Ya Know It Gets Even Colder, Right?

It’s been a cold few months in Massachusetts, the first New England winter for this Midwestern transplant by way of Florida. Just how cold has it been? Here’s what Monday looked like:

Graphic by James Abundis for The Boston Globe.

——————-

And here’s what Monday looked like in context:

Graphic by Javier Zarracina for The Boston Globe.

——————-

And here’s what Monday felt like:

Photo from Cambridge. I saw this handiwork on Saturday and had to take a picture for posterity.

If you missed it, here’s how much snow we’ve been getting. And here’s David Filipov’s science experiments in Athol, where it was 23 degrees below zero.

“Dewey Defeats Chicaco”: That Green Bay headline

Monday’s front page of The Green Bay Press-Gazette has received a lot of attention. It’s been on blogs, news sites and all over Twitter. Keep in mind that many people on Twitter think nothing of using “u r” in place of “you are.” When these traitors to the English language point out a spelling error, you know your mistake has gone viral.

The error is a simple spelling error: Where there should have been a “G” was a third “C.” Many people wonder how anyone missed that, let alone several people.

When I first saw the page with the preface of “spot the error,” I glossed over the third “C.” The letters are in all caps, and the C looks so close to the G that my mind filled in the blanks. It took me a second before the “Oh, shit” moment.

And it indeed is an “Oh, shit” moment. No one wants this. A lot of us in the news industry will jump on this error, but what many of us won’t admit is that we’re glad it wasn’t us who made this mistake. Why could it have been us? Because we’ve worried about making mistakes like this, mistakes that other people could see and think of as inexcusable.

We’ve all obsessed over these things. I dare you to find a journalist who hasn’t done at least one or two of the following:

  • Called an editor to have him read back a paragraph, just to make sure a fix you made got in there.
  • Taken a story or graphic home with you so that you could double- or triple-check the facts.
  • Taken a calculator with you to double-check the numbers.
  • Have a friend or significant other read over something to check for errors. (I’ve made use of my friends who are math teachers.)
  • Called or e-mailed a source to have them verify a wording of something they verified in the last e-mail or call.
  • Woken up in the middle of the night and checked his or her story, graphic, cutline, whatever.

And yet there have been times when errors have crept in despite whatever mechanisms we have against these things. And if you’ve got OCD and Catholic guilt, then nothing a reader could say will be worse than what you’ll say to yourself.

Let’s be clear, though: This is no justification or excuse for the errors, or else they wouldn’t be called “errors.” Any error is regrettable, and when we let them in, we’re falling short of our job. And we’re damaging our reputations among the readers who’ve already got a golconda of reasons to distrust us. I know of one couple in the Midwest who makes a morning game of spotting errors in the local paper. Sadly, they’ve found more in the last few years. (And no, this couple is not my parents.)

In the blogs this week, I’ve seen this Green Bay headline compared to the infamous “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline. I’ll grant you a few things:

  • Both were bold, in all caps.
  • Both were prominent, above-the-fold headlines that caught the eye.
  • Both were regrettable.

But in the Green Bay headline, they at least got the right city. The factual error was a spelling error, not an error incorrectly calling a presidential election. If the Press-Gazette had published a headline that said, “Chicaco defeats Green Bay,” then the “Dewey Defeats Truman” comparison would be right on the money. But yes, they’re both egregious “Oh, shit” errors. [See UPDATE below.]

These errors raise our consciousness, though, and can restore our vigilance. Craig Silverman at Regret The Error has offered to send a free copy of his book to journalists who send him their personal accuracy checklists. I’ve enjoyed seeing the responses he’s gotten, and I think it will help all of us.

Here’s more or less what I’ve made my habit for my graphics:

  • Have I cut and pasted the numbers and names, or have I typed them myself?
  • Have I checked to make sure the numbers and names match up with the source material?
  • Do the numbers add up to what the graphic says they add up to?
  • Do the numbers, names and facts in my infographic match what’s in the reporter’s story?
  • Have the reporter and editors seen this graphic?
  • Have I had someone else double-check the graphic against the source info?
  • Have I done a follow-up accuracy check with all my sources to make sure I have the information correct?
  • If using color-coding, do the colors match the right values? And are the colors different enough to be distinguishable?
  • If I’ve had to rescale or move any of the elements on the page, did I move them all in the group?
  • Are all the labeled roads labeled correctly?
  • Are my numbered steps in order?
  • If I had any “head goes here” or “XX” text fields in the graphic, have I replaced those with the actual text?
  • Are my label lines pointing to the correct data points, locations, etc.?

These are second nature to many of us, as they seem like common sense. But it’s good to see it written down. What type of checklist do you have?

————-

UPDATE

I’ve since learned more about the Dewey headline, and can clarify more about the mistake. The Tribune was relying on polling data to call elections, and that night, the polling data suggested a huge Dewey win. As the deadline got closer, editors of the Tribune went with the data and put that headline in the first edition.

