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Friday 12 June 2020

OF A NEWSPAPER ERROR AND ETERNAL HORROR

In live news broadcasts, things can go terribly wrong, even after meticulous planning. However, there's always a predetermined cause of action that can be set in motion, to save the situation. But a newspaper publisher can only watch in horror, as an error remains in view for like an eternity. 


In the newspaper page above, what could have gone wrong?
  • The printer encountered technical challenges that could not be resolved within the set publishing deadlines
  • It was discovered very late during the publishing or editorial process that some content of this page had 'life-threatening' risks, and had to be blocked by all, or any means
  • An insider was paid to sabotage the work of the affected columnists
  • It was the newspaper's way of showing solidarity with the racial injustice protests, across the world
The earliest some clarification could be made by the publisher is the following day, whilst the reader would probably desire a more immediate understanding of the actual reason behind this anomaly.

Poor print media...richness in ways to save face...when calamity strikes...is beyond reach!


That's a luxury reserved for broadcasting, where editorial or technical challenges can be addressed almost instantaneously.

In a TV newscast, the director can take a commercial or go to a break, to buy time and reorganise, in the event that the program experiences challenges. 

Actually, the viewer might not even notice there's something wrong, unless the screen goes blank for more than 3 seconds or so.

For online or digital news outlets, mistakes can be rectified as soon as they are spotted, and apologies published thereafter.

For print media, some editorial or technical errors, indeed, can seem like horrors frozen in time.