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Setting the Record Straight: When the Press Errs, Do Corrections Follow? (Top Faculty Paper)
Unformatted Document Text:  Setting the Record Straight: When the Press Errs, Do Corrections Follow? In a cross-market examination of newspaper accuracy, this study tracks errors identified by news sources in 2,700 news stories published by U.S. daily metropolitan newspapers. While journalists widely hold that errors are commonly detected and corrected, this study found that only about one in ten news sources had informed the newspaper of the errors they perceived. While many errors were considered too inconsequential to correct, news sources also expressed a sense of futility – that a correction would do little to set the record straight, or worse, that their complaints would either be ignored or draw reprisal from the newspaper. Results tentatively indicate that factual errors reported by news sources to the offending newspaper rarely yielded published corrections. The findings challenge how well the "corrections box" sets the record straight when inaccuracies occur or serves in journalism as a safety valve for the venting of frustrations by wronged news sources. When the Jayson Blair scandal revealed a stunning pattern of story fabrication at The New York Tim es, some journalists wondered why so few people in his stories complained to the paper about the inaccuracies. One possible explanation: News sources whose quotes were fabricated or plagiarized did not bother to complain. In a large-scale public survey by Associated Press managing editors, many people told pollsters that they don’t contact newspapers about mistakes. 1 Even when mistakes are reported, the public is skeptical that the news media will set the record straight. A survey conducted by the Annenberg Public Policy Center found that two-thirds of Americans believe that news organizations will either ignore or cover up serious errors that come to their attention. 2 The news profession apparently sees it differently. A separate survey of journalists found that three-fourths contend they quickly report their mistakes. 3 But the public and journalists widely agree that corrections are essential to media

Authors: Maier, Scott.
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Setting the Record Straight:
When the Press Errs, Do Corrections Follow?
In a cross-market examination of newspaper accuracy, this study tracks
errors identified by news sources in 2,700 news stories published by U.S.
daily metropolitan newspapers. While journalists widely hold that errors
are commonly detected and corrected, this study found that only about one
in ten news sources had informed the newspaper of the errors they
perceived. While many errors were considered too inconsequential to
correct, news sources also expressed a sense of futility – that a correction
would do little to set the record straight, or worse, that their complaints
would either be ignored or draw reprisal from the newspaper. Results
tentatively indicate that factual errors reported by news sources to the
offending newspaper rarely yielded published corrections. The findings
challenge how well the "corrections box" sets the record straight when
inaccuracies occur or serves in journalism as a safety valve for the venting
of frustrations by wronged news sources.
When the Jayson Blair scandal revealed a stunning pattern of story
fabrication at The New York Tim es, some journalists wondered why so few
people in his stories complained to the paper about the inaccuracies. One
possible explanation: News sources whose quotes were fabricated or plagiarized
did not bother to complain. In a large-scale public survey by Associated Press
managing editors, many people told pollsters that they don’t contact newspapers
about mistakes.
Even when mistakes are reported, the public is skeptical that
the news media will set the record straight. A survey conducted by the
Annenberg Public Policy Center found that two-thirds of Americans believe that
news organizations will either ignore or cover up serious errors that come to their
attention.
The news profession apparently sees it differently. A separate survey
of journalists found that three-fourths contend they quickly report their mistakes.
But the public and journalists widely agree that corrections are essential to media


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