Deadlines mean some of these photo searches become rushed efforts. Rather than assign a photographer to take a new photo, editors sometimes head to The Star library to find a previously used photo. Occasionally, these searches result in errors. If an editor fails to read an identification on a photo, it's big trouble. It means the wrong person appears and a correction must run to straighten out the confusion.
Some bloopers are especially appalling.
The July 30 Preview section included such a gaffe on Page 26. To illustrate a calendar item about National Clown Week, an editor grabbed a clown photo out of a file and didn't check the name. The clown was John Wayne Gacy, a Chicago serial killer of children. To say that readers knew better is an understatement. I told all the neighbors.