There are other examples of errant photo scoops. There was the U.K. paper that had to pulp over 100,000 copies of an issue because it thought it had a scoop with the photo of the so-called “Lotto rapist.” Or the Brazilian paper that mistook a photo from a film shoot for a candid shot of heavily-armed drug traffickers in action.
At their core, photo scoops are usually about media self-glorification rather than providing essential news. If Kim Jong Un really is going to be the next leader of North Korea, he’ll show his face at some point.
Revealing him to the world is a great way to make news, but so too is being wrong about it.
Correction of the Week
“An earlier version of this story incorrectly described Buffington’s special support hose as ‘mercury-lined.’ The hose are mercury-gauged, meaning that barometric mercury is used to measure the compression of the hose. They are not mercury-lined which would, of course, make them poisonous. I regret the error. — SR” – The Sunday Paper
Know Your Columnists
“A June 16 A-section article incorrectly said that a column in Israel’s Haaretz newspaper was written by Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. It was written by a Haaretz columnist.” – Washington Post
Parting Shot
“Wallpaper* is not Conde Nast’s trendier-than-thou lifestyle mag, as we said in a Media Monkey item (13 June, page 4, MediaGuardian). It is IPC’s trendier-than-thou lifestyle mag.” – The Guardian
