Most folks who aren't part of the print-journalism industry don't understand why a newspaper would publish a correction for an item in that same day's issue. After all, why apologize for an error instead of simply fixing it? However, newspapers pre-print certain non-breaking-news-oriented sections of oversized editions, like those that the Rocky Mountain News distributes on Saturdays. When a gaffe is noticed after the run, supervisors must then decide if it's so egregious that the whole thing must be reprinted at astronomical cost or if a We're-sorry will suffice.
The Rocky made the latter choice in relation to a super-lame May 17 Spotlight feature about the top-25 action heroes -- a filler piece of the sort the tab's been churning out with distressing regularity of late. (A search of the Rocky's site, as well as a Google search, failed to bring up an online version of the list -- an indication of how much pride the folks there take in it.) Fortunately, the goof is mighty amusing, recasting Robin Hood as a post-apocalyptic bad ass.
The correction read as follows:
The description for action hero Robin Hood on SPOTLIGHT 6 is incorrect. It should read: "The quintessential swashbuckler leads merry band of forest dwellers in brutal hand-to-hand skirmishes with the sheriff and his minions."
And here's the copy on the aforementioned page, accompanied by the above image of Robin Hood:
25. Sir Robin of Locksley: ROBIN HOOD
Actor: Erroll Flynn Action Cred: The grizzled, post-apocalyptic ex-cop is initially only in it for the gasoline, but ends up as the reluctant hero killing off mohawked bad guys in spectacular desert vehicle chases.
You guessed it: The text refers to Mel Gibson's Mad Max Rockatansky character -- and in fact, the same words appear in an accompanying Max Max blurb, which appears in ninth position on the roster. Still, the mix-up has the makings of a fine YouTube parody. Imagine Flynn, dressed in his tights and jaunty green hat, spouting British witticisms as he's being beaten to a pulp by spiked, leather-clad ruffians in the middle of the Australian outback.
Tally ho! -- Michael Roberts