Not every change is a crash. And not every company stumble is terminal. Failure to get it right is one thing. Failing to take responsibility is more dangerous, particularly for the financial press. Simple mistakes can damage a company, distort the market and destroy trust.
Financial reporters have to know what they write matters.
The damage is done before you can run a correction. It can affect not only the buying and selling of stock, but also whether a company can borrow on the credit markets. A simple, honest mistake on deadline can ripple out to harm a company before the reporter even gets home. It's always important to get it right. But it's even more critical in the financial press than in general, non-business news.