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TEMPLE: Web may help reduce print errors

By John Temple, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published February 23, 2008 at 12:30 a.m.

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I was always taught that the little things count.

Well, accuracy is no small thing.

But the only way to achieve it is by paying attention to detail. That's how we can produce the kind of precise, measured newspaper I believe is necessary to build and maintain your trust.

We've tried to build our identity based on three key principles established by my predecessor as editor, Bob Burdick. The most important is to make sure we do the basic blocking and tackling of our profession well. (The second is enterprise with an edge - essentially producing exclusive stories that make a difference. And finally, personality - everything from columnists and cartoonists to the way we write stories and headlines and choose photographs.)

Nothing is more important than accuracy.

That's one of the reasons that we developed a computer database to track our errors. Our philosophy on corrections is simple: We think it's critical to be open and responsive to people who question our work. If we learn we were wrong, we fix the mistake as quickly as possible.

The importance we place on this is emphasized by having our managing editor, Deb Goeken - the person responsible for our day-to-day news operation - personally handle corrections. Her phone number is on NEWS 2 every day.

Each year Deb produces a corrections report. The news on our performance last year is good.

We published 410 corrections in 2007, down from 547 the previous year. This 25 percent decline puts us at the lowest number of corrections since we began producing annual reports using this database in 2003.

I must admit I have mixed feelings about this dramatic improvement. First, obviously I'm pleased. But, second, I would be concerned if this drop reflects a lack of commitment to acknowledging mistakes.

So when we discussed the report at our newsroom management meeting this week, I reiterated the importance of not being defensive about correcting ourselves.

At that meeting, an interesting theory emerged for why we saw the decline, a theory that flies in the face of the concerns of some that not enough editing is being done in today's newsrooms.

The theory is this: Because stories are getting published on the Web before they go into the paper, we're catching mistakes earlier. Readers are part of the solution. They're noticing errors and letting us know about them before they ever hit print.

The reality is that our newsroom is very different today from a year ago. We are far more committed to reporting the news in real time on our Web site, updating stories throughout the day when events warrant.

A good example is our coverage of the appointment of Bruce Benson as CU president Thursday night. Reporter Kevin Vaughan blogged through the night and kept our Web site ahead of all our competitors.

We didn't publish his writing in the newspaper the next morning. But we were engaged much earlier and could see issues, questions or problems much more quickly.

Essentially, what's happening is that stories now go through two cycles - the Web cycle and the print cycle. Little gets on our Web site without at least one editor reviewing it. The reason I say little is that there are some blogs, including my own, that are not edited.

If we decide a story should be in the paper the next day, it goes back through the print process, which for a local news story typically means four editors read it before you see it.

When we find a mistake in a Web story, we fix it immediately and republish the story. If the mistake is something substantive, we not only fix it, we also attach a correction notice at the bottom of the story, telling readers that an earlier version of the story contained an error and explaining what it was. In rare cases, that notice can go at the top of a story.

So in a strange twist, in this the Internet era, we're actually doing more editing than when we weren't online. And I believe the result is that we're producing a more accurate newspaper.

John Temple can be reached at editor@RockyMountainNews.com or by mail at 101 West Colfax Ave., Suite 500, Denver, CO 80202.

Hall of shame

OK, these errors might not be our proudest moments from last year. But you've got to admit, they're strange, funny and, yes, embarrassing. With thanks, maybe, to Managing Editor Deb Goeken.

* One thing that is NOT illegal in Texas: We mistakenly said the Encyclopedia Brittanica is banned in Texas because it contains a recipe for making beer that could be used at home.

* Quite a feat: A chart said Jason Elam has been kicking for the Broncos since 1933.

* She earned her money that day! We ran the phone number of the publicist for Macbeth rather than the box office number for tickets.

* Journalists doing math: We reported that 75 percent of the state's school districts made "progress" in meeting math and reading goals under the No Child Left Behind Act. The correct percentage is 59 percent.

* One of those countries starting with an M: We said that a young man freed from the prison in Guantanamo Bay with the help of Denver civil rights attorney John Holland was from Mozambique. He was, in fact, from Mauritania.

* What you REALLY should know is that it's Ludwig van Beethoven: Headline was "You should know about Ludwig von Beethoven."

* You could look it up: We misidentified Noah Webster, who published the nation's first comprehensive dictionary in 1828, as American statesman and orator Daniel Webster

* But they look like twins: We meant to run a photo of the late Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro but instead ran a photo of Barbaro's full brother, a yet-to-be- named yearling.

* Spellcheck error of the year: We referred to Nuggets star Carmelo Anthony as "Caramel" Anthony.

* And, finally, this is what you get when you step in the muck: We said Smithfield pork production plants produce 26 tons of excrement a year. It should have been 26 million tons a year, enough to fill four Yankee Stadiums.

Comments

  • February 23, 2008

    4:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    DeckardB26354 writes:

    John:
    Your column was well worth the time - insightful, short-winded
    and breathes accountability. UNTIL, I reviewed the PageOne picture
    ...on the REVERSE of your testimony, where in blaring
    hypocrisy; the cutline errantly identifies MrsShields'
    escort as, "An Army OFFICER..." The SOLDIER is an NCO!
    You insult all of us, active and retired, when you place
    such little effort in verifying accuracy.
    Another insipid error by a liberal hack who fails to
    check even the simplest facts when it comes to honoring our
    military. How embarrassing. You ought to be ashamed of yourself. This elevates your treatise to absurdity. Reserve your 2-dollar wisdom to the penny-saver, where it belongs. What did we say in journalism school: Doctors bury their mistakes; we put ours
    on the front page. Thanks for listening. No reply necessary. (USAF editor,Retired)

  • February 24, 2008

    12:14 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    aeb1barfo writes:

    How about using the CORRECT words when describing the border problems and the people who cross ILLEGALLY?

    They are ILLEGAL ALIENS...This is the correct description found in the US Code...

    People are upset about ILLEGAL ALIENS, NOT PROPER IMMIGRANTS!!

    THERE IS A DIFFERENCE!!

    You blur the distinction when you should be CLARIFYING the situation.

  • February 24, 2008

    4:41 p.m.

    Suggest removal

    gkb2008 writes:

    I hope to see a column by John Temple reflecting on his years at the now defunct Albuquerque Tribune and his viewpoint on the rising numbers of newspapers disappearing across the nation.

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