So the thing about writing books and not blog posts is that they go to printers. Then people point out that you might not have got something right. And there is no comments section and no opportunity to update what you have written (barring the miracle of other editions).
So what to do about it? Well, I figured I’d post amendments here, tagged Can You Trust The Media? and corrections. See how disingenuous that is? I should just tag them mistakes. So I’ll add that tag too.
It made me ponder, now that the process of writing is complete, the dumb gap between my own arguments for greater transparency and better information, and a book which comes without notes.
On the transparency front, I do at least offer direct communication with the author. I can tell you directly where information comes from. But whilst that approach works on the micro-level, it hardly scales.
On the misinformation front, it’s sadly just my fault. (When I ran a newsroom it was easier to find someone to blame.)
That’s where you come in. Let me know about factual errors or even a mistake of interpretation and I’ll post it here. And there are probably typos still lurking in the copy.
So before anyone gets in the crack about not being able to trust someone writing about trust in the media, I just made it (and the book takes a different kind of line).
Meanwhile, a big thank you to everyone who came along to Magdalene to hear me chew the fat with the very kind Allison Pearson.
Now I just hope I don’t keep Craig Silverman in business.
Update: And, I should have known it, Jack Shafer has kindly pointed out that Craig’s own corrections for his book (a copy of which just landed on my desk) are a model illustration.