1. If you make a mistake, correct it.
It is a fallacy to think that your credibility will suffer if you correct or apologize. It is a strength, not a weakness, to be sensitive to the truth.

2. Understand the complaint.
Get the complainant to make clear what exactly was wrong with the story and why he or she is complaining. You certainly do not want to have to apologize a second time.

3. Do it quickly.
The sooner you correct a mistake, the better. The longer wrong information is allowed to circulate, the greater is the damage. Also, if a libel is involved, you will want to apologize within the prescribed period provided for in the applicable defamation statute.

4. Beware of the consequences.
You must always be responsive and sensitive to the truth and to the concerns of your readers, complainants and staff. But if you want to apologize for breaching someone's legal rights, think of the effect on your rights to.

5. In your apology, don't say anything that is not actually known by you to be true.
Presumably you have already made a factual error. Do not compromise both your responsibility and your dedication to accuracy by compounding your error. For example, do not say that the complainant is a great person if you cannot prove it or if you have evidence to the contrary. At times it may not be appropriate to cite a statement given to you by the complainant if there is no way of knowing if it is true or not.

6. In your apology, do not grovel.
Abject apologies often are not effective because they rarely appear genuine. Also, readers will harbour concerns about your sense of responsibility as editorial supervisors if you do not show a measured sense of fairness.

7. In your apology, do not be niggling.
Once you have decided to apologize, do so in a straightforward and genuine manner. Address yourself to the true sting of the words complained of and deal with it fully.

8. In your apology, do not be cute.
Do not try to create any false impression in apologizing. For example, do not set up the apology as a letter to the editor if it is not, or as an advertisement.

9. Do not hide it.
Give the apology similar prominence to the item complained of. At least put it on the same page as the original story. Do not put it on the comic page.

10. Keep a copy.
Keep a copy of the written apology if it is a letter. Keep a copy of any published apology. Keep any correspondence on the matter or any apology that was proposed to the complainant. All of this may be of use to you in the future.

© Blake, Cassels & Graydon

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