Anatomy of an Error

Last Monday's Washington Post carried a front-page story reporting that Senator Barry Goldwater, recently critical of Richard Nixon, had just praised him as "probably the best President we have had in this century." Next morning, the Post had a far more surprising item on the front page: a two-column erratum box explaining that Goldwater had really been referring to Harry Truman. Before the blunder was corrected, however, the original story was distributed—and printed—across the country last week via the Los Angeles Times-Washington Post news service.

Astonishingly, the real Goldwater statement had been on network television for all to see. On NBC'S Meet the Press, Inquisitor Lawrence Spivak asked Goldwater how Nixon could govern effectively in view of his low standing in opinion polls. Replied Goldwater: "I remember when Harry Truman sank to about the same level of public opinion and credibility, and today I think he is probably the best President we have had in this century." In almost the same breath Goldwater added, "So I don't just take the fact that he has been down in the polls to mean that he can't lead."

No Check. The second sentence did refer, albeit a bit ambiguously, to Nixon. Post Staff Writer Tim O'Brien, watching the telecast, apparently misheard Goldwater's reference to Truman. Fastening on the last mention of Nixon, O'Brien wrote his story.

The article was sent routinely to Post editors later on Sunday. No one handling the copy had seen the program. Apparently, no one checked it against Associated Press or United Press International accounts of the interview. Further, O'Brien's lead did not seem particularly awry: the whole thrust of Goldwater's remarks on the program had been singularly favorable to Nixon. O'Brien's story moved not only on the Post's presses but also over the wires of its news service to 225 client papers.

Within hours, Goldwater and Meet the Press viewers were on the phone to the Post, pointing out the error. The damage had been partially contained: both the A.P. and U.P.I, wire services carried correct references to Truman as Goldwater's "best President" in their stories. Even the L.A. Times ignored its own news service dispatch for a story based on wire service coverage. But a number of major papers across the country did run the blooper—with follow-up corrections—including the Chicago Sun-Times, Denver Post, Cleveland Plain Dealer, Louisville Courier-Journal, Boston Globe and New York Post. The New York Times's Tom Wicker used the misquotation in the lead of his Tuesday column. Rued Wicker: "It didn't occur to me that the Washington Post would be wrong." As for the Post, Managing Editor Howard Simons had a sadly candid comment: "All of our failsafe systems just failed."