Correction (newspaper)

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A correction in newspaper is usually the posting of the notice of a typographical error or mistake that appeared in a past issue of a newspaper. Usually, a correction notice appears in its own column.

Newspapers usually have specific policies for readers to report factual errors. Usually, it involves the reader contacting an editor (either by phone or in-person visit), pointing out the mistake and providing the correct information. Sometimes, an editor or affected reporter will be asked to refer to a note or press release to determine how the mistake was made.

A correction differs from a clarification, which clears up a statement that — while factually correct — may result in a misunderstanding or an unfair assumption.

Most corrections are the result of reporting errors, although sometimes the newspaper was provided incorrect information.

[edit] Examples

Most newspaper errors are relatively minor and involve one of the following:

  • Names — Their name was misspelled, someone was misidentified (e.g., in a photograph), their professional title was incorrect ... the list goes on.
  • Figures – Usually, the result of a typographical error, although it can adversely affect a story (e.g., "the lawsuit was for $8 million, not $8 billion").
  • Time/date/place – Usually, as for an event (e.g., "the event will be on Friday, not Saturday").

However, some corrections are the result of major mistakes or carelessness in reporting, and in extreme examples involve such things as completely incorrect facts, gross misquotes and extreme misrepresentations. The following is one of those examples:

From the Guardian — "In our profile of Daniel Dennett (pages 20 to 23, Review, April 17), we said he was born in Beirut. In fact, he was born in Boston. His father died in 1947, not 1948. He married in 1962, not 1963. The seminar at which Stephen Jay Gould was rigorously questioned by Dennett's students was Dennett's seminar at Tufts, not Gould's at Harvard. Dennett wrote Darwin's Dangerous Idea before, not after, Gould called him a "Darwinian fundamentalist". Only one chapter in the book, not four, is devoted to taking issue with Gould. The list of Dennett's books omitted Elbow Room, 1984, and The Intentional Stance, 1987. The marble sculpture, recollected by a friend, that Dennett was working on in 1963 was not a mother and child. It was a man reading a book."