A quick thought about this adjudication:
Press Complaints Commission >> News.
The common thread seems to be that the online version of the story was unsubbed, unrefined PA copy.
Now there *may* be an argument that it was an automated feed, although I think it’s unlikely.
But no editor would let untouched copy in their paper, so why do it online? I’ve said it elsewhere on this blog; just because you can put it all up doesn’t mean you should.
In lots of the cases in this adjudication, the original version didn’t make the paper. The offending detail was removed, by subs who know the rules.
Standards, codes, ethics, quality; these rules still apply. Hell, there are enough old-school hacks who say these are the things that set us apart from ‘bloggers in pyjamas’, so why aren’t they adhered to online?
It’s the point that inspired me to start this blog in the first place, back in the days when I was full-time subbing. The web DOES need subs.
Whatever you call them, whatever else they do, the checking/editing/rewriting/makingbetter person is a vital part of news production.
Sam Shepherd 