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Articles by Craig Silverman | Email the Author

 

1. Regret the Error

   The News Business Is Changing. Again.

   February 20, 2009 11:44 AM

   Walter Isaacson began his recent Time essay about the news business by declaring that “the crisis in journalism has reached meltdown proportions.” He suggested that a micropayment system could help encourage people to pay for online news. For... Continue reading

2. Regret the Error

   Glass Houses

   February 13, 2009 11:39 AM

   It’s not recognized as one of the fundamentals of the profession, but journalists spend a lot of time pointing out other people’s mistakes. Major news over the past few weeks has included Cabinet nominees that erred in their tax... Continue reading

3. Regret the Error

   Checklist Charlie

   February 6, 2009 11:44 AM

   In 1935, Boeing Corporation almost went bankrupt after its Model 299 long-range bomber literally crashed and burned during a U.S. Army flight competition. Major Ployer P. Hill, the pilot, and one other crew member died in the crash. As a... Continue reading

4. Regret the Error

   Homegrown Errorists

   January 30, 2009 11:31 AM

   The package arrived two weeks ago, a bulging manila envelope with a return address in Decatur, Illinois. Inside was a mass of paper with a polite letter placed on top. “Dear Mr. Silverman,” it began, “you have published a book... Continue reading

5. Regret the Error

   A Rare Peek at Why Errors Occur

   January 23, 2009 11:37 AM

   Last Sunday’s New York Times was a treasure trove of accuracy-related information, and I don’t mean the paper’s corrections column. Readers were treated to a pair of articles that offered an impressive amount of insight into mistakes. One was... Continue reading

6. Regret the Error

   To Repeat or Not To Repeat?

   January 19, 2009 10:59 AM

   To repeat or not to repeat? It’s a simple question, yet it has vexed editors and correction writers for decades. Is it nobler to restate the error in a correction, or to offer a basic description of the mistake? Derek... Continue reading

7. Regret the Error

   Letter Imperfect

   January 9, 2009 11:57 AM

   Though it takes up a relatively small amount of real estate, a newspaper or magazine’s letters to the editor section punches far above its weight when it comes to errors and corrections. Just over the past couple of years, there... Continue reading

8. Regret the Error

   RTE’s New Year Wishes

   January 2, 2009 03:13 PM

   Several months ago, I received a phone call from an editor at a major U.S. newspaper. He explained that his paper’s Web site had been hosting blogs for roughly a year, but staff had recently realized that they were without... Continue reading

9. Regret the Error

   The Year in Errata

   December 19, 2008 11:33 AM

   About a month ago, I began the laborious and depressing task of scouring the archives of Regret the Error to find the best of the worst in media errors and corrections from 2008. I published my annual round-up... Continue reading

10. Regret the Error

    Death by Obiticide

    December 12, 2008 10:45 AM

    I have some bad news to pass along this week: two people were killed as a result of sloppy journalism. It happens more often than you might expect. It’s frequent enough, in fact, that I’ve come up with a name... Continue reading

11. Regret the Error

    Scrubbing Away Their Sins

    December 5, 2008 11:58 AM

    We used to be able to throw out the news; to disappear it. The morning paper would find its way into the trash. A radio or television newscast would float off into the ether. It’s a cliché to say it... Continue reading

12. Regret the Error

    Everything Old Is New Again

    November 21, 2008 11:02 AM

    Just over two months ago, shares of UAL, the parent company of United Airlines, fell by as much as 76 percent. The root cause of the drop in price was a Chicago Tribune article published on the website... Continue reading

13. Regret the Error

    The Art of the Fake Correction

    November 14, 2008 10:55 AM

    The groups responsible for this week’s fake edition of The New York Times took great care to produce a newspaper that looked like the real thing. They mimicked the paper’s fonts and layout, included an imagined column by... Continue reading

14. Regret the Error

    Apologies Not Acceptable

    November 7, 2008 12:47 PM

    The Washington Post’s correction policy has some elegant turns of phrase, including “Preventing and correcting mistakes are two sides of the coin of our realm: accuracy.” But it says nothing about apologies. Could that be because “The Washington... Continue reading

15. Regret the Error

    Weapons of Mass Reduction

    October 31, 2008 12:18 PM

    In its most basic and useful form, a correction fixes erroneous reporting and provides a public admission for an error. Though it rarely tops 100 words, the correction, when properly deployed, can also be transformed into a weapon of mass... Continue reading

16. Regret the Error

    A Treasury of Page Six Corrections

    October 24, 2008 11:47 AM

    Gossip is a cutthroat business. It’s also an error-prone one. Mistakes are inevitable when you trade in rumors and rely on “spies” and self-interested publicists to feed you product. Or, yes, when you simply make things up in order to... Continue reading

17. Regret the Error

    Ils Regretteront L’Erreur

    October 17, 2008 11:49 AM

    Le Monde, a highly respected French newspaper, committed an error so egregious on Wednesday that its editors believed the only way to correct their mistake was to publish a front page apology. Had the paper falsely accused someone of a... Continue reading

18. Regret the Error

    The Case of the Comical Cleric

    October 10, 2008 11:56 AM

    Reverend Peter Mullen holds the rather unique position of chaplain to the London Stock Exchange. As if that’s not keeping him busy enough these days, he also writes a column for the Northern Echo, a newspaper in... Continue reading

19. Regret the Error

    The Case Of The Naughty Wristband

    October 3, 2008 12:31 PM

    Starting this week, Craig Silverman, the editor of media errors and corrections Web site RegretTheError.com, will provide a Friday roundup of the week in corrections, errors, and accuracy news. Blame it on the megapixel. Last weekend, the Boston... Continue reading

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