"Are you ready to find love in Alderaan places?"

December 18, 2013 10:18 AM

Regret the Error: The best and worst media errors and corrections in 2013

Previous Years
* 2012 (on MeFi)
* 2011

posted by zarq (40 comments total)

"Thickset." Hilarious.
posted by Joey Michaels at 10:41 AM on December 18, 2013

'Anyone with nipples' is the *best*.
posted by yellowcandy at 10:45 AM on December 18, 2013 [4 favorites]

How is this apology only the runner-up?

In an article on Saturday headlined ‘Flying saucers over British Scientology HQ’, we stated “two flat silver discs” were seen “above the Church of Scientology HQ”. Following a letter from lawyers for the Church, we apologise to any alien lifeforms for linking them to Scientologists.

Is it because it's from the Sun? (link to original article)
posted by Doktor Zed at 10:53 AM on December 18, 2013 [6 favorites]

'Anyone with nipples' is the *best*.

I sort of want to use this to replace 'anyone with a pulse' in my general usage, except with my luck I'd say it in front of someone tragically born without nipples. (Probably on Tumblr.)
posted by insufficient data at 10:54 AM on December 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

I eagerly await the Metallica/Lulu collaboration.
posted by mykescipark at 10:58 AM on December 18, 2013

This review misspelled basically everyone’s name. It’s Hannah Horvath, not Hannah Hovrath; Marnie is played by Allison Williams, not Alison Williams; and Ray is played by Alex Karpovsky, not Zosia Mamet.

That last one is a whopper of a typo.
posted by Rock Steady at 11:02 AM on December 18, 2013 [6 favorites]

"By unfortunate error we referred to Rachel Garley, the late Sebastian Horsley’s girlfriend, who arranged the exhibitions, as a prostitute. We accept that Ms Garley is not and has never been a prostitute."

Well, at least they "accepted" it.
posted by blue_beetle at 11:04 AM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

These were great, thanks.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:06 AM on December 18, 2013

Yesterday’s Lou Reed obituary should have referred to his collaboration with Metallica on the album Lulu, rather than collaborations with Metallica and Lulu.

That last collaboration could have been interesting. To Heroin With Love?
posted by TedW at 11:06 AM on December 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

I feel like there are regularly corrections about women not being prostitutes. How does that mistake keep getting made?
posted by insufficient data at 11:09 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Yay! Halifax!
posted by Sys Rq at 11:11 AM on December 18, 2013

I just found out that the Carlos Danger name for MetaFilter is Ariel Distress, for whatever that's worth.
posted by jquinby at 11:14 AM on December 18, 2013 [3 favorites]

Best dumb radio broadcaster error I heard this year.
posted by MartinWisse at 11:17 AM on December 18, 2013 [8 favorites]

How in the hell did the Ballard News-Tribune end up on their radar? We're talking about a weekly for a Seattle neighborhood with a total circulation of ~9,500.
posted by lucasks at 11:25 AM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

In our July issue we wrongly described Tina Cutler as a journalist. In fact she is a practitioner of vibrational energy medicine.
posted by enn at 11:30 AM on December 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

My fav has got to be the one on the Gettysburg Address.
posted by Diablevert at 11:49 AM on December 18, 2013

The "Alderaan places" miss is not so much an error as a WHOOSH.
posted by George_Spiggott at 11:49 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

"He should have been described as muscular" is maybe my favorite correction of all time.
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 11:55 AM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

I feel like there are regularly corrections about women not being prostitutes. How does that mistake keep getting made?

One assumes that in this case, at least, it has something to do with "the Whoresley show" mentioned in the piece.
posted by yoink at 11:57 AM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wow, I hope those two guys win their suit against the Post. Ugh.
posted by showbiz_liz at 12:17 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

I feel like there are regularly corrections about women not being prostitutes. How does that mistake keep getting made?

