Nocera regrets error in NYT column on Buffett

New York Times columnist Joe Nocera appended the following to his column on Tuesday:

My column of April 29, entitled “Buffett Bites Back,” was based on a faulty premise. Having written a previous column criticizing Warren Buffett for abstaining from voting against Coca-Cola’s equity compensation plan even though he said it was excessive, I picked up on an interview that was posted on April 28 by Fortune magazine. In the introduction to the interview, the Fortune writer, Stephen Gandel, mentioned the “wave of criticism” that had been unleashed by Buffett’s decision. He specifically mentioned my column.

That’s why I assumed that the interview had taken place days after my first column was published, and why I chose the headline “Buffett Bites Back” for my next column. But he wasn’t biting back. In fact, Gandel conducted his interview on April 23, the day of the Coca-Cola annual meeting — and before I had even written my previous column. In that same introduction, Gandel also wrote that Buffett had defended himself to Fortune “shortly after the Coke vote.” Inexplicably, I didn’t pick up on that.

Although The Times published a strong correction, Margaret Sullivan, the public editor, wrote that she didn’t think it went far enough because my column was “so intrinsically flawed.” Upon reflection, I agree with her. I sincerely regret the error.

Read more here.