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May 26, 2007

Dear AP Sounding Board members,

Rochester, Tucson, Palm Beach, Seattle, Lancaster and Detroit replied to the latest Sounding Board survey online corrections practices. Editor John Bartosek of The Palm Beach Post proposed the questions as a follow up to our recent query on newspaper corrections.

It's no surprise that online fixes are treated with the same high priority as mistakes in print editions. Online stories with corrected information are normally labeled as such and archived versions are updated with the amended information. Two members said they have corrections links, and a third transmits a daily roundup of corrections. Three don't have links.

Written policies for online correctives seem to be evolving in most cases. For members looking for guidance, Seattletimes.com guidelines for corrections (below) should be helpful.

Special thanks again to Bartosek for proposing the survey, and to the six members who responded. Results will be shared with AP's news managers and posted on the Sounding Board link.

— Dave Minthorn

The questions:

1, For stories routinely posted online from print, do you update the posted story when a print correction runs (usually a day or two later when the link is no longer on the home page)?

2, When correcting that type of story, do you simply correct the online file with the proper information, or do you append the actual correction to the file? Do you put it at the top, bottom, box on the side, or insert into the story at the relevant point?

3, For stories that break online (were not in print that morning), when later developments within minutes or hours reveal errors, how do you handle it? Do you immediately correct the online file without noting the error? Do you correct it and include a note that you did so, explaining what the error was or highlighting the sentence or paragraph that was changed? Do you leave the online file alone and simply append the correction to it? Do you writethru the story when you have later developments and simply fix it then?

4, Do you have a "corrections" link on your site that groups all corrections together, regardless of topic and regardless of whether the error first appeared in print or online?

5, Do you have a written policy for online corrections you would be willing to share?

Responses:

Traci Bauer, managing editor/multimedia and innovation, Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle:

1 No, we correct immediately after we realize the inaccuracy.

2, We just correct the information.

3, Depends on the severity. Rarely would we attach a correction. We go in and fix the story and update the timestamp.

4, No

5, No

John Bolton, online editor, Arizona Daily Star, Tucson:

1, Yes, our policy is to go back and correct the online version of the story, even if it is a few years old. Someone might have it bookmarked or find it via Google search.

2, It depends upon the type of error. With a simple fix such as the spelling of a name, we simply correct the misspelling. With more complicated errors that might affect the thrust of the story, we attach the correction as a top sidebar box. In extreme cases where an entire story is undercut, we've deleted the entire text of a story and substituted the corrective notice instead.

3, For small errors, we simply correct the online file. For something serious, we would include a note marking the change.

4, No, but there is a daily story rounding up that day's corrections under a headline "Correction" or "Corrections."

5, There isn't a specific written online policy – we follow our usual corrections policy written for print.

J. Bart Bartosek, editor, The Palm Beach (Fla.) Post:

1, Yes, we append all print corrections to the original story and add them to a list of all corrected stories from the past 30 days.

2, We always append the correction itself in the left-hand box. If it's a simple correction, such as a misspelling or wrong title, etc., we'll make the change within the story as well. If it's a more nuanced correction that would require substantial rewriting, we leave the story as is.

3, All of the above, actually. Generally, when dealing with breaking news that we're receiving in small chunks, we write through the story with the new information and don't label it as "corrected" in any way. If we get a correction to a story that's already pretty substantial, we'll make the change, highlight it in bold and note the correction in the left rail.

4, The corrections link shows all stories for which we run print corrections. We currently do not add breaking news feeds to that list.

5, Nothing official.

Kathy Best, managing editor, Digital News and Innovation, The Seattle Times:

1. Yes, we do.

2. Print stories archived in the web system are written through to correct the error. The reasoning behind that decision: The web is worldwide and when people call up a story from our archive, we want it to be correct.

Today, a note appears at the top of the story telling readers it is a corrected version and explaining the details of the correction. Here's an example:

"Information in this article, originally published May 10, 2007, was corrected May 10, 2007. A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Egan Orion, an event producer who plans to stage the Pride festival at the Seattle Center, has three children. Orion doesn't have children."

We will soon be changing this so that the first line will appear at the top of the story, but the detailed explanation of the correction will move to the bottom of the story.

