Running OOPS! thread

[Vombatus]

Kind of weird that the editor brought up the fart letter that went viral after they printed that in May. All that really offered was an enticement to go look that up and click on it.

Which I did. Meh.

 

[UPChip]

Unremarkable? Pretty big goof when the correct word is right there in the second graf.
On top of that, it's a laughable gaffe. In the old days, it would have been milked for yuks on Leno's show.

I should clarify - by unremarkable, I mean, this is the sort of thing that will show up in Romenesko a couple times a month, I'll snicker, thank God it's not me and return to whatever I'm doing to avoid working at the moment.

I've seen this three or four times on social media, plus here, plus both a high school friend and my pastor sent this to me directly. And it's not like this was in the Boston Globe - it was probably shoehorned into some page in this paper in East Oregon because the NBA Finals game went into OT and missed deadline and some copy desker who was already in full panic mode just screwed up. There's not even a sex joke in there, for goodness sakes. It just seemed like it was defying the odds a little to go viral like it has.

 

[Kolchak]

If our copy desk had made that mistake, the sports editor would've rained fire and brimstone down upon everyone. If the sports editor had made that mistake, then it would be, "Oops, nothing to see here. These things happen."

 

[DeskMonkey1]

If our copy desk had made that mistake, the sports editor would've rained fire and brimstone down upon everyone. If the sports editor had made that mistake, then it would be, "Oops, nothing to see here. These things happen."

I once caught hell for a mistake that made it to print two days before my first day

 

[Bronco77]

If our copy desk had made that mistake, the sports editor would've rained fire and brimstone down upon everyone. If the sports editor had made that mistake, then it would be, "Oops, nothing to see here. These things happen."

During my career, I've seen a number of competent co-workers fired/run off/sent to a permanent doghouse for introducing errors into headlines and photo captions. And it wasn't like most of these co-workers were frequent offenders. Sometimes, the boss just doesn't like someone, and one bad headline is enough to seriously damage a career.

 

[DeskMonkey1]

Nobody ever sees the mistakes I catch.

 

[Kolchak]

During my career, I've seen a number of competent co-workers fired/run off/sent to a permanent doghouse for introducing errors into headlines and photo captions. And it wasn't like most of these co-workers were frequent offenders. Sometimes, the boss just doesn't like someone, and one bad headline is enough to seriously damage a career.

Our sports editor introduces more mistakes into stories than corrects, and believe it or not, tried to blame the reporter for a recent one.

 

[BDC99]

Ahh, rest assured they're embarrassed. But a little humor doesn't hurt when the mistake harms nobody.

This. I loved the way they handled it. They know they made a mistake, explained it as best they could and had a little fun at their own expense.
Stuff happens. You handle it internally, hopefully not too harshly, and move on.

 

[Riptide]

This. I loved the way they handled it. They know they made a mistake, explained it as best they could and had a little fun at their own expense.
Stuff happens. You handle it internally, hopefully not too harshly, and move on.

Only one paper I've worked for was confident enough to play it light with a correction now and then, and it humanized the connection with the readers at times. Another paper put on the funeral tones every time it ****ed up, going so far as front page columns in which the editor apologized over and over for "not doing our jobs," and for "losing your trust." That editor was a not much of a leader, and those apology columns demoralized the newsroom and widened the gap with the readers.

Mistakes happen. You apologize (or state regrets) for the egregious ones, and all the smaller ones you correct responsibly and move on. The right approach to handling corrections actually helps a newsroom be more persistent at not making them. And that includes the occasional light-hearted correction. If nothing else, it shows that newsroom management has confidence in its ability to handle anything on a variety of levels.

 

[BDC99]

Still one of my favorites:

A Tampa Bay Times reporter not strong in the ways of the force (or Star Wars lore) quoted the event’s moderator, Croix Provence, as asking: “Are you ready to find love in all the wrong places?” What Provence actually said was: “Are you ready to find love in Alderaan places?” She was referring to Princess Leia Organa’s home world, which appeared briefly in the 1977 film. Regret the error, we do.

Tampa Bay Times issues funny ‘Star Wars’ correction | The Sideshow - Yahoo News

 

[murphyc]

 

[MNgremlin]

Aren't the Japanese supposed to be smarter than us?

Wait, aren't they more technologically advanced than us too? Why are they still printing newspapers?!

 

[Steak Snabler]

Still one of my favorites:

A Tampa Bay Times reporter not strong in the ways of the force (or Star Wars lore) quoted the event’s moderator, Croix Provence, as asking: “Are you ready to find love in all the wrong places?” What Provence actually said was: “Are you ready to find love in Alderaan places?” She was referring to Princess Leia Organa’s home world, which appeared briefly in the 1977 film. Regret the error, we do.

Tampa Bay Times issues funny ‘Star Wars’ correction | The Sideshow - Yahoo News

A somewhat sheltered copy editor at my college paper changed "bong" to "bomb" in an entertainment page story about a Carrot Top show.

 

[Bronco77]

A somewhat sheltered copy editor at my college paper changed "bong" to "bomb" in an entertainment page story about a Carrot Top show.

Ha! At my college paper, most of us probably would have changed "bomb" to "bong."

And while on the subject, I received an email the other day from a typo-prone co-worker indicating that a mutual friend of ours soon will be indicted into a hall of fame. I've seen that one quite often over the years.

 

[Spartan Squad]

Aren't the Japanese supposed to be smarter than us?

Wait, aren't they more technologically advanced than us too? Why are they still printing newspapers?!

They are smarter than us, and more technologically advanced. That's why the Japanese didn't make the mistake.

LOOK: Chicago Bears win Stanley Cup according to Korean newspaper - CBSSports.com

 

[MNgremlin]

Looks like I forgot to proof my post. I knew it was Korea.

 

[Steak Snabler]

This got posted by a friend on Twitter today:

 

[MNgremlin]

That's unfortunate

 

[BDC99]

He had it coming.

 

[Kolchak]

Chuck Finley can relate.