How Indian PR Pros get Journalists to Correct Story Errors

Archana Ramesh, senior vice president - of business and operations, at Passion 4 Communication says, "Once a story is published, it can spread rapidly, especially in the digital age. Amendments often struggle to catch up, making it difficult to fully mitigate the impact of inaccurate information. Publications may hesitate to make changes to maintain editorial independence and it is advisable to avoid setting a precedent for frequent alterations.

We can shift our perspective on amendments, viewing them not just as corrections but as part of an evolving narrative where stories grow and change organically over time. While correcting genuine mistakes is important, changing published stories isn't always simple or beneficial. It's often better to focus on accurate reporting from the start and to be transparent about necessary updates."

It is important to understand whether the changes are typos or fundamental changes in the story angle. The latter is naturally harder.

Arjun Ramesh, senior manager - public relations, ON PURPOSE says, " Recently, we had an instance where a major publication ran a story with several inaccuracies regarding a client’s policies. Instead of reacting defensively, we first spoke to the journalist, explaining our side of the story in detail. In doing so, we were able to establish a rapport with the journalist and this laid the groundwork for a constructive dialogue.

Following our conversation, we sent a respectful email which summarized our conversation and concern and provided a detailed, fact-based explanation of the inaccuracies. By providing relevant publicly available sources/ documents and outlining the specific corrections needed, we made it easy for them to understand our perspective."

Michelle Pereira, co-founder and director, ElleQuinn Communications LLP shares that ElleQuinn works with a lot of B2B technology clients. 

She says, "In this space, we experience a lot of coverage errors. Some are about products, and sometimes, factual inaccuracies about data. Working with international clients also results in errors in the spokesperson's name and designation. Sometimes, a quote is misunderstood, and the client requests a rectification of the quote as well. We adopt several methods to get the error amended, always with the client's satisfaction as our top priority.

For online stories, we send an email with the supporting document and respectfully request the journalist for an edit. As a preventive measure, we record every interview and send the transcript to the journalist for reference. If there is an error after that, we approach the journalist, referring to the recording and transcript, always mindful of their time and efforts.

If it is a print story, and a photograph has been miscaptioned or there is a factual error, we send an email to the concerned journalist with a copy to the bureau chief with the correction required."

Gaurav Bhat, account director, of Adfactors PR explains, "Timing and tone are crucial. Contact the journalist as soon as you notice the error, and do so with a polite and understanding tone. Avoid being confrontational. Explain the mistake clearly and provide evidence to support your request for correction. Offering a solution or an alternative angle can also help make the amendment more appealing to the journalist."

 Ranita Samanta, senior PR professional says "I have amended 'N' number of stories by requesting the journalists who have done the story just by emailing to them. My strategy is that the subject line of the email would be so catchy and humble that it becomes impossible to not notice. Once the writer journalist notices then we can consider that half of the work is done for us. 

Being compact in the email, with the changes you want, is very important rather than unnecessary lines. I have successfully amended stories by journalist friends in PTI, Money Control, Times Now, Financial Express, Swarajya and a lot of other publications."

"Now my mantra is to check a written piece of communication left to right, line by line before sending it out to the media."

Poonam Mahajan,  director, Apexx Media advice is to spend some time on, "Understanding policies. Different publications have varying policies regarding corrections. Familiarize yourself with these policies to frame your request appropriately and understand what to expect in terms of response time and the correction process. 

Mahajan adds, "In digital media, corrections are more frequently made if timely action is taken and correct information, supported by authentic sources and data, is provided. However, in print media, corrections cannot be made post-publication. In such cases, requesting a corrigendum is a complex option. If necessary, consider issuing a public statement to manage public perception while working on obtaining the correction."

Kishor Barua, Director, Pitchfork Partners, "Getting amendments done in an already published story can be a tricky one for communication professionals. But it totally depends on the nature of the changes. One thumb rule to follow - Do not force, instead convince the journalist for corrections.

If it's factual inaccuracy then it's always good to identify it early and inform the concerned journalist, provide necessary facts, data, correct names etc. depending on the error. A simple conversation explaining why the changes are necessary can be good enough. If it's a significant error then a retraction can be suggested for an online story, for print, you can request for corrigendum."