In spite of the fact that their coverage of Mitt Romney's fundraising (specifically his false claim that he raised $10 million in one day) has been proven wrong (in fact Romney raised less than 1/4 that amount), not a single reporter or news outlet that printed this lie has issued a retraction, correction, or even admitted it was false.
The good news is that yesterday's diary about this topic elicited a strong response, and that several of the news organizations that engaged in erroneous reporting have ombudsmen or public editors. Which means, we can engage in a little organizing campaign with these officials to get them to admit that their organizations' reports that "Mitt Romney raised $10 million in one day" (a report that dramatically shifted the narrative of the campaign) were wrong and should be corrected.
Amazingly, dozens of major news outlets reported this as fact, despite having not seen a single check or reviewed the campaign finance filings to verify it (something I attribute to more than just political bias, for what it's worth).
Whatever the explanation, now that we have definitive proof that the story was false, they ought to correct or address this issue.
For those who might be interested, below is a list of organizations whose coverage of Romney's fundraising haul for May 16 was misleading or false, and who have ombudsmen or public editors we can write to urge them to issue corrections or clarifications. If you want a refresher or the full explanation of why these stories were inaccurate, please see this and this.
1. Washington Post - This story gushes about Romney's supposed one-day haul, stating it as if it's a fact. And this one literally says: "In case there was any doubt about who the frontrunner for the GOP nomination actually is, Romney cleared it up when he raised more than $10 million in a single day earlier this month."
A slam dunk case.
Ombudsman: Patrick Pexton
Email: ppexton@washpost.com
2. USA Today - While the story subtly mentions that Romney is the source of the information, the headline blares: Mitt Romney raises $10.25M in fundraising 'call-a-thon'. And that's just false, and plays directly into the false narrative Romney's team was selling.
Standards editor: Brent Jones
E-mail: bwjones@usatoday.com
3. NPR - They actually have at least three stories on the web (here and here and here) that allude to Romney's supposed $10 million day, without providing the context that the information is based on Romney's own claim and has not been verified.
Ombudsman: Edward Schumacher-Matos
Email: click here
4. LA Times - Unfortunately, this paper began its coverage just like the other offenders, trumpeting "Mitt Romney scores $10 million in Vegas telethon" in its headline, and feeding into the false narrative. Six weeks later (after the damage was done), in a July 1 piece on all the candidates' fundraising, LAT actually did some good reporting, noting that Romney's $10 million haul involved some "sleight of hand" and included pledges. But the information was buried in paragraph 12 of the piece; was reported six weeks after the fact in a light, almost jokey way; and was couched in a positive context:
Though diminished compared with the last cycle, Romney's start is already impressive to [campaign finance expert Anthony] Corrado, even if some of it represents sleight of hand. The former Massachusetts governor's campaign told reporters in May that he had raised $10 million in a one-day phone-a-thon in Las Vegas. But the amount actually represented pledges gathered earlier and tallied that day. Still, it showed that Romney continues to have access to a loyal and substantial group of donors, Corrado said.
Given the totality of the paper's coverage, this was not enough to fully correct the record for readers.
Readers’ representative: Deirdre Edgar
Email: readers.representative@latimes.com
Unfortunately, only a tiny number of news organizations in America have ombudsmen to handle these kinds of reader complaints. The worst offenders in this Romney scenario, by and large, are not on that list. But it's a start.