While the year’s end brings many summaries of the big news of 2007, I thought it might be amusing to see some of the media’s biggest blunders. Regret the Error reports on media corrections, retractions, apologies, clarifications and trends regarding accuracy and honesty in the press. It was launched in October 2004 by Craig Silverman, a freelance journalist and author based in Montreal.
One of my personal favorites is the Typo of the Year from his list:

 

The Houston Chronicle, like just about every other North American media outlet, spent a lot of time reporting on Anna Nicole Smith this past year. In attempting to explain her, um, humble origins, the paper gave itself a measure of comeuppance. And that’s what makes it the typo of the year.

A photo caption in the paper read:

When Redding, a longtime scout for Playboy, discovered Smith, the model could barely right a sentence…

Who’s illiterate now?

Posted by Tonie Auer, president of the DFW ASBPE chapter.