this is what happens when newspapers get rid of anyone over the age of 25 -or copy editors (sometimes both) who would catch those kinds of errors. Young journalists have no one to help them learn how important detail is to the public with their teachers and mentors gone all for the sake of the bottom line

Yikes!  I've seen corrections in the newspaper but this is a doozy!

Good evening, Brian.

It's very nice of you to use your blog today to make all of these corrections. You make a good point that as long as humans are making these reports, there will be mistakes. As far as having humans report the news, I hope it will stay that way, despite our mistakes. After all, we're only human.

Thank you for sharing these articles. I know you would never dare to end the broadcast with "and that's the way it is." While reading the original article on Walter Cronkite I followed the link to the article on you and read that your wife was once your boss before you two wed, and I had to say...I'm sure this is still the case!

We will see you soon.
Thank you for the corrections, again!
-Cary

Dear Brian,

There was a beautiful photo on the front page of today's Washington Post (print edition).  I haven't found it yet on the Post's website, but if any of your readers have the patience to search, it was an image of a Marine on his way to Helmand province in Afghanistan.  He was writing his wife's name in the sand with his bottle of water.  The photograph was taken by Nikki Kahn.

I saw Richard Engel on Carlos Watson's program Monday morning.  Carlos mentioned that Richard is currently working on a documentary.  Whatever the subject matter, please wish him well from us; I only hope it doesn't involve GETTING SHOT AT!  And good luck to you all at the Emmys next month.

A belated "happy birthday" to Cary Skelton, who turned 20 on July 20.

Laurel

Just reading over a few of the readers posts, and ran into Laurel (from Maryland)'s Birthday wish to me. Thank you so much! I had a wonderful Birthday with friends and family! I was hoping to catch a sight of the moon (since I share with such an amazing anniversary), but it was cloudy and has been all week.

I just found the cover of the print of today's Washington Post you mention here: http://www.newseum.org/todaysfrontpages/hr.asp?fpVname=DC_WP&ref_pge=gal&b_pge=3

The words under the photo read: "In a moment of nostalgia, a Marine on his way to a mission in southern Afghanistan's Helmand province uses water to write his wife's name in the sand. As U.S. forces make a renewed push in Afghanistan, American deaths have surged to a record high this month, with 31 troops killed so far in July. That surpasses the record of 28 deaths in June 2008. Story, A7."

God Bless and protect our soldiers, each and every day.

-Cary

HI Brian:

Thanks for the blog on the corrections from the New York Times.  I am sure Walter is shaking his head.  This was not just a small mistake but you are right mistakes will happen because journalists are only human and with all of the pressures and time constratints put on them with events like this it is only natural that a mistake can be made. It is unfortunate that there were so many, but they did make their corrections.  I completely agree with Cary, I too hope that humans continue to report the news no matter what mistakes they make.  It is the human side of every report that we look to.

Cant's wait for your broadcast tonight

Who can afford fact-checkers when they're losing advertising and market share? It's all a part of the general dumbing-down of everything, all in service to the bottom line.  Besides, I thought obituaries were written years ahead of time, particularly for those of advanced age. Isn't there a term for it in journalism--"the morgue file" or something like that? Sheesh!

This is what happens we reporters hurry to get the article out first. The race overtakes accuracy.

That's a whole lot of erroneous information in one news story.  Egads.

Brian's comment that the W in WD-40 was for the 40 th trial is incorrect.  He said correctly that WD was for water displacement, but,  40 was for the 40th trial.  I think he just made a slip.

LOVE YOUR PROGRAM. YOU PROJECT PROFESSIONALISM AND AT THE SAME TIME A FEELING OF BEING MY NEIGHBOR (TRUSTWORTHY AND FRIENDLY), VERY SIMILAR OF WALTER CRONKITE. TONIGHT ON NEWS PROGRAM 7/22/O9 REPORTED THAT DSL WAS MOVING FROM HILLSBORO,OH., BUT I THINK IT IS WILMINGTON,OHIO. THIS USUALLY WOULDN'T MEAN TOO MUCH, BUT THIS WHOLE TOWN IS HURTING AND NEEDS ALL THE HELP IT CAN GET.    THANK YOU, LARRY D.

