Otterblog

I’m reluctant to bring up our foibles, as many of you are quick to do that for me, but we had a funny mistake today in our B section. The story on B2 is about the scrum at the NC GOP over who is going to be the next chairman. Ferrell Blount, the current chairman and a pretty conservative fellow, is stepping down. Our headline said Ferrel (he spells his with One L) Guillory, who isn’t mentioned in the story. Guillory heads a program on southern media at UNC-CH and is at least loosely associated with Democratic politics/ideals/leanings.

I spotted the error before the calls started, which is really small comfort, but as one colleague quipped: I just hope neither one of them sues us for libel…

I don’t like making mistakes, but if you can’t laugh at the funny ones, then you are in trouble.

On an unrelated note, it’s instructive to look at two consecutive front pages this week with regards to WFUBMC. The first story was about a Chinese hoops wannabe coming here—yes, here—to get Gamma knife surgery to remove a tumor near his pituitary gland. The second was about the medical center’s problems with heart transplants and the federal government’s actions to remove Medicare funding for the procedures here.

I like this coincidence. It’s not planned (otherwise it wouldn’t be a coincidence) but it suggests to me an honesty of coverage, good and not so good.

Much of the government’s response to transplant issues was explored in a series of articles in the LA Times. They’re worth reading for a broader overview.