Show r -- r - s' -- i ONE BIQ HAPPY f— ' t 1"! i 0 The Herald Journal Logan Utah Tuesday July 21 1998 — Page 15 Why are TV networks so loath to say they’re sorry? NEW YORK (AP) — In retracting its story about ue of nave gas during the Vietnam War CNN said something you don’t often hear from television news divisions: We’re sotry We were wrong I US military Television’s willingness to admit mistakes is being watched more closely this summer in the midst of a bad stretch foi' the news media Conservative and liberal watchdog groups on the media : agree on little but this: Owning up to errors has always been hard for networks “They do 22 minutes of nightly newscasts and news How often do hours and hours of prime-tim- e you see them make collections? It’s virtually nil” said Jeff Cohen director of the liberal Fairness A Accuracy in Reporting based in New York Television news shows make corrections “as seldom as they can manage" agreed Reed Irvine CATHY A RIME HAD 0NC SEAT " LEFT AT TEC MOO FARE TO I VXHKIMlLNfr'BinVE T MIOWMT MO 86 IF X KAO A WUR- - fcCCONO NMOOtt IN MUCH TO COMMIT MO COMMIED "WE TICKET MO 1 XMsom iosr80fNo lb SfUKlHEDMTtjEMlOOtE X SNEEZE IN RATE 0OEb HP JS X CAU TO ASK UN SEAT COULD BE M BUT ME CMfT MEET SOUK PROTECT NEXT WEEK founder of the conservative Washington organization Accuracy in Media “It's very tough for them to acknowledge or admit to errors” Major retractions happen about as often on network television as El Nina News executives say that’s a reflection of standards far more rigorous than those applied by CNN on the nerve gas story NBC’s last major retraction came in 1993 when the network admitted it had faked an explosion in a Dateline NBC report on track safety ABC in 1993 BEETLE BAILEY apologized three times for alleging that tobacco companies manipulated the level of nicotine in cigarettes: that was part of a lawsuit settlement with the companies CBS’s top executive for monitoring broadcast standards can’t remember that network’s last major retraction Few enrors however are on such a huge scale Many errors are relatively minor or don't become folly apparent until later It's how these errors are handled that says much about the industry HAGAR THE HORRIBLE Unlike many newspapers and magazines few television outlets set aude a spot to correct errors The first days of the Monica Lewinsky case with the news world operating in foil steam became a measuring stick of the importance of accuracy As the new magazine Brill's Content hyper-competiti- ve reported in meticulous detail there were many cases of reporters following blind alleys and blurtinformation ing j In one example Brill confronted Newsweek’s Howard Fineman who ou MSNBC talked about his magazine hearing a tape of President Clinton’s voice cm Lewinsky's answering machine There's still no evidence that such a tape exists lid “Television is definitely more loosey-goose- y than print” Fineman told Brill later “And 1 have loosened up myself sometimes to my detriment and said dungs that were unfair or worse It’s like you’re doing your first draft with no layers of editors and no rewrites and it just goes out to millions PEANUTS LET5TUHN WOW! LOOK AT itoveil THAT! OKAY NOb ANP WATCH ITA6A1N I LEAP A LIFE! DUMB WEllTUMIT ‘ t of people” t I Just last week NBC's Tun Russert reported on Todojubaw that ‘‘people dose to Ken Starr” ie WATCH ITA6AIN 3 believe that the Secret Service may have helped conceal relationships for the preside! By noon when appearing on MSNBC Russert died sources’’ for the story He didn’t acknowledge that any change had been made Top executives believe it's unfair to say television won’t own up to errors That doesn’t take into account the efforts made to be accurate they say NBC News las an ombudsman appointed in the wake of the Dateline NBC track incident Although the network doesn’t do much to make the public aware of David McCormick and what he does the ombudsman said people with complaints usually have no trouble finding him Some newsmagazines like Dateline NBC and 60 Minutes use viewer mail and follow-u- p stories as a way of addressing errors Last month ABCs World News Tonight revisited a story about a California teen-agwho died after taking a nutritional supplement To set the record er straight the network noted that a coroner subse- quently blamed the youth's death on a heart condition ABC generally corrects a mistake on the air only in cases where die error alters the way a reasonable person would understand the story smd Dick Wald senior vice president of editorial quality Often the subject of a story doesn’t warn an error pre-existi- corrected because bringing the topic up again rehashes unfavorable publicity he said “If you want to correct an error it requires that you explain what it is you got wrong and correct it” Wald said “For a very minor error there is just too much complication involved” ABC apologizes for some minor errors in a letter he said “On the evening news you have 21 22 minutes of a news hole" agreed Linda Mason CBS vice ' president for public affairs “Unless an error is really major it probably doesn’t warrant a correction” FAIR’S Cohen daren't think lack of time is a good excuse “That argument is completely specious' he said “It’s just tradition They started out not having corrections and they still don't have them” Renlar corrections can actually help a network’s credibility with viewers because they show a concern for accuracy And knowing the corrections will be made encourages reporters to be a little more careful he said He may be up against a pretty basic instinct though “It's human nature not to want to admit error” AIM’s Irvine said Elsewhere in television BUSINESS NEWS: New York-base- d correspondent Anthony Mason was named a CBS News business