Guides
How a correction and update log works, step by step
A correction and update log works step by step: open a case, preserve the version, test evidence, record the decision, document the repair, schedule closure.
When a published news report is challenged, the outcome may be a correction, a clarification, an update, or no change. A correction and update log records the evidence and decisions behind that outcome, including which published versions and distribution channels need repair.
What to take away
- Give every request a case number, so two desks cannot answer the same complaint twice.
- Snapshot the published version before you touch substantive content.
- Log five things per caseevidence, decision, exact edit, approver, distribution repair.
- Restrict sensitive material without erasing the audit trail.
- Set the retention period before a dispute makes that choice awkward.
A correction log is an operating record, not a list of embarrassing mistakes. It shows what was published, what evidence was checked, why a category was chosen, and which public surfaces were repaired. It also stops three desks from answering the same request three ways.
Readers see the public correction note; the internal log documents the decision and repair behind it. For related intake and follow-up practices, see the follow-up and correction checklist.
Step 1: open one case
Assign a case ID and record the request time and channel, the article URL and headline, the disputed passage, and the assigned editor.
Open a correction case
- Assign a case ID
- Record request time and channel
- Note article URL and headline
- Quote the disputed passage
- Name the assigned editor
- Log requester and contact details
- Set review deadline and possible harm
Note the requester and contact details where appropriate, plus possible harm and the review deadline. Keep allegations separate from confirmed findings. A source's complaint proves a dispute exists, not that the story is wrong.
Step 2: preserve the starting point
Save the text, headline, media, metadata, and visible timestamps readers actually received. Record the content-management revision number or take a controlled snapshot. Preserve partner-feed and alert wording when the disputed fact ran there too. Personal data, unpublished notes, or legally sensitive material may need access controls.
Preserve the starting point
- Save text, headline, media, metadata
- Capture visible timestamps readers saw
- Record CMS revision number or snapshot
- Preserve partner-feed and alert wording
- Apply access controls to sensitive material
The National Archives' guidance on managing web records calls reliability, authenticity, integrity, and usability traits of trustworthy records. It names version control, snapshots, and change logs as the way to document changing web content.
Apply those recordkeeping ideas without treating every copy edit as a public correction. Version preservation earns its keep when a record changes upstream: the log preserves which version supported the original claim.
Step 3: test the evidence
Build an evidence table instead of an email chain.
Evidence table fields
Item
- Original document
- Issuing body
- Interview recording
- Newsroom file
- Data release
- Named agency
- Court filing
- Court record
Source
- Original document
- Date and time
- Interview recording
- Date and time
- Data release
- Version time
- Court filing
- Filing time
Time checked
- Original document
- May later be amended
- Interview recording
- Speaker may dispute meaning
- Data release
- Subject to revision
- Court filing
- Not a judicial finding
Limits
- Original document
- Interview recording
- Data release
- Court filing
| Item | Source | Time checked | What it establishes | Limits |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Original document | Issuing body | Date and time | Exact recorded fact | May later be amended |
| Interview recording | Newsroom file | Date and time | Words and context | Speaker may dispute meaning |
| Data release | Named agency | Version time | Values and definitions | Subject to revision |
| Court filing | Court record | Filing time | Allegations and request | Not a judicial finding |
Step 4: record the decision
Choose one category:
- no change
- copy edit
- update
- clarification
- correction
- editor's note
- withdrawal
- retraction Write one sentence on why that category fits, and name the approving editor. High-risk cases get a legal or standards review noted in the file, without implying counsel decided the facts.
Category calls are hardest on election instructions. The log should record whether the instructions were wrong when published or changed afterward, along with the evidence supporting that distinction. For related examples, see Election reporting problems and fixes.
Step 5: document the repair
Paste old and new wording into the private log. The public note states what was corrected and what the accurate information is.
Record every repaired surface, its transmission time, and the person responsible. If a partner cannot update immediately, keep that item open. Live pages carry the longest repair list, so the log must track outstanding repairs as well as completed ones.
Step 6: close or schedule
Close the case only after the article and every material distribution surface is checked. If evidence is still pending, set a follow-up time and an owner. A monthly review surfaces recurring causes: weak number checks, mislabeled file images, ambiguous result status.
Retention needs its own written rule. The National Archives' guide to scheduling federal records treats how long records are kept, and what happens afterward, as decisions made in advance through an approved schedule rather than case by case.
A newsroom log needs the same: a stated period, an owner, and a disposition, decided before a dispute makes them awkward.
Common questions
Should the log be public?
The public needs clear correction notes. The operational log may hold restricted source, legal, or personnel information, so keep the two separate.
Can two requests share a case?
Yes, when they concern the same article and the same issue. Preserve each requester and each response inside the shared case.
What closes a case?
A documented decision, a completed public repair, checked distribution surfaces, and no unresolved assigned task.
How long should records be kept?
Follow your organization's retention policy and any legal duties that apply to it. Name the owner and the disposition in advance.
