GUIDELINES ON CORRECTIONS

As our boilerplate that runs every day on the lower left-hand corner of page A2 states, "The Wenatchee World strives for accuracy, but when errors occur in print, we want to correct them as soon as possible. All corrections appear on this page, regardless of where the errors occurred. If you believe information printed in The World is incorrect, please call 665-1161 or 664-7139, or e-mail us at newsroom@wenworld.com"

Errors deserving corrections include all factual inaccuracies and any misspelled proper nouns. Our threshold for corrections is low. If there's a question about whether an error merits a correction, we should err on the side of correcting.

When appropriate, corrections may be printed also on the front of the section in which the error appeared. For example, if a features section brief included the wrong date, time or place of an imminent event, we'd consider printing a correction on page C1 the next day, along with the A2 correction. The C1 correction would be in addition to, not instead of, the correction on A2.

A correction should explain what the error was and, when appropriate, how it occurred. It may be necessary to repeat the error. This is OK. If it's pertinent to describe how the error occurred, we may say that the error resulted from an editing error or because a reporter misread public records, for examples. Only rarely should we blame the source of bad information, because after all, we're ultimately responsible for the accuracy of all information we publish.

Though we are sorry whenever we make a mistake, apologies sound hollow if issued with every correction. However, we should consider apologizing when the error sullies someone's character or inconveniences readers. We have no formula for expressing regrets; let the apology suit the circumstances. We might apologize to readers in general or directly to the individual we made look bad.

When it's appropriate to make clarifications, round out stories that might have been one-sided, add context, or allow sources to clarify what they really meant to say, we'll consider using Reader Rep to clear things up. These explanations needn't be long, and may be written by reporters or editors who aren't currently serving as the Reader Rep.

Protocol: Anyone noticing an error in any part of the paper should bring the error to the attention of an editor, who will determine whether a correction is warranted. The person who made the error should write the correction. An explanation of the error should be provided to the managing editor, preferably via e-mail, by whoever caused it to be published. The explanation should describe how the error occurred and how it could have been avoided, and include the text of the correction.