Fault lays, uh, lies, uh . . .
All journalists make mistakes. The journalist who tells you he or she has never erred is the journalist I would not trust. Mistakes in journalism range from the egregious — the dishonesty sins of fabrication and deliberate plagiarism; to the harmful — errors that have significant impact on individuals; to the relatively minor, but nevertheless embarrassing — often, addle-brained spelling and grammar errors. In handling the Star’s errors, I’ve learned that readers are likely to be bothered as much by “trivial” gaffes as the bigger mistakes that, thankfully, occur with far less frequency. Readers (rightly) hold me to a high standard and expect me to own up to any mistake I make. That’s not surprising, given the Star’s 40-year history of accountability and transparency in addressing its errors through the “Bureau of Accuracy,” the ombudsman and now, the public editor’s office. So, let me address my own most recent embarrassing gaffe. As many readers have pointed out, in my Jan. 4 column detailing the results of my annual You Be the Editor challenge, I wrote about an editorial cartoon that depicted Mayor Rob Ford “laying” on the couch. I wince to write those words again. Of course, I should have written that the cartoon mayor was lying on the couch. And, while it always confuses me, I do know the difference between lay and lie. As reader Isobel Taylor of Waterloo, so aptly put it: “‘Lay’ is a transitive verb. It needs an object. You can ‘lay’ an egg (if you’re a hen) or you can lay a book on a table. You can’t ‘lay’ down. You can get laid — but that’s another story. “To ‘lie’ is the action of reclining on something. You are ‘lying,’ not ‘laying’, in bed. Of course, there’s the other meaning of ‘to lie’ — but I’m not lying about this.” In fact, I wrote “lying” first. Then, for some reason, I secondguessed myself, thought I was wrong in my first choice and changed it to “laying.” I remember thinking I needed to go back and check that though. But the day got away from me and other matters took precedence. I had to investigate allegations of plagiarism and subsequently wrote a correction apologizing to readers for this lapse in the Star’s standards of attribution. In all of that, I forgot
“When you mess up at work, pinpoint one or two lessons to be gleaned from the mishap and then quickly own up.” CARL HONORÉ AUTHOR OF THE SLOW FIX: SOLVE PROBLEMS, WORK SMARTER AND LIVE BETTER IN A WORLD ADDICTED TO SPEED
to check my column and no one who read the piece before publication caught my addle-brained error.
You should have seen my inbox when this mistake was published. I received far more mail about my grammar gaffe than about the Star’s apology. I heard from numerous readers and former colleagues, all asking me if I did not know better.
A reader wrote a letter to the editor “stunned” that I had made such a mistake. Others were “dismayed” and “in despair.” One reader advised that my next column should contain an apology: “Isn’t it a bit too egregious to ignore?” he asked.
Consider this my mea culpa. And let me assure you, I have learned to check immediately on anything I am unsure of and, most important, to check any elements of language that confuse me.
I’m reading a terrific book now that devotes an entire chapter to “the magic of mistakes and the mea culpa.” In The Slow Fix: Solve Problems, Work Smarter and Live Better in a World Addicted to Speed, set for public release at the end of the month, Canadian writer Carl Honoré advises: “When you mess up at work, pinpoint one or two lessons to be gleaned from the mishap and then quickly own up.”
What Honoré has to say about mistakes is applicable to journalism’s errors, both egregious and picayune. It also well expresses the reason the Star is committed to investigating, addressing and explaining its errors, both big and small.
Honoré contends that mistakes can be a good thing — if we admit to them and learn from them.
Of course, that’s never easy for anyone. But as Honoré writes: “Every screw-up holds within it the promise of something better — if only we take the time to acknowledge and learn from it.”
Star readers well know that Star journalists make mistakes. You know that because we own up to them. Be assured, we all also learn from them. publiced@thestar.ca