Check out iMediaEthics’ latest roundup of corrections, which include a Black Panther error, and news outlets confusing political parties.
1. Slate came under fire after it said the Black Panther movie would be the “first blockbuster-format release featuring a black hero front and center.” The problem with that remark is that there have been numerous blockbuster movies with a black hero. Slate corrected its story to reflect that Black Panther is the first with a black comic book hero.
The correction reads:
“A Feb. 7 story, “Here’s what the critics are saying about ‘Black Panther’ — it’s ‘masterpiece,’” said that Black Panther was “the first blockbuster-format release featuring a black hero front and center.” We recognize that other black actors have led blockbuster films. We have corrected it to read that ‘Black Panther’ is centered on an iconic black comic book figure, and features a predominantly black cast and has a director and black writers, and is being distributed to a wide audience”
2. Politics: Common errors include misspelled names and incorrect locations. But both NPR and the Wall Street Journal flipped political party membership in recent stories.
NPR’s Feb. 5 correction:
“A previous version of this story incorrectly identified Rep. Adam Schiff as a Republican. Schiff is a Democrat.”
The Wall Street Journal’s Jan. 22 correction:
The late Sen. John McClellan of Arkansas was a Democrat. A Review essay on Saturday about the history of chain migration incorrectly said he was a Republican.
3. Act and repent? The Times of London made an editing error and now it is repenting, like the quote that the Times botched suggests.
The Times of London’s Feb. 2 correction:
“We introduced a mistake in editing a letter from Rory Murphy about pension fund trustees (Letters, Feb 1). The Machiavelli quote should have read: ‘It is better to act and repent than not to act and regret’. We apologise to Mr Murphy for the error.”
4. Rihanna or Andra Day? The Times of London published a Getty photo from the Grammys but Getty mixed up singers Rihanna and Andra Day.
The Times’s Jan. 30 correction:
“The photograph we said was of Rihanna at the Grammys in New York was in fact of Andra Day (News, Jan 29). The image was incorrectly captioned by the Getty picture agency.”
5. Wishful thinking? The Wall Street Journal wrongly reported that Honda sold more than double the cars it actually did in the last qarter of 2017.
The Wall Street Journal‘s Feb. 5 correction:
“Honda Motor Co. sold 409,826 vehicles in the U.S. in the December-ended quarter, up slightly from 409,562 vehicles during the same period a year earlier. A Business News article Saturday about Honda’s results incorrectly said the car maker sold 1.27 million vehicles in the U.S. during the quarter.”