In today’s age of the race to be the first to break the story, it is inevitable that mistakes will be made. Should I happen to control my own publications, my publication would focus entirely on online news publication rather than print media.
Nevertheless, in the event a correction had to be made for such cases as inaccurate or incorrect information or misspellings and improper grammar, the correction would be made to the published story immediately, and a notice at the bottom of the page would indicate that the current version corrects the inaccurate information, while mentioning the original error. Misspellings would not get such notification unless the misspelling occurred in the course of naming a place, a person’s name or title, or other prominent information. Individual section editors would approve all corrections by default–no negotiation is possible, and corrections will be applied to all mistakes. Any individual who notices a mistake will bring it to the attention of the section editor. We made the mistake, and therefore, we must take responsibility (or else we might find ourselves facing a libel lawsuit).
For print publications, however, we will list any major corrections (such as incorrect information) on a special page towards the end of the paper. We will list the original error, and we will list the proper information alongside it.
The source or reason for the error will not be listed.
Our checklist will include verifying information and spelling for names, locations, and dates, as well as observing proper capitalization, grammar, and finally punctuation. The internet will be an invaluable tool for our fact-checking, alongside government documents, police records, and the like. We would apply the Associated Press Stylebook, as well as atlases and dictionaries among other resources to check word choice, and send the story through at least 2 or 3 readers before finally publishing it.
