Wire services
Wire service corrections and kills
Short answer
- AP term for a fix to an earlier cycle
- Corrective 1
- AP online practice in 2009
- Overwrite the previous version of live stories 1
- AP audio reports with errors
- Eliminated and, when possible, replaced 1
- Reuters absolute
- Always correct an error openly 2
Why wire corrections are different
A news agency supplies stories to other outlets, and its fixes have to reach them. AP's archived 2009 statement said it sends separate corrective stories online as warranted 1. The Press Council of South Africa guidance makes a related point for all publishers: an error must be corrected on the same accounts and platforms where it was first published 3.
AP: corrections, correctives and eliminations
The Associated Press Statement of News Values and Principles, in a copy archived on 15 January 2009, told staff to notify supervisory editors of errors or potential errors as soon as possible. It said that when AP is wrong it must say so as soon as possible 1.
The statement said a correction must always be labelled a correction in the editor's note. It ruled out euphemisms such as recasts, fixes, clarifies or changes for a factual error 1. It defined a corrective as a story that corrects a mistake from a previous cycle 1.
For corrections on live online stories, AP said it overwrites the previous version and sends separate corrective stories online as warranted. Audio correspondent reports with factual errors were eliminated and, when possible, replaced with corrected reports 1.
| AP term | Meaning in the archived statement |
|---|---|
| Correction | Labelled as a correction in the editor's note 1 |
| Corrective | A story that corrects a mistake from a previous cycle 1 |
| Overwrite | Replaces the previous version of a live online story 1 |
| Elimination | An audio report with a factual error is pulled and, when possible, replaced 1 |
Reuters
The Reuters Handbook of Journalism lists ten absolutes of Reuters journalism. One of them is to always correct an error openly 2. The text read for this page does not describe how Reuters labels or distributes corrections.
Kills and withdrawals
No current agency rule on kills or withdrawals could be opened for this page. The AP statement read for this page, an archived 2009 copy, does not use the word kill. Its closest term is elimination, which it applies to audio reports 1.
Academic publishing has a written rule for the same problem. Elsevier withdraws an early article version published in error by removing the HTML and PDF and replacing them with a withdrawal page 4. That is a journal practice, not a wire practice, and is shown here only for comparison.
Agency fact-check units
Fact-checkers that sign the IFCN Code of Principles must publish a corrections policy and follow it. If the applicant is the fact-checking unit of a media company, the parent company must have and follow its own open and honest corrections policy 5.
Common questions
What is a corrective at AP?
In AP's archived 2009 statement, a corrective is a story that corrects a mistake from a previous cycle 1.
Does AP add a note or replace the story online?
The archived 2009 statement said AP overwrites the previous version of live online stories and sends separate correctives as warranted 1.
What does Reuters say about errors?
Its handbook lists always correct an error openly among its ten absolutes 2.
Rules and charges change. Check the official source linked on this page before you pay or travel. Spotted an error? Email hello@mediacorrections.org.
Sources
- The Associated Press: Statement of News Values and Principles (archived copy, UNT Web Archive, captured 15 January 2009)
- Reuters: Handbook of Journalism, Standards and Values (Accountable Journalism ethics code collection)
- Press Council of South Africa: Guidance note on publication of apologies and corrections (25 January 2021)
- Elsevier: Article Correction, Retraction and Removal Policy (company statement)
- International Fact-Checking Network: The commitments of the Code of Principles
Related
- How news corrections work
How newsrooms find, label and publish corrections, from ethics codes to outlet policies in the US, UK, Canada, South Africa and India.
- Editor's notes explained
What an editor's note means on a news story, how it differs from a correction or clarification, and who approves one, from published outlet policies.
- Silent edits and update transparency rules
When publishers may change a story without a note and when they must flag it, from codes, press council guidance, outlet policies and journal rules.
- Newsroom corrections policies compared
How published corrections policies at outlets in the US, Canada, Kenya, India and at fact-checkers compare on labels, placement and unpublishing.