So, this error was a “source error.” The Chicago Tribune, of course, still published incorrect information, but it was a different kind of error. But it was one that has been talked about for several years, just as the Green Bay headline will be talked about for several years. The reasons behind the errors are different, but they’re doozies.

To newspaper people in my generation, we’ve almost always had a result for the next day, or we’ve at least run a generic “too close to call.” To us, “Dewey Defeats Truman” comes from a world we can’t comprehend: “You mean they couldn’t just plug it in Excel to see who won? Like who was their CAR/data guy? OMG!” So, younger journalists might forgive the typo sooner than the incorrect election result simply because they grasp it more easily. But again, understanding careless errors doesn’t justify them.

In Case You Missed It: Xtranormal

I’ve recently become obsessed with Xtranormal, a website that takes your text and turns it into a movie, usually with 3D-rendered characters speaking like voicemail messages. There are  tons of videos that have taken advantage of this “text-to-movie” site, and I’m loving them.

Particularly, I’m loving some of the journalism-themed videos.

Adventures in Freelancing, Part I: The Trend Story

————————————-

So You Want To Be A Journalist

“If I do not get a job at The New York Times right after graduation, I will go to Columbia Journalism School. Then I will get a job at The New York Times.”

And…

“Do you even read the newspaper?”
“Of course I read the newspaper. I love the New York Times.”
“Do you have a subscription?”
“No. Why would I pay money for a subscription? I read it for free online.”

————————————-

Snake on an MBTA train

Joel Abrams of Boston.com put together a dramatization of the snake on the red line using direct quotes from Eric Moskowitz’s story, my account or the Craigslist ad.

To read more about Xtranormal, go here.

In Case You Missed It: Chris Colfer, Dustin Lance Black

Even if you didn’t watch Sunday’s Golden Globes, you probably saw Chris Colfer’s acceptance speech via Facebook or Twitter. The speech reminded me of another speech by an openly gay award recipient.

In case you missed it, here’s what “Glee” star Chris Colfer said:

His anti-bullying message resonates painfully in the wake of the recent suicides. His speech made me think of the 2009 Oscar acceptance speech by Dustin Lance Black, who won for his screenplay for “Milk,” about the assassination of openly gay politician Harvey Milk.

Black said,

When I was 13 years old, my beautiful mother and my father moved me from a conservative Mormon home in San Antonio, Texas to California and I heard the story of Harvey Milk. And it gave me hope. It gave me the hope to live my life, it gave me the hope to one day live my life openly as who I am and that maybe even I could fall in love and one day get married.

I want to thank my mom who has always loved me for who I am, even when there was pressure not to. But most of all, if Harvey had not been taken from us 30 years ago, I think he’d want me to say to all of the gay and lesbian kids out there tonight who have been told that they are less than by their churches or by the government or by their families that you are beautiful, wonderful creatures of value and that no matter what anyone tells you, God does love you and that very soon, I promise you, you will have equal rights, federally, across this great nation of ours. Thank you, thank you, and thank you God for giving us Harvey Milk.

Here’s the video of that speech:

Martin Luther King Jr. Pages, part 2

Two more offerings…

Nicole Bogdas of The Des Moines Register sent me some PDFs of how her paper covered Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, a federal holiday. Pages designed by Nicole, photos by John Gaps III.

Here’s the front page:

———————–

Here’s a closer look at that package:

Like many cities, Des Moines has a street named after King. Staff photographer John Gaps III went out and captured life along that street, talking with residents, community leaders and business owners. Among the people he talked to were a Somali grocery store owner and a Buddhist priest.

A look at the inside pages:

———————–

———————–

———————–

Great photos by John Gaps III. I appreciated this side box about him:

Thanks, Nicole, for sharing this work. To see how the Des Moines Register played this package online, go here.

———————–

The Orange County Register
Santa Ana, Calif.

This interactive timeline features audio of King’s famous “I have a dream” speech. To see the interactive, go here. The credit lists Lenin Aviles, Chantal Lamers, Michael Doss, Susan L. Jacobs and Pam Eisenberg. Good work by all of them.

Martin Luther King Jr. Pages, part 1

As I do more often these days, I perused Newseum’s front page offerings. Today, I wanted to see how newspapers played Martin Luther King Jr. Additionally, today was the day after the Golden Globes, which played a big part in today’s front pages.

———————–

The Huntsville Times
Huntsville, Ala.

Reporter Mike Marshall talked with Mervyn Warren, provost and senior vice president of Oakwood University, about the common links between the histories of the Civil War and the civil rights movement. To read the full story, go here.

———————–

The Record
Stockton, Calif.

The (Stockton) Record talked with local people about their dreams. To read the vignettes, go here.

———————–

The Telegraph
Macon, Ga.

The Telegraph of Macon, Ga., asked readers, “Is Martin Luther King Day still relevant in 2011? Why or why not?” To see what they said, go here.

———————–

The Miami Herald
Miami, Fla.