Good Evening Mr.Williams, Another great broadcast this evening! I must say regarding your post this evening ther was certainly alot of corrections to be made in the New York Times article from the Saturday Edition. Yet,they did run the corrections and that was good. Nobody is perfect at everything and if mistakes are made one does correct them.
Now on to the broadcast.
First of all the report by Mr.Todd concerning President Obama and the issue of healthcare reform. President Obama does need to give specifics on his plan and tonight at his prime time Presidential News Conference the details should be expressed. The three things Mr.Todd pointed out 1)Who pays for it. 2)Who is covered. 3)What will this Government Run Insurance Plan look like are all key points. Hopefully, the answers will be given.
The report by Mr.Potter from the Mexican Border showed how much the area is patrolled by US Agents to catch people trying to cross the border illegally. The technology is much more advanced and it is reducing the amount of people crossing. Plus the economic downturn has also slowed down the crossings.
Having the zero tolerance has definitely had a major effect.

The piece by Mr.Brokaw called "The American Character" along Highway 50 from Hillsboro,Ohio certainly showed how a wonderful family has been hit hard by this tough economy. The couple having met on the job at Airborne and starting a family it was going well until the company merged with DHL and then DHL moved out cutting back jobs. It was heartbreaking to learn the 6yrold daughter had cerebral palsy and epilepsy. The fears of the parents having to pay for all the medical costs is terrible. I agree with the statement made by the father that tough times does make people stronger. It was nice to learn he was offered a job in Kentucky and keeps his benefits. I wish all the best for the family.

The piece from Adrienne Mong from Shanghai about the solar eclipse was fascinating to see. Seeing India and China experiencing the darkness of the eclipse was amazing. And lasting 6 minutes is something seldom ever seen. It was great all those people were able to see this happen.
Thank You for the broadcast Mr.Williams. I look forward to seeing your broadcast again at 8pm for the Presidential News Conference. Peace to You and to All!

Lots of Love to Laurel,Jackie,Stephanie,Claudia Celine,Anna,Lori,Cary and Matt!
Happy Birthday Cary!! Yeah You Turned 20years old on Monday June 20th!! Woo! Hoo!
Be Well Always!
Stay Extra Safe and Well Richard! I watched the video of you speaking with Carlos Watson on Monday June 20th on MSNBC and you did an excellent job as always! I look forward to your documentary I'm sure it will be EXCELLENT!! ALWAYS STAY EXTRA,EXTRA SAFE RICHARD!!
XOXO

Hi Brian,

That would be a terror and a continual nightmare for me if I were a reporter, not that I have to worry about it happening. Making mistakes and being liable...I would even imagine myself having to go in front of a judge and getting twenty yrs.

Ive seen the "birth certificate" video several times now. That kind of thinking and behavior is disturbing.
It's as if people need to put their hate and fear in a little box and label it - "he's" a mulslim, and /or not a natural born citizen. I'm glad the politician had enough nerve to say that yes, Pres. Obama is an American citizen. I also remember that John McCain stood up for the Pres. when that old crazy lady referred to him as a muslim. But some of the elected officials are coy when they shrug their shoulders and basically say, "well, let's see about it." Anybody in their right mind would know that all of that was covered during the campain. People have gotten copies of the President's birth certificate. What does it take?

Anyway, The video of the solar eclipse was beautiful. I can't imagine being one of those people who were in the plane seeing the six min. in that realm. It must have been mind blowing. I don't know if you recieved the comment where I added a few lines from a particular song from way back when, but here's another line that's apropos:
" Then you flew your Learjet up to Nova Scotia to see the total eclipse of the sun."

Brian, one thing that's so great about you is that you could do all of these things, and even if you did, you wouldn't be vain. Some commenters just don't get it; the ones who are constantly putting you down for this and that - no matter what you do, you're not vain!

I'm going to get ready fot the Pres. speech and I'll see you later, well I'll see you in a few min.

Have a great evening. Purple and blue tie gets a thumbs up!

Vicki

@ Laurel:

Glad to hear about Richard's special event!  Keep me posted.

I follow Ann Curry on Twitter and she was just in Pakistan doing some meaningful work there.   If I hear any on Twitter, I will keep you posted.

Happy Birthday to Cary!   Always good to be blogging with smart, young people!  A classy group here.

Peace to All!

Have been watching the Presidential News Conference and have a question.

You use to have a video blog explaining some of the behind the scenes workings of putting on a newscast.  Maybe it's time to use this space for another behind the scenes note.

