Newspaper corrections: The Toronto Star’s public editor, Kathy English, surveys a decade of Star corrections.
Misspelled or mangled names account for about 30 percent.
“I have learned through these years that most every mistake the Star’s journalists make matters to someone for some reason,” she writes.
One story, 15 corrections: The Washington Post is embarrassed by widespread errors in a freelance article about two African-American families, writes Sydney Smith.
Errors included misspellings, family details, omissions of key details and statements, descriptions of incidents, context and allegations.
Correcting errors in the digital age: “One essential element of transparency is doing corrections right,” writes Dan Gillmor.
In the digital age, “we can fix the error right in the news article (or video or audio) and append an explanation, thereby limiting the damage, because people new to the article will get the correct information,” he writes.
Hexing tax collectors: Sydney Smith offers a roundup of recent media corrections.
Historical facts, names and numbers trip journalists, including Romanian witches.
“Stories aren’t the only content that needs editing,” writes Smith. “Case in point, an NPR graphic on the midterm elections had numerous errors.”
Making transparency clear: Andrew Seaman explains how “transparency” grew as a recognized concept in journalism.
Journalism was largely opaque until the invention and widespread use of the internet, he writes.
“News organizations can no longer stubbornly refuse to issue corrections or other clarifications without pushback,” he writes. “Journalists and news organizations are — in many ways — completely exposed to the public.”
Apologies to the seven-foot-tall hairy alien biped community: Sydney Smith lists the top ten media corrections of 2017, including a correction of a correction.
Correcting “significant errors:” The Guardian’s readers’ editor tells how he decides if an error needs a correction or clarification, using six criteria.
“Seriousness of any potential harm” tops the list, followed by “consequences if item misunderstood.”
“Human frailty plays its part,” writes the editor. “People can mishear, misunderstand, misread, mistype and overlook. People cut corners and sometimes crash.”
Ethics AdviceLine for Journalists 