An exercise in corrections

1. In the Boston Globe, all corrections appear on page A2 in "For the record." Corrections can be emailed or called in where they will then be reviewed. The Globe services FAQ section states that they will print corrections of wrong information, clarifications that give more/clearer information, omissions that were not included in the original article, amplifications of pertinent information accidentally not included, and editor's notes that include explanations.

2. Seacoast Media Group (SMG) which includes the Portsmouth Herald, York Weekly and Hampton Union, did not have a formal policy for corrections listed. On the SMG services website, there is a page where readers can submit correction information which SMG will then "confirm and post it immediately."

3. The Concord Monitor was perhaps the hardest to track down of the three organizations I looked at. I couldn't find a policy, guidelines or FAQ page anywhere on their site. There is no listing for what corrections are accepted and how they are reviewed, just a page to submit.

One thing I found very interesting while trying to find correction policies for news organizations is that very few have a formal policy for readers to look at. While the Boston Globe did have a thorough and formal policy, it wasn't easy to locate. Many organizations just had a submission page or email address of the person to contact with no explanation and no guidance. I have a major problem with this. First of all, if one person or even a small team of people are reading and approving corrections, they should have a written set of guidelines to follow so that the column in which corrections appear remains consistent. Also, if a policy is not available, readers have no basis on which to trust that an organization will follow through in investigating corrections and publishing them. The lack of transparency could come back to bit them. I think it is very important to have a formalized corrections policy readily available to readers. I also think it's wise to make it easy to find via the publication's website.

My correction policy stresses the importance of accuracy and guides the reader through each step of the corrections process so that there is no confusion. I also point out the differences regarding print and online, which is important to tell readers because the two function in very different ways. The correction policy for my news organization is as follows:

At the Ginwala News Corporation, we value the accuracy of our reporting and overall information and are committed to correcting errors in a timely manner. We request that you inform us of any errors by sending an email to corrections@ginwalacorp.com or by calling 603-867-5309. We will then verify and publish the correction. All corrections, clarifications and editor's notes will be printed in the Corrections Column on page 4. Online corrections will be added within the original article. A note informing the public of the correction will appear at the end of the article.