Robbery: Fatal Errors

Our fatals include:

PROBLEM: We said the clerk's name was just Michael Ernest when in fact it was Michael Ernest Layoux.

SOLUTION: We need to be precise with names. Be sure to double-check the spellings of ALL names-- whether of people or businesses or pets or towns or whatever -- both before and after writing.

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PROBLEM: We spelled the town's name as Haslet when in fact it's Haslett, with two T's.

SOLUTION: Same as above.

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PROBLEM: We spelled the last name of the clerk as both Weiss and Wiess, when in fact it is the latter.

SOLUTION: Double-check the spellings of all names, titles, addresses, etc. before writing to make sure you have the information correct in your head; double-check all that after you finish writing to make sure what you wrote down was correct; and when doing the latter look for inconsistencies that reveal an error: for example, spelling one last name two different ways. One obviously has to be wrong.

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PROBLEM: We wrote a quote saying, "The only thing I could figure his that he wanted to shoot me ... " when in fact the quote was, "The only thing I could figure was that he wanted to shoot me ... " (italics mine).

SOLUTION: After finishing writing, carefully review all quotes in their entirety to make sure what we wrote is exactly what was said. Spell check wouldn't have helped here, since the misspellings created correctly-spelled but unintended words.

Plus, we need to remember that quotes must be EXACTLY what was said, EXACTLY the way it was said. Close enough isn't close enough, and the same meaning isn't good enough. If you stray away from the most literal quote, then switch it to a paraphrase. 

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Is that being nit-picky? No; that's journalism. Giving people accurate information that has been carefully vetted is what we do. Early in the semester, I called journalism a "discipline of verification." This is what I meant.

Learning to write isn't journalism. Learning to organize information isn't all of journalism. Putting in a system of checking facts before, during and after writing and organizing information is what makes this kind of writing and organizing known as journalism.

Still, while this is discouraging, let's not get discouraged. The whole point of these exercises -- and getting fatals, too -- is to learn by doing, reviewing what was done, learning what could be done better, and then applying those lessons the next time.

And that's what we're going to do here, by redoubling our efforts to carefully fact-check everything we write.

Earlier this semester in a pair of blog posts, I posted an accuracy checklist and a list of ways to avoid inaccuracies. I would strongly suggest that you revisit those two blog posts, and begin incorporating its suggestions in your writing routines. You can link to the exact post right here.

I've said it before, and I'll say it a bazillion more times before the semester ends: journalism isn't about writing; it's about getting it right.