Howard Cohen talked with community leaders about how South Florida figures in the evolution of race relations. To read that story, go here.

———————–

Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago, Ill.

The Sun-Times cover story explains how former Indiana congresswoman Katie Beatrice Hall worked to get Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday recognized as a national holiday. To read that story, go here.

———————–

Omaha World-Herald
Omaha, Neb.

Jonathon Braden talked with scholars about King’s legacy, and what his words mean today, especially in the wake of events like the shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. To read the story, go here.

How Pope John Paul II beatification was covered, part 1

Friday, the Vatican announced that Pope Benedict XVI set May 1 as the date for Pope John Paul II’s beatification. In other words, that’s when JPII will be recognized as a saint. Two things are worth noting:

  1. This is the first time a pope beatifies his his immediate predecessor.
  2. This beatification will be the fastest on record. Previously, that honor went to Mother Teresa.

I checked Newseum to see how newspapers covered this announcement. I’m not surprised that I could only find a handful of newspapers that played it on the front page. It will be a bigger deal when it actually happens, but I wanted to see who played it on the front page, and how. Of course, the four I could find were all in non-English, so it was tough to completely appreciate the coverage. Especially because Google Translate may or may not have led me astray…

———————–

Peru.21
Lima, Peru

According to Google Translate, that headline means, “Road to sainthood.”

———————–

Dziennik Polski
Krakow, Poland

According to Google Translate, that headline says, “John Paul II: Holy.” But after just translating a few headlines, I don’t know how much I trust Google Translate. The subhead on the red banner beneath that headline apparently says, “Already from today you can get to write on the diocesan pilgrimage to Rome.”

———————–

Kurier Poranny
Bialystok, Poland

What Google says it says: “Joint struggle for the construction of eight to Warsaw.” I don’t even know what that means.

———————–

El Nuevo Día
San Juan, Puerto Rico

Google seems to get Spanish, as it says this means, “One step from being a saint.”

———————–

These were the only four newspapers I noticed with a prominent placement of this story on the front page. When the actual beatification takes place, I’ll check again to see how it’s covered.

Snowpocalypse bingo!

I have long loved Erica Smith of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and stltoday.com, so anytime she posts something, I’m on top of it.

My hometown of St. Louis was hit by a lot of snow Monday night and Tuesday morning, resulting in days off school and horrible commutes. So, Erica put together this snowpocalypse Bingo card using words used by meteorologists. If you’re watching TV and a meteorologist uses that term, you get to cross that off.

The beauty of this is that you can regenerate the card as many times as you want, never getting the same one. Here’s a screen grab of the Bingo card I got:

The frozen Weatherbird is my favorite part.

How Alabama, Oregon papers covered BCS game

A look at how papers in Alabama and Oregon covered Monday night’s BCS National Championship game. Front pages from Newseum.

———————–

The Anniston Star
Anniston, Ala.

———————–

The Birmingham News
Birmingham, Ala.

———————–

The Decatur Daily
Decatur, Ala.

———————–

The Huntsville Times
Huntsville, Ala.

———————–

Montgomery Advertiser
Montgomery, Ala.

———————–

Press-Register
Mobile, Ala.

———————–

The Register-Guard
Eugene, Ore.

———————–

The Statesman Journal
Salem, Ore.

———————–

The Oregonian
Portland, Ore.

Florida’s secession, 150 years later

On Jan. 10, 1861, Florida became the third state to declare itself sovereign from the U.S. Later, of course, the state joined the Confederate States of America.

Having lived in Florida for four and a half years, I was curious how papers covered this anniversary. On Newseum, I could only find two papers that played the story on A1, but I’m not surprised. Most papers used A1 for follow-ups on Saturday’s shooting of Gabrielle Giffords and the emerging details about Jared Lee Loughner. Additionally, there were papers who began (or continued) their series on Haiti, one year after the earthquake.

———————–

Naples Daily News
Naples, Fla.

That guy in the photo is Fort Myers attorney Hank Hendry, whose great-great-grandfather, Capt. Francis Asbury Hendry, was a Confederate soldier. To read Ryan Mills’ story, go here.

———————–

Florida Today
Melbourne, Fla.

Florida Today marked the anniversary to highlight the efforts of three freed slaves who became the first settlers of Melbourne. At first, I thought this was an odd angle to take, but after re-reading the story, it makes sense. Britt Kennerly writes:

Sparsely populated, residents of what’s now the Space Coast had little connection to the Civil War that raged three days shy of four years and claimed more than 600,000 lives.

But after the battles ended, freed slaves and soldiers who made their way to Brevard played crucial roles in mapping local history.

To read the rest of Britt Kennerly’s story, go here.

———————–

The Florida Times-Union
Jacksonville, Fla.

My former paper, The Times-Union, played the story on B1. Reporter Kate Howard focused on the sensitive nature of the anniversary, talking to a variety of Floridians to get their perspective. To read her story and see Jon M. Fletcher‘s photos, go here.