We all make mistakes. Sometimes we can correct them and sometimes we can’t. Those who work in journalism have to correct their mistakes. If they don’t correct their mistakes they run the risk of losing their credibility. A journalist with no credibility is quickly unemployed.
There are those who say that there is no such thing as a small mistake. Misspelled words make the writer look careless. If a writer is careless about small mistakes, how does a reader know that the journalist quoted their source or interpreted the data correctly?
If a reporter is careless and something incorrect slips out into the world, who does the reader notify in order to get the mistake corrected? At the Washington Post, the reader turns to the ombudsman, the person who is responsible for the credibility of the newspaper.
Lately, because of budget cuts, the stories in the Post are not being edited as closely as they once were. This is not unusual in newspapers today. Internet news often does not seem to be edited at all. Inattention to detail causes readers to question the credibility of the news sources.
If readers find a news source to be without credibility, readers will seek information from other sources that they find more trustworthy. Every person who is involved in the news gathering business must be precise in presenting their information, because their readers will find every mistake.
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