How did Chuck Todd decide what question to ask?  Did you have any input?  Did David Gregory?  Anyone on your staff?  And how many questions did Chuck have prepared in case someone else asked the same question first?

Congrats on your second place showing on recent Time Magazine's poll of the most trusted man in America.

Jon Stewart does make the news funnier in these hard times.

On the topic of errors in journalism, her is one that you have some responsibility for, and I hope you will go out of  your way to correct it.

On the wrap-up that you anchored following President Obama’s news conference this evening, Chuck Todd reported that one of two headlines from the news conference was that the president “promised” that unless you earned a million dollars, you would not see increased taxes to pay for a healthcare plan. (Mr. Todd used the word promised; I am paraphrasing the sense of his statement.) I believe the president’s reference to taxing incomes over $1 million was that such a suggestion had emerged from a committee, and that such a tax would meet his criteria of not unduly burdening the middle class. No promise as reported by Mr. Todd was made by the president.



The word promise is powerful, and the incorrect reporting is an extremely serious mistake. I was amazed that Mr. Todd would make such a serious error. It would have been best if Mr. Williams had caught the mistake and corrected it on the spot. Since that did not happen, please take appropriate action to broadcast the correction.

Hi Brian:

Well, you were pre-empted here in Californis because of the President's news conference so I had to catch the broadcast on the web.  Of course it was great as usual.  I really enjoyed the input from you and David Gregory with regard to the President's message in his news conference.  

As for the President's news conference, I think he hit a home run tongiht.  I think health care reform took on a new look in the minds of the American people who were skeptical as to what the plan really entailed and how it was going to be paid for.  The President laid out the plan and what it meant for all of us. This is a very important issue not only for the welfare of the American people but for reducing our deficit.  In this plan he has kept his promise that the middle class would not be taxed for payment of his health care plan, that we will have choices and we will be able to afford insurance.  I think he has now relieved some of the fears we all had about his plans for reform.  I thought the news conference was great and enjoyed a couple of the light hearted spots in it. I hope Congress will be able to reach a resolution on a reform package and soon.  It is good that the President has now halted this August deadline and is ready to make sure that he will only sign a bill that is the best for us and if it takes a little longer to get one,

It appears the efforts of our border patrol agents in cracking down on the illegal immigrants getting into our Country is working.

I truly think the issue of the President's birth certificate and citizenship needs to be stopped now.  This was all taken care of through the campaign, we have seen the birth certificate, Hawaii has confirmed what we all know, he is a citizen. We need to move on and end this craziness.  

Tom's "Highway 50" report was sad tonight.  How devestaing it had to be fore these parents to fear that because of our economy and job losses they might not be able to afford daughter's therapy because their insurance would no longer be there. I know that the job he is taking is going to be for less pay and a longer commute but at least there will be health insurance.  There are so many other families that are faced with this same problem every day. That shows why health care reform is so necessary.  

Thank you so much for the great broadcast and blog today and thank you for staying with us through the news conference. I know this puts you home very late but we appreciate being able to hear your input following these conferences.  Have a great evening and hopefully get some rest.

Will be looking forward to your blog and broadcast tomorrow.

In keeping with the good behavior demonstrated by the New York Times, you should run a significant correction on the story that you presented in tonight's broadcast.  The story is referred to on then NBC News website as "Obama's birthplace still blog fodder."

- Questions about Obama's eligibility to be President are not a conspiracy.  His father was a British citizen and the Supreme Court needs to determine if a "Natural Born Citizen" must have both parents as citizens.

- The state of Hawaii did not verify that Obama was born in Hawaii.  They said that they have a birth certificate on file.  They did not comment on its contents.  In 1961 you could be born outside the US and still get a birth certificate from Hawaii.

You displayed "Born in the USA" in the background, but no one has seen evidence that this is true.  The document on factcheck.com is not a birth certificate.  It is titled "Certificate of Live Birth" and it was created using Adobe Photoshop.  It is not admissible in any court.

No lawsuit on this issue has been heard on the merits.  All have been fought at great expense by Obama and have been either dismissed on technicalities or not taken up by the Supreme Court.

It was good that you finally gave the issue some national visibility, but your reporting was extremely biased and frought with errors, the most important of which were errors of omission.

Perhaps you should have David Gregory invite Orly Taitz and Leo Donofrio to Meet the Press.  That would really get the issue the coverage it deserves.

Hey there, again, Mr. Williams.

