      When I make mistakes in the paper I always feel terrible and try to right them if I can in some way. If it's an apology to someone or writing a retraction/correction in the paper I do it because I'm honestly sorry that it happened.
           It's a difficult position because if you're interviewing someone and they say something, but you misinterpret it slightly or if they misunderstood the question then a mistake shows up. Spelling errors and grammar I think are quite typical, I find that in CBC articles or in the Leader Post, no one is ever absolutely perfect in their efforts.
           I've even been reading popular books, published by the hundreds of thousands, with errors in it. Mistakes happen, oversights occur, it's a fact of life. My mistakes just happen to be out there for a lot of people to see. And when they happen there are three responses: none, a very kind phone call letting me know that there was an error and that they're sorry to bring it up but would like it corrected, or the ones I dread where people are livid and will not even listen to my apology for my error.
           People make mistakes. It's life. No one is perfect.
           From reading the above, I'm sure you're thinking that something terrible must have happened recently, it didn't. I've had kind people let me know that I've made a few mistakes or missed catching typos before the paper went out, to which I've been able to add a correction in the next week's paper. But no one has been extremely upset with anything lately, I think everyone knows to err is human.
           Actually I think I've only had maybe three of those livid callers through my three years here, but when someone tells me there's a phone call for the editor I do end up holding my breath for a second as I try to feel out the person on the other end of the line and why they're wanting to talk to me.
           Usually someone is just calling to let me know there's an upcoming event they'd like me at and my breathing eases, but oftentimes there's a thought that someone is about to tear into me.
           What makes me bring these feelings up and how people react to articles is that in the magazine Rolling Stone someone didn't check their facts and ran a controversial story about an individual who was raped by seven men at a frat house. Police investigation came up with nothing and holes began to be found in the article by other media.
           This is obviously a lot bigger than a typo or a misunderstanding of a conversation, but I did feel badly for the individual who wrote it, as well as those that let it go into the magazine. They thought they had checked their facts, they thought they were running something important and relevant. The story was likely their feature for the month and a lot of effort was likely put into it. Features are quite difficult to find/write because you absolutely need it and if it falls through on you, then you begin scrambling to find something else or make something work.
           Though it was wrong of them to run something they had not fully confirmed, they are now in the news for it and are being publicly shamed. It was terrible that it happened and if I were them I would feel badly enough without having it brought up over and over again in international news. I think that would be my end as a reporter if a mistake I made became something that big. In fact there's a good chance the writer would have lost her job at the magazine for running a false story and now that her name is out there may not be able to get a job in that profession again.
           Yes, something needs to be done to right the wrong, but as I feel badly for those in the untrue article, I do feel terrible for the writer because to me it would be horrifying to publish something like that and it not be true. I know I'd be losing sleep over it and I’m sure the person who wrote that article is feeling pretty horrible without it going into various media outlets.
