THE NATION ADMITS CAUSING "BIG DAMAGE"
A small 'ad' style apology appears on page 4A of The Nation today.
It reads: "Referring to a news report of The Nation, May 11, 2009 edition that the Emerald Hotel is being put on sale for Bt 3.5 billion, which has caused big damage to the hotel image. We at The Nation would like to announce that such news report was in error. We would like to apologise the Emerald Hotel for this mistake." (This is a word-for-word reproduction and appears not to have been English edited).
The original story was the front page lead on May 11 headlined "Scores of Hotels on Block". It included a graphic with reference to Emerald Hotel, and others in Thailand, being for sale as a result of the Kingdom's tourism slump. The story itself did not contain specific quotes about this hotel but said it was "reportedly on the market".
The apology is not yet appearing online but, amazingly (or perhaps not), the original story complete with the error remains intact and unaltered.
I am a firm believer in correcting published mistakes. My magazine issues corrections and clarifications when we get something wrong, which thankfully is not too often. In this case, and if I was the damaged company, I would be demanding equal prominence for the apology on the front page to match that which the original story received, requesting the original story be amended online and the apology appearing online too.
8 comments:
It brings into question the accuracy of newspaper reporting here. At Director (excuse the plug) we have been commended by businesses mainly because of one thing - we are accurate.
I've heard countless stories of both English language papers misrepresenting people who give interviews in good faith, and know of one story where the original interview was wrong, the paper offered a second interview to clarify, and proceeded to repeat the incorrect info!
There seems to be no retractions printed in Thailand, although in the UK it is almost a daily appearance because mistakes can be made.
I've been interviewed a number of times in the past few years and each time I have been misquoted on one aspect of another. One incident involved figures and was potentially damaging.
Even with the recent Dr. Mobius visit there was a perfect example where what he said was totally misquoted.
Accuracy should be important for all publishers but it's vital when business, image and reputation can be affected.
I read The Nation to see what's not true.
Pure propaganda.
Thaksin haters.
You only have to look at some of the expat forums to see what kind of image The Nation has amongst the foreign community here, who admittedly are not their main target.
But do you really think their reporting is constantly that biased? I think every newspaper has some political views or slants, and if you don't agree with one there are other ways to get your news.
Bangkok Bugle, if your magazine ran a front page story containing an error, would you be willing to run a front page correction if requested?
Of course not. Publishers do not run corrections on the front page, as it's bad for business.
It's about time we started being honest with the reading public ... then they'd stop making such a silly request.
Again, I say put yourself in your position: Can you ever see yourself running a front-page apology or correction? Of course not!
If we stated something that was categorically wrong on the front page, then yes .. we would run a front page correction. It has not happened here but it did happen when I was working for a magazine in the UK. I will try to find a copy so I can show you.
It's certainly easier to do in newspapers than in magazines.
I disagree it's bad for business, and actually it could help to establish a reputation for honest and accurate reporting. The magazine I worked for in the UK was a trade magazine and its reputation was based on accurate information. No one forced us to run an apology - we did it because it was the right thing to do once we realized the mistake has happened.
Mistakes happen, and yes - the vast majority do go unnoticed and uncorrected.
I agree with Bkkdreamer, it's unrealistic to expect an apology to have the same prominence as the original story.
I can think of very few examples when it happened. Most recently, with the parents of Madeleine McCann, who got front-page apologies from the Daily Express and Daily Star. Most famously, The Sun's "SORRY, ELTON" banner headline in the 1980s.
But those are exceptions. Yes, The Nation is a very poor excuse for a (business) newspaper, but at least they do admit their mistake.
Remember the Bangkok Post story about the runway cracks a couple of years ago? If I remember rightly, they ran an apology in one column on the front page.
I dont think I have ever seen front page apology in Thailand. To get the newspaper or magazine to admit they are wrong is a big thing and will give the reporter that wrote original story big problems.
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