Twenty hollers, same as in p0wn.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 12:19 PM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

Re Horsley, the chap in question was also well known, as the top two lines of his Wikipedia entry has it, for a 'reliance on prostitutes'.
posted by biffa at 12:23 PM on December 18, 2013

The problem with "end of year" summaries coming out BEFORE the end of the year: 60 Minutes' NSA piece should beat their Bengazi piece for Error of the Year.
posted by oneswellfoop at 1:12 PM on December 18, 2013 [2 favorites]

The recipe as printed incorrectly reversed the amounts, calling for 36 ounces of vodka and 12 ounces of tomato juice.
posted by RobotHero at 1:16 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Wait - that's the correct recipe.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:18 PM on December 18, 2013 [4 favorites]

The Huffington Post: An earlier version of this story indicated that the Berlin Wall was built by Nazi Germany. In fact, it was built by the Communists during the Cold War.

Oh, HuffPo. Never change.
posted by Marisa Stole the Precious Thing at 1:19 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

Hmm, I presume more people actually see the New York Post than people look at reddit, and I guess reddit wouldn't really fit into the notion of "the media", but they really did a bang up job themselves of going after the wrong person for the Boston bombing.
posted by gucci mane at 1:33 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

This is my favorite though:

The Wall Street Journal:

A Bloody Mary recipe, which accompanied an Off Duty article in some editions on June 8 about the herb lovage, called for 12 ounces of vodka and 36 ounces of tomato juice. The recipe as printed incorrectly reversed the amounts, calling for 36 ounces of vodka and 12 ounces of tomato juice.
posted by gucci mane at 1:49 PM on December 18, 2013

Wait - that's the correct recipe.
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 1:50 PM on December 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

Irony of Ironies! There's a mistake in this very article! Poynter wrongly describes Marie Clare as journalists. In fact they are practitioners of vibrational energy medicine.
posted by Potomac Avenue at 1:55 PM on December 18, 2013 [5 favorites]

Last year's Washington Post story on Benedict Cumberbatch would be disqualified since it's not technically an error, but it's still pretty amusing.
posted by Metroid Baby at 2:06 PM on December 18, 2013

I eagerly await the Metallica/Lulu collaboration.

Ah, yes. Boom Bang-a-Bang Your Head Against the Stage and Ecstasy of the Man with the Golden Gun are in contention for the title track.
posted by oneirodynia at 2:11 PM on December 18, 2013

Chris Christie was wrongly described as a Republican mayor in a Shorter cuts item (Weighty issue, 11 November, page 3, G2). He is governor of New Jersey, not a mayor. In addition, 24 stone was converted to 240kg. That should have been about 152kg.
So, they did not know that Christie had a tummy tuck? Maybe all the weights are correct at certain points in time.
posted by Cranberry at 2:22 PM on December 18, 2013

I was listening to Monday Night Football a couple of weeks ago when color analyst Boomer Esiason (one of my favorite radio personalities of all time) in describing a play-- a reverse-- which allowed a team to make use of a talented wide receiver even though it couldn't complete a pass, and meaning to say 'that's how you get the ball into the hands of your wide receiver', actually said "that's how you get your hand into the balls of your wide receiver."
posted by jamjam at 4:10 PM on December 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

Wait - that's the correct recipe.
posted by Kirth Gerson at 4:58 PM on December 18, 2013 [7 favorites]

I feel like there are regularly corrections about women not being prostitutes. How does that mistake keep getting made?
posted by insufficient data

Maybe insufficient data?
posted by weapons-grade pandemonium at 5:23 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

The store does not sell dandelion and burdock soda, lovage soda syrup, and Early Bird granola “gathered in Brooklyn.”

but, but, wait - that's the correct recipe
posted by pyramid termite at 6:13 PM on December 18, 2013 [1 favorite]

In addition, 24 stone was converted to 240kg. That should have been about 152kg.

So, they did not know that Christie had a tummy tuck? Maybe all the weights are correct at certain points in time.

240kg = 528lbs. He's never been that fat.
posted by Sys Rq at 10:28 PM on December 18, 2013

Mankato Free Press's "Rapefruit" gaffe makes list of 2013's top layout disasters
posted by Horace Rumpole at 8:13 AM on December 20, 2013 [1 favorite]

Recent one in the "breaking news" category.

Ian Watkins (the Welsh singer from Lostprophets) plead guilty to extreme child abuse, including attempted baby rape. E! Online illustrated the story for a few hours with a picture of Ian H Watkins (the Welsh singer from Steps).

http://m.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-25447856
posted by MattWPBS at 7:45 PM on December 20, 2013