Friday, October 29, 2010

Error in newspaper's political ad conveys the wrong message at the worst possible time

The Sabine County Reporter in Texas learned this week why it's important to carefully proofread political ads and stories in the last edition before an election.  Keith Nabours bought an advertisement in this week's paper, the last before Tuesday's election for District 2 commissioner in the county of about 10,000.

"What was supposed to be in my ad was, 'There is a way to achieve economic prosperity without raising your taxes,'" Nabours told KTRE-TV. But he said the ad read (emphasis added), "There's no way to achieve economic prosperity without raising your taxes," reversing the meaning. The paper said the error was unintentional, but since the paper is a weekly it cannot reprint the ad correctly. (Read more) However, it is running a prominent correction on its website, with the full text of the ad and an introduction saying "Nabours believes economic prosperity can be obtained in Sabine County without raising taxes." (Read more)

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