resulted in a distortion of the original not in keeping with our editorial standards.

Editor & Publisher has a story on the flap:

USA Today removed a digitally altered photo of Condoleezza Rice from its Web site Wednesday after several bloggers complained that it made the Secretary of State look demonic.
The Associated Press photo appeared on the USA Today Web site Oct. 19 with a story about Rice's comments that troops could remain in Iraq for up to 10 years, according to USA Today spokesman Steve Anderson. He said the photo did not appear in the newspaper itself.
"USAToday.com, like other news organizations, often adjusts photos for sharpness and brightness to optimize appearance," Anderson told E&P. He added that an online editor sharpened the photo to brighten Rice's face, but did not do so in an effort to make her look strange.
"It's considered an honest mistake and the person was not disciplined," Anderson said, declining to identify the online editor who made the change. He added that no complaints or inquiries had come from Rice's office or AP.
Although the altered photo was first posted one week ago, the newspaper did not replace it with the original version until Wednesday, Anderson said. He said the move was made after inquiries "in the hundreds" came in about the alteration, while numerous blogs also began posting comments about the situation.

Here are the photos:

You've got to be kidding

Because of an editing error, E.J. Dionne Jr.'s Oct. 18 column incorrectly cited which paper contained Judith Miller's account of her grand jury testimony in the CIA leak case. It was the New York Times.

Here's the story, which has been corrected within the text. But there's no correction attached. The story initally said that Miller's account ran in the Post.

Design flaw

Montour school board candidate Mike Steele said the white mark on a red apple that appeared in one of his campaign signs was intended as a highlighting effect. An Oct. 20 story described it as a worm crawling out.

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Supporters can spell, NYT can't

An article on Thursday about the sentencing of two men for the murder of Mark S. Fisher, a student at Fairfield University in Connecticut, misspelled the surname of one defendant and referred erroneously to the spelling on T-shirts worn by supporters in the courtroom. (The error also appeared in several articles between February 2004 and the end of last month.) He is John Giuca, not Guica; the spelling on the T-shirts was not erroneous.

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The puzlling Mrs. Pond

An Oct. 25 obituary for Helen O. Gillard incorrectly referred to her once as "Mrs. Pond."

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