Blog

By: Jeralyn Merritt

Category: Media

Posted: August 14, 2007 12:05 PM

Rocky Changes Lead Paragraph Without Noting Error

Some things make me see red. Like yesterday, when I was reading this article about a certain federal judge's ex-wife problem and her most recent disclosure that the FBI has asked her not to comment further (and in which she denies giving divorce files to 9News.) The lead paragraph to the article erroneously and inexcusably said the FBI had told the judge's ex-wife not to comment about his possible downloading of porn on his federal computer. Of course, there never was such an allegation. Such sloppy reporting! Today, the Rocky reprints the article and the lead paragraph has been changed to read the FBI told the judge's ex-wife not to comment on "his possible use of his federal computer to access a Web site with links to porn." What a huge difference between the two, accessing a portal site with links and downloading porn, and shouldn't the Rocky have acknowledged its faux-pas? How many people read the version I did last night and won't bother to read it again today, thinking they've already read it? Even worse, since the first article with the false lead paragraph is still up, how many people will continue to read that version, finding it in Google, rather than the corrected one? The Rocky should take the first, false version down and put a correction notice in today's revised article. It's too big an error to just gloss over as if it was never made. Sloppy and false reporting demands corrections, not just next-day overwrites.
Comments

That's really rather inexcusable. Especially on a story which is so blatantly salacious and non-newsworthy to begin with.

Facebook Comments Box

Denver Real Estate 2013 - Get In The Game

Here’s why it’s finally time to get back in the Denver real estate market.

Spin Cities

We’ve highlighted some of the best road cycling routes along the Front Range and in the high...

Risky Business

Colorado’s labor market has more than its share of occupational hazards.

Escape

Each year, more than 18,000 victims of domestic violence call SafeHouse Denver’s hot line. Meet...

Get Well

From obesity to food allergies, we break down five issues facing Colorado’s kids.