| Abstract: | In a cross-market examination of newspaper accuracy, this study tracks errors identified by news sources in 2700 news stories published by US daily metropolitan newspapers. While journalists widely hold that errors are commonly detected and corrected, the study found that only about one in ten news sources had informed the newspaper of the errors they perceived. While many errors were considered too inconsequential to correct, news sources also expressed a sense of futility—that a correction would do little to set the record straight, or worse, that their complaints would either be ignored or draw reprisal from the newspaper. The findings challenge how well the “corrections box” sets the record straight when inaccuracies occur or how well it serves in journalism as a safety valve for the venting of frustrations by wronged news sources. |
