Online archives policy

The College Media Advisers members-only listserv has been buzzing lately about online archives policies. Apparently, everyone is discovering that their names show up in online searches, so every split infinitive and muddle-headed article they wrote for the college paper (not to mention “youthful indiscretions”) is coming back on them like heartburn after 8 pieces of pizza.

This is nothing new. I wrote about it for Keeping Free Presses Free for the last two years (here’s an online version of the article).

Gerry Hamilton at the Penn State Daily Collegian posted their online archives policy to the listserv. The policy is not online yet, so I got his permission to repost it here for people who may not have access to the listserv, and also so it’ll show up in search results. I’ll add more examples as I come across them.

The Daily Collegian Online does not remove content, including but not limited to articles, columns, editorials, photos and letters to the editor, from online archives once the content has been published in any format, though all final decisions rest with the editor in chief. The Collegian also has no control over the ranking in commercial search engines, like Google.

Updates or corrections may be added if the material is factually
inaccurate, but nothing will be removed. In the event of a correction, a note detailing the date and time of the change will be included.

Procedure:

To make a complaint that archived content is inaccurate, contact the editor in chief in writing by letter or e-mail with the following information:

-Name, telephone number and e-mail address
-The url address of the content in question
-The specific content that is inaccurate and an explanation of how the information is inaccurate

In the case of content published more than one year ago, the complaintant must provide reasonable proof to the editor that the content in question is no longer accurate. For example, a copy of expungement papers should be provided in case any criminal charges are dropped. If published more than a year ago, contested quotes are highly unlikely to be amended without written or audio documentation.

If the contested content was published less than a year ago, normal internal procedures for checking the material’s accuracy will apply and you may be asked to provide written documentation.

The request will be reviewed and checked by the editor and if the editor determines it to be valid, an update or correction will be posted.