Toronto paper falsely says biz is closed, and Murphy’s Law

Kathy English, the public editor of the Toronto Star, writes about how the paper erroneously reported that a steak restaurant in the city had closed, and the comedy of errors that then ensued in trying to correct the mistake.

English writes, “Sadly, this error is a prime example of the Murphy’s Law of Mistakes. In correcting this error, just about anything that could go wrong did. While the error was corrected immediately online upon Lyons bringing it to my attention, a correction was not published in the newspaper until Wednesday and even then it was not as fulsome as I had intended.

“I have apologized to Lyons for what might be regarded as a comedy of errors — but for the fact that none of this is funny to anyone involved.

“Pataki has also apologized to Lyons for her mistake in not checking directly with the restaurant after a source included House of Chan among a list of steak houses that have closed in recent years. ‘I have no excuse for failing to check with you before publication,’ Pataki told Lyons.

“I was en route home from a blissful vacation in a seaside resort in Maine when I received Lyon’s email seeking an online correction. I contacted the Star’s newsroom right away and that was done.”

Read more here.