Eamonn Fitzgerald's Rainy Day

This sort of “error-correction” makes you wonder just what else the BBC is falsifying.

Eamonn. Tell me - if you made a mistake on your blog and someone pointed it out, would you correct it? That is all that has happened here. No Junta, No Gulags, No Maoist correctionism. Human error. I guess over-reaction is another human trait we should acknowledge.
Claire Stocks, BBC Sport World Cup blog editor.

Yes, Claire, I would correct a mistake if someone pointed it out. And I have done so. But I would refer to that mistake and that correction. And I would NEVER delete posts that addressed the mistake. That's the point I'm making, and the one you're ignoring. Fact is: you changed and quote and deleted posts that referred to an error and you figured that that was OK. Well, it's not.

Hi Claire,

Wasn't that what Winston Smith used to do at the 'Ministry of Truth'? He did base it upon the BBC.

It was Winston's job to stealth edit the 'electronic newspaper' (BBC News Website) in order to remove any mistakes, negative stories or contradictions, that could reflect badly on 'The Party'.

For the BBC, 1984 isn't a terrifying warning on the dangers of state control, it is more of a training manual.

Editing is fine Claire, removing people's posts that point out the errors, is not.

Eamon

Not sure if you are being a wee bit tongue in cheek with your lavish praise of the beeb.

But if not welcome to the real world of BBC propaganda

It's a good job you didn't claim to be a tory

Eamonn

Have to agree that it seems like on over-reaction on your part in this case and an overwillingness to see a BBC conspiracy at every turn...

At worst it is sloppy blog journalism to delete the corrections, but hardly warrants being called giving up "the pretence of objectivity or honesty."

Also, are you 100% sure that the quote was changed rather than simply being put in wrong the first time. And even if dear old Leo said Germany he clearly meant Ghana. That hardly counts as "doctoring" a quote.

The "don't change a quote rule" is a fine principle, broken in practice every day without malicious intent. And Orwell himself saw the need to break rules rather than do something absurd.

Claire, the problem is, the BBC does this all the time and in far worse situations. Here is a fine example.

http://ussneverdock.blogspot.com/2006/06/uk-no-shows-at-rendition-protests.html

Timothy Garton Ash in today's Guardian says he was "Mugged by the blogosphere - or how to find nuggets in a cyberswamp". Seems to me that the old media want to be part of the new media but only if the new play by the old rules. Garton Ash hates all those pleb, ignorant comments. Just like the BBC, he'd like to be the record and no one at the party is allowed to play anything or say anything. He's working in a new age but he dosn't seem to understand what's happening. As for the BBC, it should look at how Slate does corrections to posts/articles.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/story/0,,1819020,00.html

Hi,

I've ended up here by complete accident. But I'll be sure to be coming back.

If the BBC approved your comments and had them shown on their site and then removed them having corrected the error you stated then they have effectively taken credit for your proofreading and censored an approved 'public message'. It's not a big deal, but it does show cracks in what should be a bastion of truth. I'll be keeping an eye out for more.

But the hack was only a sports journalist, can't really expect him to type or spell can we?

Claire, if indeed you work for the BBC then stop wasting my license fee reading blogs unless you are prepared to have a page of your credentials in your link and get back to work.

Do my credentials seem valid to you?

-SB

Come off it Eamonn.
Sloppy editing indeed from the Beeb. But to compare your vanished comments to the Disappeared in Argentina and the victims of the Gulags, however light-heartedly, is, well, a little bit crass. That aside I like your blog, we have similar tastes in music and football, I don't even mind stomaching your barmy right-wing views every now and again either (you're not the only one I read). Slán agus beannacht.

It is a strange world where one can be criticised for lack of accountability (Ministry of Truth blah blah (Rob)) and also for taking the time to be accountable ('stop wasting my licence fee reading blogs and get back to work' (strongbad)).

For what it is worth Eamonn I think you're right about deleting a comment that points out an error, and I won't be doing that again on any blog which with I become involved.
Because far from being 'old media wanting to be part of the new media but only if the new play by the old rules' (nick dineen) we do indeed recognise there is much to learn, hence the World Cup blog is one of only 25 or so being trialled across the BBC while we work out what - if anything - we can bring to/take from the blogosphere. The World Cup blog attracted 24,000-odd comments in eight weeks, many from people who'd never previously read a blog, and a host of praise from readers who liked it (and even those who criticised it, liked having a forum to complain about our coverage).
All of which suggests we might have quite a role to play, given the right format/level of engagement/editorial focus. But we'll see how the trial goes before we assume that or indeed what we might do differently based on what we learn.
On that subject - thanks for the suggestion re Slate (nick). I shall suggest to my colleagues on the trial that we do indeed treat corrections in this open way in the future.

I respect BBC a lot and think that everyone has a right to do a mistake.