3. This is a much trickier issue and we are in the middle of drafting a new policy to deal with it. Now, we correct errors as soon as they are noticed but generally do not include a note. (In the case of breaking news stories where information from a source changes, we will say in the text something like "three children were injured in the fire. Earlier reports from police had indicated that only two children were injured.")

The system we are thinking of adopting would require that fixes for factual errors must be noted. The words "corrected version" would appear above the headline. And a line below the story would explain the error in earlier versions.

4. Yes, we have a corrections link that groups all corrections together.

5. Here is our written policy on corrections:

Seattletimes.com guidelines for corrections:

Seattletimes.com is committed to the accuracy and clarity of its news report, to building an accurate record over time, and to maintaining trust and credibility with the public. To that end, we will make it a priority to correct all substantive errors or misleading information on Seattletimes.com and in our archives. Further, we will clarify, explain or elaborate on published items (whether in stories, headlines, photographs, captions or graphics) that could create misunderstandings, misimpressions or confusion on the part of a significant number of readers.

When the newspaper publishes corrections, we should also post the corrections on the Web site. All corrections are listed for 30 days on a corrections page on the site with a link from the home page.

We should correct the online story, photo caption, graphic, etc. as soon as possible once a mistake is noticed and to ensure the mistake is not perpetuated. We also include a note at the top of the story to make it obvious to the reader that a story has been corrected. (See samples below.)

For online only errors, we should fix the error as soon as possible and also add a correction at the top of the story, if necessary. For guidelines on errors that require a correction, see Guidelines for addressable errors.

If a correction requires significant rewriting of the original story, talk to the editor before making the fix.

SAMPLE #1

Correction published in the newspaper: A section: Foot-and-mouth disease is deadly to cloven-footed animals. A Sunday story on an outbreak of the disease in South Korea erroneously said it was not deadly to animals.

Correction published online: Information in this digest, originally published May 5, was corrected May 8. Foot-and-mouth disease is deadly to cloven-footed animals. A previous version of this story said it was not deadly to animals.

SAMPLE #2

Clarification published in the newspaper: Local, clarification: A story on Archbishop Desmond Tutu, "A Life Leading to Greatness," that appeared Monday reported that he was ordained an Episcopal priest in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tutu was ordained in the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church.

Clarification published online: Clarification: Information in this article, originally published May 6, was clarified May 8. A previous version of this story on Archbishop Desmond Tutu reported that he was ordained an Episcopal priest in Johannesburg, South Africa. Tutu was ordained in the Anglican Communion, which includes the Episcopal Church.

Steve Brody, wire editor, Lancaster (Pa.) New Era:

1, Yes.

2, We correct the online file.

3, We fix the online copy.

4, No.

5, To my knowledge, we don't have a separate policy.

Sue Burzynski, managing editor, The Detroit News:

1, In most cases, we are alerted by an editor or reporter that a story contains a mistake. We consider it a high priority to fix the mistake online as quickly as possible. Because stories can appear in multiple sections on the Web site, we make sure that the fix is made in the story wherever it appears.

2, We make the fix in the story online as quickly as we learn that an error has occurred.

3, We immediately correct the story online without noting the error.

4. No, we do not have a link to all corrections on the Web site.

5, We follow the newspaper's policy for correcting errors. We are in the process of writing a policy for online that will take into account the constantly changing nature of the Web site.

AP's online corrections practices, summarized by Online News chief Steve Johnson and Online News supervisor Joe Persek:

If the corrective is "in cycle," AP Online will re-file the story with a line or two at the bottom stating what was fixed. If it's older, we send a separate corrective just like the print wires do. Then we re-file the story with FIXED in the slug and with the corrective at the top of the text and a corrected version of the story following.

In breaking news, if "later developments" reveal errors not originating from AP, we would note in the story who said what earlier and why it's apparently not true. If it is our error, it is handled as an "in cycle" corrective. We fix the story and append an explanation to the bottom.

AP Online's hosted site has a Corrections tab with all correctives and links to the stories:

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/fronts/HOME?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME

Dave Minthorn, manager, AP News Administration, coordinates the questions and answers. Newspaper editors wishing to suggest a topic can send an e-mail to Minthorn at dminthorn@ap.org.

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