Conexus Financial has a clear policy on how to handle corrections in all of its publications: I&T News, Investment Magazine, Professional Planner, Professional Planner Online and Top1000funds.com.
At the core of the policy is a simple philosophy: errors must be acknowledged, and they must be corrected transparently, quickly and appropriately.
One approach to corrections is to pretend that we never make mistakes. That is easy, of course; but it is also dishonest. If we make a mistake we must own up to it, and correct it. We must not try to bury it, hope that no one notices it, or ignore it.
To some, the increased frequency of corrections in recent months suggests that we are making more mistakes than we used to. In fact, we are simply being more proactive about addressing them. Actively addressing errors puts greater pressure on us to be right in the first place. There is nowhere to hide. But that is part of a commitment to accurate reporting.
The Conexus corrections policy was put to the test last week. We attracted criticism for how we mishandled a sensitive story, and for its subsequent correction. Even though criticism of the original mistake is valid, we must continue to correct errors when we know about them and to make apologies where necessary. We cannot apologise for wanting actively to set the record straight.
