Unintentional and painful

The Houston Chronicle had a great story Thursday highlighting some of their goofiest mistakes. By inviting the public to laugh at their mistakes, laid bare, The Chronicle is taking a light-hearted step to regain a little trust. Reporters aren't right all the time, and editors can't catch every mistake; being completely honest with the times we have dropped the ball helps us prove we have nothing to hide.

Sometimes we have to write the wrongs
Everybody goofs — even us — so we thought you'd get a laugh out of these mistakes


By LOUIS B. PARKS
Copyright 2007 Houston Chronicle


We all make mistakes, write?

Chronicle staffers were red-faced Wednesday when a photo cutline for a story about Anna Nicole Smith in the Star section said, in part, "the model could barely right a sentence."

Oops, that would be "write a sentence."

Chronicle readers didn't miss it.

"So," said one reader's e-mail, "it wasn't just poor Anna Nicole who could 'barely RIGHT a sentence' ... ?!"

Some readers hoped the cutline writer was trying to be funny.

"Come on," said one. "If intentional, it's probably too clever, and, if unintentional, it's painful."

Giving the credit where the credit is due, check out the full story by Louis B. Parks on the Chronicle's website, chron.com, here. There's more amusing examples at the bottom.