I know corrections are painful. I’ve endured them. My editor at CJR had to affix a correction to a recent story I wrote about, ahem, journalistic corrections. I incorrectly wrote that the Voice of America website didn’t state its online corrections policy. It was there, I just missed it. A VOA rep posted a comment beneath my story highlighting the mistake, I contacted my editor, and the error was righted before the close of business.
Rather than treating the correction request as a personal affront, I admitted the mistake, fixed it, and moved on. I really don’t have time to unnecessarily fight readers on matters of obvious factual accuracy (nor should I). And I thought most other journalists didn’t, either.
I'm tempted to ask whether the Report An Error Alliance (reportanerror.org) should put up a web form we could use to send invitations (to join the Alliance) to media outlets, and keep a (visible) list of how many invitations have been sent, to those orgs that haven't joined.
#1 Posted by Anna Haynes, CJR on Wed 16 Nov 2011 at 05:29 PM
I'm glad Justin Martin has had a good experience in getting the NY Times to correct errors, but I haven't. Back in the mid-2000s the Times did a piece about the reaction in my then-hometown Hollywood, Florida to President Bush's proposal to privatize Social Security, with an approving quote from Republican Congressman Clay Shaw, who the article said was the local congressman. When I contacted the corrections editor and pointed out that our local Hollywood congressman was a Democrat who strongly opposed Bush's privatization and noted that even Shaw's office said Shaw did not represent Hollywood, the editor insisted that the article was accurate because Shaw's district included a tiny uninhabited strip just south of the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood airport. I was thinking, why not just run the damn correction rather than splitting hairs with me in a totally bogus way. Pshew!
#2 Posted by Harris Meyer, CJR on Wed 16 Nov 2011 at 06:52 PM
Admit an error? What better way to demonstrate to readers that you care about the integrity of your product and actually listen and react when valid complaints are made. I once worked for a newspaper that went so far as to identify the culprit - "Due to an editing error..." or "Due to a reporting error..." - when appropriate. The purpose wasn't hang to hang someone out to dry, rather to be fully open. We all make occasional errors, often in haste, but product integrity should always come before ego.
#3 Posted by Bud Wilkinson, CJR on Thu 17 Nov 2011 at 11:12 AM
Why DO so many journalists (especially older ones) resist running corrections? I've been puzzling over that question for 15 years as a media critic and news-council director. My conclusion: Geneva Overholser was right when she said it's not that journalists are thin-skinned...they have no skin! Journalists love to point out others' errors, foibles, follies, inadequacies and shortcomings, but they hate to admit their own. I've seen case after case of this when people came to the Washington News Council (http://wanewscouncil.org) after they couldn't get media organizations to run needed corrections, clarifications or follow-up stories. When we took their formal written complaints to the editors or producers, the defensive walls went up and the wagons circled. Why? Is it arrogance that they are omnipotent and shouldn't have to admit they have feet of clay? Do they think their motives are so noble and their hearts so pure that they can be forgiven a few minor mistakes (even though some are pretty major)? Or is it a basic, fundamental insecurity among many journalists who actually know deep down inside that they aren't that good or that smart, but if they concede that in public their fragile self-images as the heroic defenders of the public's right to know, already frayed, will start to permanently unravel? Sadly, I've come to conclude that the last explanation may be closest to the truth. But Bud Wilkinson is absolutely right when he says that admitting error is actually the BEST way to show that you care about integrity, accuracy and ethics. The more journalists do that, the more they will be liked and trusted. What is so hard to understand about that? The more journalists of all kinds, shapes, sizes, stripes and colors begin to recognize and practice the same Transparency, Accountability and Openness that they demand of those they cover, the more credible and trusted they will be. We call it the "TAO of Journalism." See http://taoofjournalism.org for details. It's real simple and is growing steadily worldwide -- especially among younger generation of journalists. They get it, even if their greying elders don't.
#4 Posted by John Hamer, CJR on Thu 17 Nov 2011 at 01:52 PM
I see errors and misstatements about the accounting industry and the largest global accounting firms all the time. Even major media and famous columnists make mistakes based, I believe, on their lack of familiarity with how the industry really works and the fact they write about it in depth so inconsistently and infrequently.
I could spend all day every day sending emails or correcting them publicly on Twitter or on my blog. When I've tried in the past to help privately, some bold faced names didn't even acknowledge my email. Nor do they make the correction.
I suspect they think that if they don't know the difference, no one else will.
I've settled on publicly calling out only the most egregious errors and writing about the industry accurately on my site, Forbes, American Banker, and anywhere else I can get published. I also quietly help those who have been receptive in the past.
#5 Posted by Francine McKenna, CJR on Sun 27 Nov 2011 at 12:28 PM