We're not sure if this was distributed on purpose or in error, but the Guardian's corrections guide recently ended up in Nexis. It's an interesting look behind the scenes of how one newspaper has standardized its correction/clarification/apology format.
The following correction/apology text must be added to the top of articles for ALL corrections, even to what you may think are minor changes such as misspellings of names:
For Guardian corrections:
The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, day month date year (Friday October 20 2006)Insert correction text here, using 'In the article below ...' or '... as stated in the article below' instead of the headline and date of the article.
Guardian apologies:
The following apology was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, day month date year Insert apology here, with 'In the article below ...' or '... as stated in the article below' instead of the headline and date of the article.
For Observer corrections:
The following correction was printed in the Observer's For the record column, Sunday October 30 2005Insert correction text here, with 'In the article below ...' or '... as stated in the article below' instead of the headline and date of the article.
Observer apologies:
The following apology was printed in the Observer's For the record column, day month date year Apology here, with 'In the article below ...' or '... as stated in the article below' instead of the headline and date of the article.
IMPORTANT: Check the correction text you've added clearly explains the mistake made or reason for the apology.
How to do corrections
1) Print out the Corrections and clarifications column for the relevant day. Check the column against the print version and make sure all the corrections have been uploaded correctly. The column should end with the contact details for the readers' editor.
2) You need to write on this print-out what you've done to each story. If you've changed the article because it was a minor factual thing (see 5) then write 'changed in text, paragraph X'. If you've just added the correction text at the top of the article, write 'Corr at top'. This will make it much easier for whoever checks your corrections.
3) Find stories by going to Eek and searching by headline through the 'Search Archive' link on the left-hand sidebar.
4) When you find the right story, go into it using the link that says 'MBT edit article' If you cannot find it using this tool, it should be easy enough to find by going into Editor's Index and changing the date to the date the article was published. It's a lengthier process, but sometimes more dependable.
5) Edit the story as normal. If the correction is something very simple, like a misspelled word or wrong date, then change it, ALWAYS add the correction to the top of the article, set the story ready to live and refresh the page.
6) If the correction is more complicated, then you must add the correction to the top of the story, using the text above. Do not change the article, but if in doubt, ask someone. Corrections are important things with legal ramifications, and it's better to talk to someone else about what to do rather than land us in enormous amounts of trouble by doing the wrong thing.
7) IMPORTANT: All apologies must have the full apology added to the top of the article - even if it looks to you like it could be easily fixed in the text. This is a legal obligation, so if the word 'apologise' is anywhere in the correction, add the full text to the top of the article with the code outlined at the beginning of these instructions.
8) Whenever you live a story, copy and paste the url of the relaunched story into a Word document or email. When you've finished all the corrections, email [email protected] with the urls.
9) Put the annotated print-out in the folder on the Production desk with your name on it.
10) Get someone else in Production to check your corrections.
Eh voila. The readers' editor is now happy and your butt is well and truly covered.
