<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN">
<html><head><style type="text/css"><!--
blockquote, dl, ul, ol, li { padding-top: 0 ; padding-bottom: 0 }
--></style><title>newspaper corrections</title></head><body>
<div><font color="#000000">Had to share this - from the latest issue
of "Quill."</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Bill</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Corrections, however painful or funny,
needed for credibility</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
By Paula LaRocque<br>
<br>
Ethical media are committed to correcting damaging or substantive
errors in their stories - not that they like to, but it's
necessary for their credibility. One of the unhappy truths of running
corrections, though, is that the correction can sometimes attract more
attention than the original error.<br>
<br>
For example, a red-faced CNN once caused a good deal of amusement by
correcting what it termed a "typo" in a story about Alan
Greenspan, chairman of the Federal Reserve Board. One of its headlines
had reported that Alan Greenspan had been hospitalized because of an
"enlarged prostitute." When the correction was brought to the
attention of Mr. Greenspan's wife, NBC News correspondent Andrea
Mitchell, she quipped: "He should be so lucky."<br>
<br>
CNN's correction said that, of course, it meant "prostate."<br>
<br>
Newspapers seldom correct typos, which are generally benign as
mistakes go, but the following church-page ad was an exception: "An
Italian sinner will be served at 5:30 p.m. at the Essex Center United
Methodist Church."<br>
<br>
A Michigan newspaper corrected an ad for Ora's Steakhouse that
listed the "Cook's Surprise" as "Pan-Fried or Baked
Children."<br>
<br>
And a Massachusetts newspaper correction explained: "Due to a typing
error, Gov. Dukakis was incorrectly identified in the third paragraph
as Mike Tyson."<br>
<br>
There's no shortage of memorable - and sometimes bewildering -
corrections:<br>
<br>
* "The Star-Telegram incorrectly reported Tuesday that Jack Wallace
Davis, 20 . . . was killed Sunday in an auto accident. Davis was not
in an accident and is not dead."<br>
<br>
* "In last week's issue of Community Life, a picture caption
listed some unusual gourmet dishes that were enjoyed at a Westwood
Library party for students enrolled in a tutorial program for
conversational English. Mai Thai Finn is one of the students in the
program and was in the center of the photo. We incorrectly listed her
name as one of the items on the menu. Community Life regrets the
error."<br>
<br>
* The Cedar Rapids Gazette amended a drug store ad:<br>
<br>
CORRECTION<br>
<br>
Generic tampons are not available.<br>
<br>
We are substituting Generic toilet paper.<br>
<br>
8-pack $1.29<br>
<br>
We are sorry for this inconvenience.<br>
<br>
* "A story in yesterday's Commercial Appeal incorrectly said 11
fans were trampled to death by The Who, a British rock group, outside
a concert hall in Cincinnati. . . . The 11 people died in the crush of
other fans seeking to enter the building."<br>
<br>
* "The title of the book that was to be reviewed at Sunday's
meeting of the Unitarian fellowship was incorrectly reported on the
church page of Saturday's Eagle as How to Say No to a Baptist and
Survive. The title should have been How to Say No to a Rapist and
Survive."<br>
<br>
The following correction, from a Richard Lederer Web site, appeared in
a California newsletter. It was obviously written by someone so
focused on one mistake that he missed the more amusing one: "The
following typo appeared in our last bulletin: 'Lunch will be gin at
12:15 p.m.' Please correct to read '12 noon.' "<br>
<br>
The following two corrections, also from the Lederer site, show that
sometimes the correction itself needs correcting:<br>
<br>
* "Our newspaper carried the notice last week that Mr. Oscar
Hoffnagle is a defective on the police force. This was a typographical
error. Mr. Hoffnagle is, of course, a detective on the police
farce."<br>
<br>
* "We referred to the chairman of Chrysler Corporation as Lee
Iacoocoo. His real name is Lee Iacacca. The Gazette regrets the
error."<br>
<br>
A Texas newspaper bungled the Dec. 7, 1941, date of the attack on
Pearl Harbor, producing the following "correction": "Due to a
reporting error, it was incorrectly reported Saturday that the
Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor on June 7, 1941. The correct date is Dec.
1, 1941. The Texarkana Gazette regrets the error."<br>
<br>
Here's another "correction" from a confused writer: "The News
American incorrectly reported Wednesday that parking meter rates are
higher in Baltimore than in Washington, D.C. In fact, Washington's
rates are lower."</font></div>
<div><font color="#000000"><br>
Finally, a correction to end all corrections, from the San Antonio
News:<br>
<br>
* The pilot "was not a former Air Force pilot, as reported, but had
been in the Air Force pilot training program. . . . He wasn't flying
an aircraft owned by Beck Concrete Co. He was in a plane owned by Crow
Aviation Co., where he was a student working toward a commercial
pilot's license. He was not making a mechanical check of the plane
and was not trying to land. He was making a low-level pass. He was not
trying to lower the landing gear. He had been flying in a two-plane
formation with Harry Perez, not Joe Perez, and Perez did not circle
the area until help arrived. Perez was already on the ground when the
crash happened. . . . The victim was not trapped between the
instrument panel and engine, but between the seat and the instrument
panel."<br>
<br>
That correction created a little stir among an amused media. An
editor, responding to the question how could such a thing happen, said
simply: "That reporter didn't know a danged thing."</font><br>
<font color="#000000"></font></div>
<div><font color="#000000">Paula LaRocque, former writing coach at The
Dallas Morning News, is author of The Book on Writing: The Ultimate
Guide to Writing Well and of Championship Writing, available at
www.marionstreetpress.com, Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble. E-mail:
plarocque@sbcglobal.net.</font></div>
</body>
</html>