correspondent part of the network's plans to expand its coverage of finances Mason will primarily contribute reports to the CBS Evening News Ray Brady who has covered economic and Wall Street stories for the network for 20 years will concentrate features and analytical stoon longer money-relate- d ries i I i I ' ijtitiiKi'IJ U fit it -- 1 ‘Zorro’ wins box office race LOS ANGELES (AP) — In a special effects-fille- d Still soaring despite horrible reviews was summer of flying space debris a towering Armageddon which grossed $16 million for third lizard and nasty little action toys Something About Mary starring Ben Stiller Matt romance and swordplay won over audiences with Dillon and Cameron Diaz opened in fourth place the The Mask of Zorro leading the box office in its with $13 million The film opened better than the first week FarreUy brothers’ last effort Kingpin in 1996 but It was hard to get a laugh in edgewise in the didn’t start as well as their biggest hit Dumb A crowded summer field Ike gross-ocomedy Dumber in 1994 There’s Something About Mary opened at No 4 Dr Dolittle (No 3) and Mulan (No 7) both behind Zorro Lethal Weapon 4 and Armageddon passed the $100 million mark Dolittle took in $88 estimates showed Sunday million for a total of $1046 million in its fourth g The season maintained a pace — week and Mulan had $47 million for a $1011 milwith weekend ticket sales up 11 percent over the lion total in its fifth week same period last year — on the strength of a wide They join Armageddon The Truman ShoK Deep movies range of films doing strong business instead rtf’ one Impact and Godzilla as $100 million-plu- s or two mega-hit- s this summer Six films have already earned more than $100 Small Soldiers fought a losing battle making $83 million in North America though none appears million for sixth place in its second week and a likely to break the $200 million mark This weektepid $299 million totaL Costing about $60 million end alone four movies made more than $10 million and millions more to market Small Soldiers was with healthy averages of $3000 and up emerging as a disappointment for DreamWorks Slicing and dicing its way through the pack was which has yet to have a major hiL The Mask of Zorro die latest The children’s movie Madeline also was hating about the masked hero in Old California who has difficulty finding a mass audience earning $43 ridden through dozens of movies serials and televimillion for eighth place sion series Here are estimated gross earnings for the top movies at North American theaters for Friday s Catherine Zorro made $217 million to through Sunday as compiled by Exhibitor Relations 1 The Mask of Zorro $217 million lead the box office getting a push from the best reviews since The Truman Show 1 Lethal Weapon 4 $211 million “With the competition as hot as it is the reviews 3 Armageddon $16 million do have a real solid impact” said Sony spokesman 4 Then k Something About Mary $ 13 million Ed Russell 3 Dr Dolittle $88 rnffikm Lethal Weapon 4 the latest installment of the Mel 6 Small Soldiers $83 million ed MOTHER GOOSE AND GRIMM ut record-settin- FOXTROT mre i asm per-soe- en pcteti M BMOUMcr imiml MEMuREf ffMEBuNKl IMcPCMCS lDFlT mcooNe MSMurehNe MIMIM FBoH FUltBfi BuMNBNEACmMSBIM w t Bucsnrsncm SOWUS HE'S EVEN MTOb JASoW Tb GaACN Mt AloTeP Monet mbitm THKTC NUT MT Fb4T TbUMM((T 00111 NOT SURE XMON OCCURS iMKrrw ttoUrKMH IbRMbCTN DiE XUbCT MSimai IboMbOi JO ME Mvbu 1W0MUB! Mm rt MM WE MHJFIMlS: romance-adventu- Zeta-Jone- Gibson-Dann- REAL LIFE ADVENTURES CLOSE TO HOME SfflZGD 7 WN6S LtC6 70 VeRf&W I Given the diamond lead you computi US Census Bureau first use a computer? MPORJANT N0U6H TO 6SMSW75T Computers were slower to THAT WARRANTS catch on in the bridge world hut now they are an integral part of the game You can even use one SHMDDtNl to play online 24 hours a day perhaps with OKbridge It is also possible to watch exhibition matches The recent ones have featured Paul Soloway (who lives near Seattle) and Bobby Goldman (from Highlands Village Texas) This deal occurred during their match against Peter Nagy (a former Canadian international now residing in Las Vegas) and Brace Ferguson (from Boise Idaho) lfow would you declare six oEdourdtagnosos ora done by computer inn days Room open your mouth and toy ‘Aoah’ while prauing yourlbee "Hearty You era whet you shied t COPY Mo scanner” 7 Medan $47 million 8 Madeline $43 million 9 The Truman Sunn $12 million 10 Six Days Seven Nights $2 million at bridge When did the DON'T DO ANYTHING M PCkWOXK uimnvf Bv PNllip Alder etse pees Btrrx jvstp£auz£d THAT Glover franchise picked up another y $211 million for second place in its second week putting it on a pace to easily break $100 million this Win jM O&MESSeDZ WANT re West leads the diamond seven second highest from a weak suit p Five asked South to select a slam no-tram- in 1889 Holes were have nine top tricks: two spades punched into special cards 01988 by NEA Inc two hearts two diamonds and berth three clubs If clubs are worth A JS7S four tricks four spades will be V 4 4 sufficient But if clubs are split91 ting badly you will need five A Q 7 S spade tricks So Goldman West East started (South) by playing a dub q tea to dummy's ace and a club to bis wss 7 is q II I king qWhen everyone followed he took the safety-da- y in spades: He led a spade to dummy’s ace that played a spade to his nine This guaranteed four spade tricks-(exceagainst an unlikely 34) break) Here starting with the king dummy's jack would have in an overtrick but would have failed if East held Don't risk a slam (or game) bonus for the sake of an queen-10-four- th overtrick The Census Bureau first used 1! auKl4 a I7I4II it a pt W still 411 KM AKIS A J seat Vulnerable: Neither Dealer South J |