CBE Key Communique: Calgary Herald Corrects Error

The following article appeared in the latest Key Communique from CBE Communications:

Calgary Herald corrects error
The Calgary Herald has published a correction to a story carried on the front of the City Section on Wednesday.

The Herald incorrectly reported on Dec. 7 that the Calgary Board of Education finished the 2010-11 fiscal year with a “surplus," finishing the year “$10.9M in black.” In fact, the CBE had an operating deficit. To balance the budget the CBE had to use reserves.

The Herald also reported incorrectly that the CBE had "spent $7.7 million more than in its rainy day fund." To be correct, this should have said “spent less.”

While the original story appeared on Page one of the city section, the correction is a brief item published today on Page A2. The online version of the story has been corrected.

"This is at least the second time this year that incorrect stories about the CBE have been front-page headlines in the Herald," says Richard Peter, the CBE's chief communications officer. "Everyone makes mistakes but it's disappointing in two ways. Accurate reporting would not have been front-page news and the correction never has the same profile as the original story."

The other error that grabbed headlines was a story about noon supervision fees. A front-page Herald story on May 14 incorrectly reported that the CBE proposed to increase noon supervision fees by 40 per cent. In fact the proposed increase was five per cent—which is significantly less newsworthy. The correction appeared on Page A2.

Read the latest online story from the Herald.