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As deputy managing editor for local and business news coverage, Barkin has charge of the largest number of news reporters on staff. In a diplomatically worded memo last week, he urged folks to return to the blocking and tackling of newspapering -- calling back sources to recheck facts; pencil-editing stories, line by line, after they're written; certifying checkable facts such as proper names, addresses, phone numbers. "It's the least fun part of what we do," he told me, "but the part that's the most important in the final analysis."

There are other matters relating to corrections that I have not heard discussed much here, but are brought up by readers. One is the practice, maddening to many, of corrections that don't say what the error was. One correction said a story illustration "incorrectly identified the deck gun on the German submarine U-701." As reader Dale Sherman asked me, "What was wrong? What should it be?"

The correction on the Bath story read, "A front-page article Wednesday should have said lawmakers traveled 140 miles east of Raleigh to celebrate the town of Bath's tricentennial." We are left to wonder, what was incorrect -- Lawmakers? Town of Bath? Tricentennial?

The newspaper's policy is not to repeat the error, so that it will stay out of circulation -- also, I think, out of embarrassment. But it strikes me that sometimes it's necessary, in the interest of clarity, to say what was wrong so readers will understand what's right. A correction should stand on its own.

Another troubling policy, for readers, is running corrections on page 2A, regardless of the severity of the error or where in the paper it occurred. That makes some sense, because readers know where to look for errata every day.

But it also means that corrections often aren't given the same prominence as the original error, so the damage goes unrepaired with readers who saw the error but not the fix. For that reason, a few newspapers display corrections on the front page of the section in which they occurred.

"We believe that sends a message to readers about our commitment to accuracy and credibility," said David House, reader advocate at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram.

That's overkill, some editors say. When it comes to credibility, I vote for too much rather than not enough.

Finally, newspapers too often don't recognize the words, "I'm sorry." Apologies aren't necessary for every error, but we should be sorry if we were wrong -- and not afraid to say so.

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