Thank you for another great broadcast tonight. Great reporting from Tom Brokaw, and as usual it was wonderful seeing him on Nightly News. I absolutely loved that you showed us the solar eclipse from today. While out at lunch today with my Dad to Firehouse Subs, I told my Dad of the Earth sized hole that has surfaced on the planet Jupiter. He too is very interested in space, and in aviation (which may be where I get my interest). We talked about how his uncle (Richard Skelton, former Air Force commander in Ramstein, Germany) was sought and was offered a career as an astronaut in the late 50s, which he ultimately turned down. How many can say that? Who knows, maybe he could have been in Apallo 11. Still realizing that the space program was relatively new in the late 50s, I wonder why he declined.

Whenever I hear that "NBC Special Report" intro come on I get so excited, though it's not always something good of course. I missed your analysis of the conference at the end because (as ashamed as I am to admit it) I fell asleep. I woke at 7am, and didn't have much sleep. That's the end of my excuse. I recorded the wrong channel, too.

Either way, thank you for covering it for us. President Obama was straight forward and serious about our health care (with the occasional laughs as usual). Overall, I think it went very well. I will be catching up on what I missed.

I want to thank ALL of you for your kind comments and Birthday wishes this evening! I can hardly believe I'm out of my teenage years. I'm still, and always will be, an eight year-old at heart. Thanks, again!

Goodnight, Brian. And goodnight to all!
Take care,
-Cary

Ouch - that is a few too many mistakes but good of the NYT to make the correction within a few days and good of you to comment on it in your blog.
Just watched the news on line...after the President's News Conference regarding health care reform - as a health professional, it is sorely needed. I think President Obama is on the right track - too bad we didn't have more discussion by you and others after the conference was over - allowing you to put it all in perspective for the viewers.
Regarding Pres. Obama's citizenship - too bad people can't use the energy spent on that issue on a real issue - like health care reform!
And finally thank goodness for WD 40 - I know we have at least 3 cans in our home right now - God Bless John Barry.
Brian - another great broadcast. Thank you and goodnight.

Brian..being the gentleman he is..is giving the NYT to much slack..it has been knows about Mr. Cronkite;s health for some time..and reported CBS was updating his obit in preparation..sorry..the NYT gets no bye from me..they should have been ready.

Brian,

Your article about WD-40, I believe needs to be fine tuned a little. John Barry was not the inventor. "It was developed in 1953 by Norm Larsen, founder of the Rocket Chemical Company, San Diego, California."

"John Steven Barry (August 31, 1924 – July 3, 2009), was an American business executive who popularized WD-40, a water-displacing spray and lubricant that had been created in the 1950s for use in the space program and spread its use in the consumer market."

"Barry had no involvement in the company until he was hired in 1969 to succeed his father-in-law, Cy Irving, as its chief executive office and president, with one of his first actions being to rename the company WD-40 after its best-known product, reasoning that the company was not in the rocket business, after all."

I have a message about Tom Brokaw's report last night about traveling along route 50.  He interviewed a very young family of 4 about the economy.  My question is why would these people have 4 children under six when the oldest is sick and in need of exorbitant medical care.  That seems irresponsible to me. Why would the media empathize with something like that.  Is it to get a reaction or what? Please enlighten me on this subject.  I want to understand why this infuriates me.

I got an F on a paper in Journalism (ASU before it was called Cronkite School of...) for calling the Stanford mascot the "Cardinals" rather than the correct "Cardinal."  Wonder what this person got?

Hello Brian:
The NBC Nightly News has been my source for several years, and I love it, but I was very taken aback last night when you invented the new word "preventative". Is that a replacement for "preventive"?
Keep up the good work, Bill

Poor New York Times has spent so much time rewriting history they've lost the original?

Brian Williams,  I love to watch NBC news every day and enjoy all the newscasters involved including those on the TODAY Show.  In reference to mistakes in reporting:  I myself watched President Obama's newsconference Wednesday evening, July 23, 2009 on NBC. My paraphrase:  The President stated that he did not want the burden of tax for health care reform to fall on the middle class.  He said that one bill was going to tax those who earned a million dollars or more - BUT he also said that this income level was not his precise choosing, but fell within his requirements. Since then, Chuck Dodd, Washington Correspondent has repeatedly stated that those earning 1 million and over would be the ones to pay for health care reform. This is not what has been decided by the President.  The day that the legislation becomes final and signed by Obama, it may tax those making under 1 million - which isn't a problem for me - and to clarify - will not be contradicting what President Obama stated in his news conference - Chuck Dodd is not correctly and in context quoting President Obama.  And by the way, I cannot find a complete transcript or video of the exact conference, only what other people are saying about it.  And that is a problem for a discriminating citizen who wants the facts to interpret for themselves instead of heresay.

