I just read that a Gannett newspaper in Wisconsin is being sued over a mistake it made in a banner headline that read: "Former gas station owner may have been 9/11 plotter." Actually, he was only an "applauder," according to federal officials.
Before I make a smug comment, though, I must remind myself that we've made some bloopers in the Tracy Press, too.
We're human. We goof up, and when we find out about it, we run a correction.
Sometimes we're not sure how we made the mistake. Maybe we got the wrong information from a source, or in a hurry to make deadline, we misstated or misrepresented something.
Our most recent correction was this: "Concerning a Page 4 story in Thursday’s Tracy Press titled, 'Trustees dress for success in front of cameras,' Tracy Unified Board Trustee James Vaughn disputed the assertion that he has worn sweat suits to board meetings."
The story was about how appearances mattered during the first school board meeting to be aired on cable Channel 26. The reporter mentioned that the school board member has worn sweatsuits to board meetings in the past but that he was sharply dressed in a button-down shirt and necktie for the first televised meeting.
When the story ran in Friday's TP, Vaughn called and demanded a correction, saying he has never worn anything so casual to a board meeting since he was elected last November. He said that we could ask anyone if they've ever seen him wear sweatsuits to a board meeting.
We did, and they hadn't.
We stand corrected.
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