Regret the Error

Bad either way

Because of an editing error, an article on Friday about an airstrike by NATO forces that killed Afghan civilians referred incorrectly to the death toll. If the toll in this attack turns out to be 50, the higher estimate cited in the article, it will be the largest civilian toll in an airstrike since the American-led invasion in 2001. But if the death toll is 40, the lower estimate cited, it would not be. (An airstrike in July 2002 killed 48 people.) Link

Error about error

A caption in Business Day on Wednesday with an article about a contract dispute between two Canadian companies that turns on the placement of a single comma and could be worth $1 million Canadian dollars, misidentified the location of the disputed punctuation. It is the third comma shown in the copy of the contract — not the second. Link

More about this story here and here.

Fuzzy numbers etc.

An article in Business Day on Thursday about the proposed merger of the law firm Dewey Ballantine with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe misstated the estimated profit per equity partner at Dewey Ballantine last year. It was $1.24 million, not $1.24. The article also referred incorrectly at one point to Morton A. Pierce, chairman of the management and executive committees, as Mr. Morton, instead of as Mr. Pierce. Link

Islam 101

A story on Page B1 Sunday gave incorrect information about Ramadan. The Muslim holy month is not held during a fixed time each year as was reported in the story, but instead cycles 10 days earlier each year, based on the Muslim calendar. Link

Bombed

In our story about North Korea's nuclear test (14 October, p 9) the size of the explosion, estimated at 0.5 kilotons, or the equivalent of 500 tons of TNT, is incorrectly compared to the Oklahoma City bomb of 1995. In fact, the Oklahoma City bomb was smaller by a factor of around 100. Link

Lusty puppets

An article last Sunday about “The Fortune Teller,” a production featuring marionettes, referred incorrectly to the sex scenes in “Avenue Q.” They involved puppets, not marionettes. Link

Mommy, where's Lucy?

An Oct. 26 KidsPost item said that the ancient fossil known as Lucy might be coming to the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History as part of a national tour that starts next year. Museum officials say Lucy will not be put on exhibit there. Link

Left on the cutting room floor

Penelope Cruz: In some editions of today's Calendar section, actress Penelope Cruz was inadvertently cropped out of a photo from the movie "Volver" that accompanied an article about her. Link

Negative ad works against own candidate

The campaign for the U.S. House of Representatives seat from the 2nd District of Minnesota has been edgy on both sides, but in our opinion page endorsement of John Kline on Friday we erroneously reported that the Coleen Rowley campaign had produced a misleading negative video tying Kline to Washington corruption.
Although it includes Rowley campaign graphics, the video we referenced was neither produced nor endorsed by the candidate or her campaign.
It was created independently. According to the filmmaker, it was shown to the campaign, which declined to use it because it was "too negative." The filmmaker contends the video is accurate, not misleading. The video remained accessible on YouTube Friday, posted by the filmmaker and not the campaign, and it was not linked or referenced on the Rowley campaign Web site.
Attributing the video to the Rowley campaign was our error.
— Mike Burbach, editorial page editor Link

"Didn't bother" to ask her

A story on Page 28A Thursday said House Majority Leader Alice Madden, D-Boulder, "didn't bother" to fill out a candidate questionnaire from the Rocky Mountain News. News records indicate that Madden was never asked or given access to answer the online questionnaire. Link