Experiencing Error: How Journalists Describe What It's Like When the Press Fails

How a copy desk “edit” influenced corrections at the New York Times

“…Hettinga (2011) found that some newsrooms rewarded journalists for transparency, whereas others incentivized not making mistakes in such a way that journalists avoided reporting errors that they made. Hettinga (2013) found that making mistakes and whether they sought corrections was very personal to journalists. Some journalists reported feeling physically ill when they made an error, whereas others tried to "smooth things over" when sources called to complain about mistakes.…”

“…Second, journalists who make mistakes have a responsibility to take ownership of the errors-editors and reporters who realize that a mistake has been published should disclose the error so it can be corrected. Yet, Hettinga (2013) found that journalists were often reluctant to disclose mistakes that they had made and even sought to "apologize away" the need for corrections when talking to sources. Thus, while seemingly positive on the surface, the decrease in corrections may or may not be cause for celebration.…”

Error message: Creation of a revised codebook for analysis of newspaper corrections

“…Errors can be reported by the public or by reporters who realize their mistakes too late to stop the presses. However, Russial (1998) suggested that decreasing the number of copy editors could lead to the potential for more error, and Hettinga (2013) found that journalists at one publication varied in their willingness to report and correct errors.…”