More readers are contacting the Guardian‘s readers’ editor, Elisabeth Ribbans, the newspaper’s readers’ editor, wrote April 19.
“The readers’ editor’s office is beginning its sixth week of working from home,” she wrote. “During this time, contact from readers has increased by about a fifth, so that we are now receiving more than 700 fresh enquiries – comments, queries, praise and complaints – each week.”
Most reader concerns are related to coronavirus, she wrote, noting that the Guardian has published “more than 7,000 items of editorial content with a connection to the coronavirus outbreak…since January.”
Ribbans reported on how the readers’ editor’s office has handled needed corrections or complaints about coronavirus coverage:
“Where significant errors are identified, for example those involving statistics, medical provision or national measures, we have moved as quickly as possible to remedy. We gauge that less than half a percent of articles have resulted in corrections on such key matters, although many more claims of inaccuracy will be investigated and mistakes rectified where necessary.”
In addition, Ribbans explained why the Guardian capitalizes COVID-19, noting a medical specialist asked about it. According to Ribbans, the Guardian‘s style guide calls for “acronyms pronounced as words” to be written that way as opposed to in all caps. The Guardian declined to comment further to iMediaEthics.