Misspelled names are the sixth most common newspaper error

Poynter.org
Mallary Jean Tenore — aka “Mallery,” “Malory” “Malary,” and “Melanie” — talks to Regret the Error’s Craig Silverman about the problem. He advises journalists to start every interview by asking for the correct spelling of the source’s name, and his or her title. Doing that, he says, sends a message that you’re committed to accuracy.