Brian Williams,  I love to watch NBC news every day and enjoy all the newscasters involved including those on the TODAY Show.  In reference to mistakes in reporting:  I myself watched President Obama's newsconference Wednesday evening, July 23, 2009 on NBC. My paraphrase:  The President stated that he did not want the burden of tax for health care reform to fall on the middle class.  He said that one bill was going to tax those who earned a million dollars or more - BUT he also said that this income level was not his precise choosing, but fell within his requirements. Since then, Chuck Todd, Washington Correspondent has repeatedly stated that those earning 1 million and over would be the ones to pay for health care reform. This is not what has been decided by the President.  The day that the legislation becomes final and signed by Obama, it may tax those making under 1 million - which isn't a problem for me - and to clarify - will not be contradicting what President Obama stated in his news conference - Chuck Todd is not correctly and in context quoting President Obama.  And by the way, I cannot find a complete transcript or video of the exact conference, only what other people are saying about it.  And that is a problem for a discriminating citizen who wants the facts to interpret for themselves instead of heresay.

I admire your preciseness.  I also enjoyed watching Walter Cronkite on CBS when I was growing up.   Now, I have the greatest job in the world -- I have the privlege of working with veterans five days a week, and occasionally, on the weekends as well when special events for veterans take place around Jackson, such as The Trail of Honor.  Please acknowledge that today is the 100th birthday of our nation's oldest Medal of Honor recipient, Mr. John Finn.  AND HE'S STILL GOING STRONG!  Thank you, Mr. Finn, for what you did for our nation's freedom...

Fewer copy editors = more mistakes. Another symptom of the layoffs in the news business.  Glad to see the Times was willing to devote the space needed to make those corrections.  Does highlight one fact though, getting a correction on a television news broadcast is next to impossible.  Never understood why that is...

I wonder if someone still has a job after those errors? I can imagine the head shaking going on while printing the corrections. It would be funny if it didn't add to the sad state of journalism these days. Get it out now, check your facts later.

To Larry, who posted above, I gathered that the couple profiled in the Route 50 series live in Hillsboro, while the husband made the commute to Wilmington for work. Now he will be commuting to CVG, where Airborne and DHL will operate.
I so look forward to the increase in 5 AM cargo flights taking off over my house now.

I was able to catch bits and pieces of Mr. Cronkite's funeral today. Very lovely tribute. I never thought Andy Rooney would ever make me cry.

Cary, I wanted to wish you a happy birthday here on the blog on Monday, but SOMEBODY forgot to hit send.  ;-P

We are regular viewers of your Nightly News and only have one negative comment - almost always, from the beginning through today, the pandemic H1N1 flu virus has been referred to on your program as "swine flu".  So far no swine have been involved with this strain and the pork industry continues to struggle, in part due to this misnomer being continuously repeated.  I would request that the proper terminology be used.  Thank you  

Brian-

The Medal of Honor ranks will grow by one on Sept 17th when the President presents the MOH to the family of Sgt. 1st Class Jared Monti. You have set the bar in covering these heroes, living and deceased and I hope you can present the story of this brave hero and his actions that are far more newsworthy and deserving of air time then the Michael Jackson saga.

None of the major networks have anyone of Walter Kronkite's mettle. The state of television journalism is simply awful.  http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/26/opinion/26rich.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1

Some weeks ago you kicked off a series with Tom Brokaw following Highway 50 across the US. Since I've seen one segment (I can't watch every night, but do see most of the broadcasts). Why no more? Has the project been abandoned? I grew up along Highway 50 in Colorado and now live just a few miles from the end of it in Sacramento, and hoped to see more. Thanks.

Walter Cronkite was a very honest man with a lot of integrity.  Today's media in comparison is quite lacking.  The media has not even touched the content of this healthcare bill but rather shows the pomp and circumstance of Obama pushing it in all his money-spent trips to pull the wool over our eyes.  And why is the media not reporting what is in this bill?  The media should be breaking it open and informing the people what Obama is trying to do in this 1018-page document that will affect every person of this country!

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