Perhaps nothing is more dangerous to the credibility of a newspaper than mistakes. It's bad to make them, even worse not to admit them. Newspapers try very hard not to make mistakes, and yet we do commit them. The survey, taken by the American Society of Newspaper Editors, also reported that people who have had experiences with the news process are most critical of the media. The ASNE survey reported that 24 percent of the people interviewed said they had been misquoted and that 31 percent had found factual errors in newspapers.
Most newspapers do correct their mistakes.
The Independent publishes its corrections on the record page. Our editors chose this page because our local surveys have established that, other than Page 1, it is the best-read page in the newspaper. It's important that readers of The Independent know they can correct the record whenever a mistake is made. Simply call the newspaper and report the mistake. Our reporters always check out the mistake before they make a correction, however.