NPR corrected (see May 8) the error of a guest in one story, but merely changed the headline and online page copy of another. Presto change-o! It’s like magic.
From: Greg Fisher [mailto:greg@pagea2.com]
Sent: Wednesday, May 23, 2012 8:04 AM
To: Gary Knell, president and CEO, NPR
Cc: Michel Martin, host, Tell Me More, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Edward Schumacher-Matos, ombudsman, NPR; Ombudsman, NPR; NPR Corrections; Portia Robertson Migas, supervising senior editor, NPR; Alicia Montgomery, senior editor, Tell Me More, NPR
Subject: RE: credit score, employers, NPR, and poof! It disappeared
You changed the 2009 headline from “Low Credit Scores Affect Job Applicants” to “Bad Credit Reports Affect Job Applicants.”
Someone commenting wrote, “Using credit scores as part of Job Selection[SIC] is Wrong, Wrong, Wrong[SIC].”
Sorting the comments by the most recommend puts the catch-22 meme at the top: “Of course one reason to have a low credit score is unemployment or simply being a recent college graduate. It’s a bit of a catch-22.”
The NPR Ethics Handbook states: “We have a simple standard: Errors of fact do not stand uncorrected. If we get it wrong, we’ll admit it.”