It is every editor’s nightmare: the blooper that isn’t picked up until after the magazine or newspaper is published. Robbie Stammers, award winning editor-in-chief of Cape Media and editor of Leadership magazine was caught between one high profile Mervyn King and another and unfortunately, the photograph of the wrong one landed up in the magazine.
Judge Mervyn King, the South African, is chairman of the King Committee on Corporate Governance in South Africa, which has published the King I, King II and King III Reports on Corporate Governance in South Africa.
The other Mervyn King is governor of the Bank of England, the man who today gave Britons a bit more economic bad news when he hinted at a rise in interest rates in May.
Both are eminent, decidedly distinguished and silver-haired gentlemen.
But Leadership’s photographic agency supplied the magazine with the image of the English gentleman, not South Africa’s leader of corporate governance. And the magazine went ahead and published, only to be damned shortly after the magazine came off the press – too late to stop!
“Oh c**p,” said Stammers. “My first and only blunder ever like this, to be honest! In a rush at year-end to get mags out, we got sent the wrong Mervyn King from our photographic supplier and only noticed the error after Leadership came off the press.
Stammers said he was ’embarassed’ over the mistake and swore it wouldn’t happen again.
“We have put the proper photo of him in the February edition of Leadership with a full page apology. It seems we are just as human at Leadership as everyone else….”
The apology reads:
“To Judge King and our readers
“It is with deep sincerity that we apologise for the incorrect photo of Mervyn King that appeared in the December edition of Leadership magazine.
“The photo was intended to be Judge Mervy King, the author of the King report on Corporate Governance for South Africa and not of Mervyn King, governor of the Bank of England.
“We hope it has not caused any inconvenience or embarrassment to either yourself or any organisations you represent.
“Again, our sincerest apologies for this error.”
Yours sincerely
Robbie Stammers
PS: The South African version is on the left.
