Regret the Error

It's going to "be go backwards"

THE car of the future from Siemens would only have to turn its wheels by 90 degrees to park sideways. If it turned 180 degrees it would be go backwards. (Page 2, September 23). Link

Otherwise fine

Due to mistakes introduced during editing, a front page story Wednesday about the Missouri Higher Education Loan Authority had several errors in some editions. MOHELA's loan consolidation business soared as interest rates started rising; MOHELA says it cannot afford to waive 2 percent loan origination fees for a variety of reasons, including an anticipated decline in its loan consolidation business; federal law caps MOHELA's maximum profit on a loan to a 2 percentage point difference between the interest rate it must pay to sell bonds, and the rates it imposes on student loans; and MOHELA profits are used in a variety of ways, including building its loan business and or forgiving loans. Link

An adopt-it-and-break-the-law policy

Forced vacations: An article on Sept. 4 in Business about some employers requiring workers to take accrued vacation said many companies had adopted "a use-it-or-lose-it policy." It failed to note that the policy is illegal in California. However, California employers can legally cap how many vacation days their workers can accrue. Link

At least they weren't major issues

In an article in yesterday's Maryland section, Republican John Stafford, a former candidate for state Senate, mischaracterized some of the views of Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. and state Sen. John A. Giannetti Jr. Ehrlich supports abortion rights; Giannetti does not. Ehrlich supports a constitutional ban on gay marriage; Giannetti has been opposed. Link

James Dobson still not a reverend

A Sept. 20 Style article incorrectly gave Focus on the Family founder James Dobson the title "reverend." He is not an ordained clergyman. Link

This is another in a long line of Dobson corrections. It was spotted by Howard Mortman.

Tried by the press

An editing error on Page 4B of Wednesday's editions of The Advocate made a headline inaccurate.
The headline called Wilbert Kelly Jr. a convicted killer. He is a suspect in the case and has not been tried.
The Advocate regrets the error.

Boy falsely claims to have been in classroom when gunman entered, fools Today, Good Morning America, CBS Early Show etc.

A boy named Cassidy Grigg made the rounds of the morning shows Thursday, hitting the Today show on NBC, The Early Show on CBS, and Good Morning America on ABC. He said he was in the Colorado classroom when gunman Duane Morrison entered. Morrison eventually took six girls hostage and murdered one before killing himself.
Grigg offered some colorful first-person quotes:

• "He was just an old guy who came on a mission, and I think he got what he wanted."
• "I think he just went because he knew he wasn't going to come out alive."
• "You could tell that he wanted the females. He tapped me on the shoulder and he told me to leave the room. I told him, "I don't want to leave."

Unfortunately, Grigg's mother later revealed that her son was not in the classroom. It's possible that it all started when the boy told his father he was in the room and the father then relayed this to the Associated Press. At least that's how this AP correction makes it sound:

In Sept. 27 stories about a deadly school shooting at Platte Canyon High School, The Associated Press quoted parent Tom Grigg giving an account of the ordeal he had heard from his 16-year-old son, Cassidy. Grigg said his son was in the classroom when the gunman picked out his female hostages and the teen had offered to stay with the girls — but the gunman warned him to get out.
The student's mother said Cassidy Grigg lied.

As is often the case, the boy's remarkable first person tale was quickly picked up by other outlets, and now the mass corrections/corrective articles have begun. This correction was posted on MSNBC.com:

A story published Thursday morning on MSNBC.com described a 16-year-old boy's account of a hostage-taking at a Colorado high school in which a gunman fatally shot one girl before killing himself.
The story was based on comments the boy, Cassidy Grigg, made on the "Today" show and to other media outlets. Cassidy said he was in the classroom at Platte Canyon High School in Bailey on Wednesday when the gunman entered.
Cassidy's mother, Larina Grigg, said Thursday that Cassidy had lied and was actually in another room at the time. Link

WRIC, a television station in Virginia, ran with the story but then received a "withhold" on it and put that online. (A question for TV people out there: would a "withhold" be sent out by the network in a situation like this?) WRIC eventually removed the text from its site. We found this in the Google News cache: 

Stations: WITHHOLD all of the items on yesterday's school shooting in Colorado in which student Cassidy Grigg is quoted as saying he was in the classroom when ...

FOX News has a story up, as does the Rocky Mountain News, and many TV affiliates. The boy's mother told one outlet, "He said, 'Mom, all those kids were my friends and I just wanted so much to help them. ... I guess I just made it up in my mind. I just wanted it to be true so bad'." 

Well, they both start with "d"

Kevin Brown, the 2-year-old Johnson County child who was missing for nearly three days, had diarrhea and was treated by his family pediatrician in Cleburne on Monday. A spokeswoman for the Johnson County Sheriff's Department mistakenly reported Monday that the child was treated for a more serious illness at Cook Children's Medical Center in Fort Worth. The erroneous information appeared Tuesday in an article about the child's case. Link

What did the Sheriff's department report him as having? Dysentery.

Why Johnny can't read

The Advocate, in Saturday's editions, misquoted East Baton Rouge Parish School Board member Bill Black.
Black was quoted as saying, "Every year we lose hundreds of thousands of textbooks."
Black actually said, "Every year we lose hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of textbooks."
The Advocate regrets the error.

The Jews did it

A picture caption on Saturday about an anti-Hamas rally in Gaza by supporters of the rival Palestinian group Fatah misstated the purpose of the rally. It was to protest what participants called an atmosphere of fear created by Hamas leaders, not over the stance of Hamas on recognizing Israel. Link