Usually when you pick up the Skiff, you’ll notice a sports picture on the left-hand side inviting you to flip to page 6. Or maybe you just want to check the weather forecast at the bottom of the page. Unfortunately, that space has been devoted to housekeeping this week with a slew of corrections and clarifications, which is something we are not proud of.
Accuracy is paramount to the Skiff. It’s what we strive for. However, in the process of reporting and delivering the news to you, we will inevitably make mistakes. But when we do, we’ll make sure that you know it, and we’ll take steps to amend them.
As the campus community’s newspaper, it is our duty to report the news fairly and accurately, and it is extremely important to us that you trust our commitment to do our job right. That is why all corrections are prominently displayed on the front page, where most, if not all readers, will see them. This is the case whether the glitch occurred on page 1 or on page 6. While most newspapers print corrections, only a small number of those print all corrections on the front page. It is not a universal practice, even among professional newspapers.
Just like we are not above making mistakes, we are not above admitting our mistakes where everyone can see. We do this for the sake of transparency. While we cannot promise you perfection, we can promise you a commitment to accuracy. We owe it to you.
We don’t particularly enjoy airing our dirty laundry, but we understand that being transparent helps build trust in our relationship with you, our reader.
That being said, our relationship with you is not a one-way street. The opinion page is a forum for public discussion, and we invite you to give us your feedback, whether positive or negative. Just yesterday the Skiff ran a letter to the editor criticizing a news article that ran in the newspaper this week and pointing to an error in a front-page photo caption. We want to know what you think so we can improve our product.
We value your readership and your input, as well as our place in this community. Our mission is no other than to serve you.
Editor-in-chief Julieta Chiquillo is a senior news-editorial journalism from San Salvador, El Salvador.
