Editing Detective Elliott, Katie

Journalists have a duty to the public to uphold an unbiased and comprehensive view on the world's happenings and share it accurately: this is news. Wavering from this code of conduct creates uncertainty and damages the trust that is essential in the relationship between the news producer and the news consumer. If news is reported incorrectly, it is fiction, and becomes nothing but fantasy. And if somebody wants to read fantasy, there are plenty of stories out there on magic schools and teen vampire drama: newspapers are no place for that.

The problem is sometimes the error made is something not blatantly noticeable to the eyes of the general public. Incorrect dates and times or misspelt names, are largely unnoticeable as wrong to those who don't already have information on the event being reported on. These errors can incorrectly lead the public into believing something untrue as fact, which is wrong and can even lead to lawsuits for the news source on grounds of defamation or libel.

This is why there is a system set up in order for errors to be caught before the go to print. Fact-checkers and copy editors jobs are to ensure that the product the news source sends out to its consumers is correct, valid, and professional. Reporters must always be sure to make good notes when gathering information or interviewing sources, both for clear validity of information and as a back up for sources if ever faced with legal troubles due to a story they have written.

Undoubtedly, sometimes errors can be humourous, such as the ones listed in the Huffington Post's article "The Funniest Newspaper Corrections Ever: Retracting The Ridiculous (PICTURES)". But it is important to remember that when they were printed they were likely not deemed to be humourous, especially to those who were directly involved and affected by the errors. But they are pretty funny for us now...


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