In spring of 2011 it took me the better part of a month to get The Los Angeles Times to correct a minor factual error about a storied cafe in Cairo. I called the paper’s correction desk and repeatedly filled out their online correction form, but I was ignored. It wasn’t until I started slamming the paper on Twitter everyday (“Day 24 of uncorrected @LATimes error,” for example), that they grew tired of my harassment and fixed the damn mistake. But this was atypical of how the LA Times usually handles errors.
Global news organizations, on the other hand, seem to be almost unified in not taking errors, or their public correction, seriously. This is not a time when global newsmakers can be cavalier about factual accuracy, especially since errors in foreign reporting can creep up more frequently than in other beats. Newsmakers constantly face greater scrutiny, financial pressure, and external competition. The easiest way to lose an audience is to get things wrong and leave them wrong, and once you lose audience trust it takes eons to get it back.
Correction: This article originally reported that the website of Voice of America contains no statement regarding its online corrections policy. In fact, such a statement is available here, under “Corrections”: http://www.voanews.com/english/news/69075687.html. CJR regrets the error.
VOA responds: Thank you for noting the fact that the VOA Journalistic Code and “accuracy policy” are listed on the Public Relations page of our website (www.insidevoa.com). Listed separately under Terms of Use, on the footer of our news site (www.voanews.com), you will find our “corrections policy,” which explains how we handle errors. It is VOA policy to correct and acknowledge errors in our reporting. This policy is part of our Best Practices Guide, which is in the hands of every journalist in the house. Kyle King, VOA Public Relations.
#1 Posted by Kyle B. King, VOA Public Relations, CJR on Thu 28 Jul 2011 at 03:24 PM
VOA: You are right. There is a correction policy for VOA.com listed on your "terms of use and privacy" page. The statement about VOA.com not having a "prominent corrections policy," though, stands. Instead of posting the corrections policy deep within the legal language of a terms of use page, why not include it on the page with the "VOA Charter & Journalistic Code"?
#2 Posted by Justin Martin, CJR on Fri 29 Jul 2011 at 09:48 AM
Thank you for the suggestion. We will look at doing this.
#3 Posted by Kyle B. King, VOA Public Relations, CJR on Fri 29 Jul 2011 at 02:42 PM