歪歪漫画

No newspaper is perfect. Heck, we don鈥檛 claim to be.

Our role is to be 鈥渢he first rough draft of history鈥� 鈥� a phrase generally attributed to former Washington Post President and Publisher Philip Graham but one that all newspapers should claim. And as with any rough draft, revisions sometimes need to be made.

That鈥檚 why readers may occasionally see their local newspaper has printed a correction 鈥� a short paragraph or two, generally published in a consistent spot and written in a timely manner to let readers know a mistake was made, has been acknowledged and has been rectified.

There鈥檚 also a retraction, which is much more serious and which rarely ever happens with newspapers 鈥� despite readers鈥� requests or demands for it. More on retractions in a bit.

This is Trust Week, a time when Forum Communications Co. newspapers are publishing pieces we hope will help readers understand how we operate and why we do some of the things we do. Throughout this week, we鈥檝e written about a day in the life of a journalist, about news deserts and about stories that have made a difference in our communities.

Perhaps 鈥� in an incredible irony 鈥� something we鈥檒l write this week will have information that isn鈥檛 quite correct or doesn鈥檛 entirely explain a fact or context. If so, we鈥檒l publish one of the following options:

鈼� Correction: Most newspapers base their corrections on a uniform style to avoid subjective responses to mistakes. Generally, newspapers do not repeat the mistake but simply give the information as it should have been written in the first place. For example: 鈥�A story on Page 1 of Wednesday鈥檚 edition incorrectly listed the amount of funding to be used for a citywide cleanup project. The amount is $250,000.鈥�

鈼� Clarification: A clarification is used to make a point more clear, more intelligible or to fine-tune some particular fact. For example, the hypothetical story about the citywide cleanup might have said the funds for the project were from a federal grant, but a clarification would identify the particular department through which the dollars were made available, or that the dollars are part of a second round of federal grants and not to be confused with previous funding.

鈼� Amplification: This isn鈥檛 used often, but when needed, it can expressly expand a particular point. To continue the hypothetical example, it might explain how the federal cleanup funds are being distributed as the current presidential administration follows through on campaign promises to clean up cities and reduce harmful runoff into drinking water supplies.

Again, corrections, clarifications and amplifications usually publish in the same place in a newspaper, although the place differs depending on the publication.

Sometimes, corrections to online content occur almost in real time. When that happens, it usually means the mistake didn鈥檛 appear in print and therefore probably won鈥檛 be corrected in the printed newspaper, but instead will only be corrected in the online version. When that happens, there鈥檚 usually an editor鈥檚 note explaining the process.

We'll also occasionally clean up a casual grammatical or spelling error that we see after a story is published online. Generally, there won鈥檛 be a note explaining that.

Worst of all 鈥� certainly in this newspaper publisher鈥檚 opinion 鈥� is the retraction. These very rarely if ever occur, and only come when an egregious and wide-reaching mistake or reporting failure reaches publication. It鈥檚 often a full withdrawal of the story itself or an important fact upon which the story was based.

An example happened a few years ago in Colorado, when a daily newspaper retracted a 9/11 anniversary article that included fabricated quotes that 鈥渟ubstantially misrepresented the stories of its primary subjects.鈥�

Importantly, newspapers must be consistent about the publication of all four of these tools to either fix or improve a story. Newspapers also must publish corrections in a timely manner or face possible legal ramifications.

In the end, publishing correct and factual information isn鈥檛 just a newspaper鈥檚 responsibility, but our overarching goal. Above all else, we want our readers to be assured that we鈥檙e right 鈥� or at least trying our very best to be so.

Send us your feedback at trustweek@forumcomm.com .

Korrie Wenzel is publisher of the Grand Forks Herald and Prairie Business Magazine.