Self-loathing Journalists

I'm comfortable getting behind surgeons and E.R. docs on the list of folks who brood about their mistakes. I still kick myself in the ass for the 5 or 10 biggest mistakes I have made in my career, each of which could have been avoided by just one more check of the proof or check of the notes or one more phone call to ask one more question.

I settled, and that still grates in each and every case.

 

The Life.....if I had a dollar for every waste basket, filing cabinet, etc., I've kicked or hit for screwing up something in my sportswriting career, I would be rich right now and taking it easy on a beach in Tahita.
Okay, an exaggeration, of course. But I take things extra seriously when I have flubbed up something and, in particular, screwing up a name or pertinent stat. Or, the ultimate of fuckups, leaving the score out of a gamer that I was so proud of and had everything in it but the damn score.
It happens.
My cohorts, through the years, have been understanding and have realized it happens to all of us, so I didn't catch that much grief. Outside of the office? A different story. Everybody and his uncle would rib the hell out of me for making such a mistake and it would wind up pissing me off more than anything because I knew most of these "hey yous" couldn't put two sentences together and, much less, do it on deadline.
If you didn't care or if it didn't bother you, then I would really be worried.

 

Years ago I saw a group of coaches at a high school game and went to visit with them.

"How the hell can you not get my first name correct?" was the greeting from one of them. The others sat and waited for me to reply, and my apology was profuse.

I still deal with him on occasion and never have screwed up his name again.

 

I care. It bothers me when I make mistakes, even more when they actually get into print.

But, as a former boss told me years ago, it ain't like you're playing with nuclear warheads. Life goes on and you pick yourself up and try to do better the next day.

And,no..... I DO NOT bother to spell check posts on SportsJournalists.com.

 

No one who gives a damn likes to make an error. However, I told long ago that this is the only profession where you can screw up and get a chance to do it all over again.
Shake it off. You'll be fine.

 

Taking the fall because YOU spelled it right and a COPY EDITOR edited in a misspelling by accident ... little harder, imo. Happens, understandable, but still sucks.

 

Writers miss stuff, line editors do, so do copy editors.

If it doesn't sting for a while, you are in the wrong business. If, however, you still lose sleep over it after the first couple times, you are in the wrong business.

 

I actually think it's good to beat yourself up over mistakes (within reason). The goal is not to make any. Obviously, we're all human and we make typos and sometimes we'll spell a name wrong. The key is not to let it happen regularly.

 

My all-time f.... was when i was interning as a young sports scribe and there was a prep baseballer whose last name was Whitlock. had a big game and, of course, i spelled it as "Shitlock" and nobody caught it...so i am throwing a fit when it is published and kicking myself from one end of the office to the next..that night, the athlete calls me and says he thought it was the funniest damn thing that ever happened to him, that the only folks pissed were his parents, relatives and others who were reluctant to put the clipping in their scrapbook with "Shitlock" staring 'em in the face. to this day, whenever we bump into each other, he and I laugh about it.

 

I once wrote that a player "shit 6 for 10 from the field"

I caught it as I was filing it. I called my favorite agate guy, he changed it before the desk could see it and no one was any the wiser.

 

Is it wrong that I kind of hoped that got into print?

 

Understanding your awesome superiority should take most of the sting out of your mistakes.