Paul Burnham Finney's New York Times Correction: Author "Distorted The Survey's Findings To Fit His Theme"

New York Times:

An article in the Itineraries pages last Tuesday reported about the increasing stress on business travelers, and cited the findings of "Stress in America," an annual survey of the American Psychological Association. That survey found that economic factors were the leading causes of stress levels in 2008, but it did not say, as the article did, that "the crisis on Wall Street was the No. 1 cause of anxiety," nor did participants in the survey say they felt most vulnerable to stress "in the office and on a business trip."

The survey included data from Sept. 19 to Sept. 23, 2008, a period of volatility on Wall Street, but none of the questions in the association's survey referred to Wall Street or any economic crises. Participants were not asked how business travel affected their stress levels or where they felt most vulnerable to stress. The author of the article distorted the survey's findings to fit his theme, contrary to The Times's standards of integrity.

Read the whole story: New York Times

Comments

[sammy50]

NYT's correction page is becoming bigger than the newspaper itself.

[Bitsko]

Just another reason so many of us New Yorkers check out the Times online for free and don't pay for their constant nonsense.

[Melissa]

Does this surprise anyone? The NYT will be out of business or sold within the next 5 years.

[myersbug]

We all make mistakes. People always say oh that's a right paper or a left paper. Maybe we should all read one from each side. Maybe then we could understand all. But I don't that will happen most people just want to think they are right. I was repub and changed this year to Independent. That's not bad it just allows you to stay away from the far right and try to make sense of the rest. People are so critical of everything but their own backyards. I would bet money that more of us live a not so perfect live. Isn't that what we learn from? For example: McCain is too much like Bush and now he can't run away from it like he wants to. Palin will be even worse trouble. She thinks she will run the senate. Come on Sarah go back to school. My young children know more then you. McCain was thinking John first not Country first.

[HARVIN]

"I am positively shocked. America's greatest newspaper has never printed this kind of fraudulent trash before." Judith Miller