Corrections Policies in Local Television News: A Survey

Abstract

Recently television news has declined somewhat in credibility, and it is reasonable to assume that audiences would rate media higher if media owned up to mistakes made in broadcasts. A survey of 85 television news directors found that all did correct errors, but only about half the stations represented had a formal corrections policy and nearly no station had it written down. About one of six stations correct errors once a month. About half corrected errors about once every two months. Errors of fact rather than interpretation were far more likely to be corrected. Most news directors surveyed saw benefits in making corrections, but also expressed concern that corrections could cause their station to drop in credibility.