Excellence In Journalism

I often chide Mickey Kaus for being a talentless, bitter hack. Yet one of the things I admire about him is his insistence on getting even the most basic facts right before publishing. Take, for example, his current article on the ugly-ass Honda Element. Readers want to know where the car is manufactured, and Mick's determined to nail it down for them -- even though it takes more than five seconds to uncover that fact on Google and maybe two full minutes to confirm it on Honda's website. But Mick shoulders the burden because accuracy means everything. Why, he'd probably even make a phone call if necessary. And that's why ... uh...

"Correction: The initial version of this review erroneously reported that the Element is assembled in Japan. It's made in Honda's East Liberty, Ohio factory."

Well, it was only the initial version of the article. (And no doubt clearly labeled as such.) Who'd be dumb enough to think that was accurate?