Correction: Billions, schmillions

“A billion here, a billion there and pretty soon you are talking real money,” goes a famous quote attributed to Sen. Everett McKinley Dirksen, the late, gravel-voiced Republican leader from Illinois.

The quote, which actually may not have been uttered by the great man, came to mind this morning when several sharp-eyed readers noted that I incorrectly stated here the price paid for the Minneapolis Star Tribune when McClatchy bought it in 1998. The value should be $1.2 billion, with a B. Not $1.2 million, as I originally wrote it.

Thanks to all of you who were kind enough to write in. This proves conclusively the value of copyeditors, if ever there were any doubt.