This newspaper, like most other print media, strives to always report stories as accurately as possible. That’s sometimes challenging, especially considering constant deadlines and the fact our reporters and editors have to become experts on subjects in very short order.
Despite our best efforts, misspellings, misunderstandings, missing context and other errors show up in print and online. Online errors can typically be corrected immediately once they are discovered. It’s harder to fix errors once they’ve been printed on more than 10,000 papers.
For years The Dispatch, like many other newspapers, has buried news corrections and clarifications inside the paper.
For those whose words or actions are mischaracterized or just plain wrong, this has been a frustrating, unfair policy.
Beginning today, we are taking the approach that front page errors deserve front page corrections.
News corrections will now appear toward the bottom of the front page, and they will have their own mini-headline.
The errors we make are unintentional and never meant to be malicious, but, regardless, they are unfair to people we feature in our articles and erode trust in our paper. It’s important that we identify errors and correct them in a transparent manner. We think this new policy is an important step toward those goals.
If you see something that isn’t accurate, please let us know. The easiest way is to call us at (662) 328-2424 or email [email protected]
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
