The 'Report on Accuracy and The Associated Press' contained this March 3, 1978, material from The Associated Press National Radio Wire:
CBS led its 1 p.m., EST newscast with the A.P. report that President Tito of Yugoslavia was dead. It wasn't so, as this reproduction of A.P. copy shows. The numbers are inserted to show the sequence of events.
1. BULLETIN BELGRADE - PRESIDENT TITO OF YOGOSLAVA IS DEAD. AP 0303 12:46 PES ------ 2. NEWS DIRECTORS: KILL BELGRADE TITO DEAD. AP 0303 1301 PES ------ 3. BULLETIN KILL NEWS DIRECTORS: KILL BELGRADE TITO DEAD. AP 0303 1302 PES ------ 4. BULLETIN KILL KILL THE TITO BULLETIN. TITO IS NOT DEAD. AP 0303 1302 PES ------ 5. NEWS DIRECTORS: A KILL HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED ON THE BELGRADE REPORT THAT PRESIDENT TITO IS DEAD. THE REPORT WAS ERRONEOUS. TITO IS NOT DEAD. A KILL IS MANDATORY. MAKE NO FURTHER USE OF THIS STORY. AP 0303 1304 PES ------ 6. BULLETIN KILL NEWS DIRECTORS: KILL BELGRADE TITO DEAD. AP 0303 1311 PES ------ 7. NEWS DIRECTORS: THE BELGRADE TITO DEATH STORY HAS BEEN KILLED. A KILL IS MANDATORY. MAKE NO FURTHER USE OF THE STORY. IT IS ERRONEOUS, TITO IS NOT DEAD. AP 0303 1311 PES ------ 8. NEWS DIRECTORS: A FALSE REPORT THAT YUGOSLAVIAN LEADER TITO WAS DEAD WAS CARRIED ON THE AP BROADCAST WIRE. TITO IS NOT DEAD. THE ITEM WAS TAKEN FROM PREPARDEDNESS COPY BEING WRITTEN IN THE EVENT OF TITO'S DEATH. SHORTLY, WE WILL HAVE A BROADCASTABLE STORY EXPLAINING HOW THE ERROR OCCURRED. AP 0303 1332 PES ------ 9. THE BROADCASTABLE STORY. B856 (TITO EXPLANATORY) NEW YORK -- THE FIRST PARAGRAPH OF AN ARTICLE BEING PREPARED FOR THE OBITUARY FILES OF THE ASSOCIATED PRESS ON PRESIDENT TITO, SAYING HE HAD DIED, WAS TRANSMITTED IN ERROR TODAY ON THE AP'S NATIONAL BROADCAST WIRE. THE PARAGRAPH MOVED ON THE BROADCAST WIRE AT12:46 P.M. EST, AND WAS KILLED APPROXIMATELY 10 MINUTES LATER. THE ITEM WAS NOT TRANSMITTED TO NEWSPAPERS AND WAS NOT DISTRIBUTED ABROAD. THE STORY WAS BEING PREPARED ROUTINELY FOR BACKGROUND AND WAS NOT CONNECTED IN ANY WAY WITH CURRENT NEWS. AP 0303 1334 PES