Corrections
I‘ve noticed a new trend towards openness in the printing of corrections. Major newspapers are now publishing their policies and inviting readers to point out mistakes.
In the old days it was an editor’s judgment call. My personal approach was to look at the gravity of the error.
A spelling mistake is unfortunate, but unless it misleads by changing the meaning of the text it’s something that can be let go.
According to this report, Indian business daily Mint has taken things to a new level.
The paper seeks to live up to its slogan “Refreshing clarity in business”.
To mark the paper’s one year anniversary it published a full page corrections article. The article acknowledged the number of errors in the paper that year and who made them, whether it was reporters, subeditors, section editors or even the man at the top.
The article was even accompanied by graphics and pie charts.
Mint undertook a reader survey before launching. Common concerns included a dearth of quality reporters, advertorial passed off as news and journalists lacking accountability.
By providing clarity on corrections the paper has been true to its ethos and addressed the issue of accountability.
I wonder how many Australian newspaper managers though would be concerned about those reader perceptions raised in the Mint survey?
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