I have always been a firm believer in taking accurate notes and quotes. I know what I write is accurate, but can I prove it?

An article I had written was being questioned about its accuracy. The article cited legitimate sources saying a mistake of a former government official had caused the public body to lose revenue. Although the information had been take from a public meeting, it was inaccurate.

The loss of revenue wasn’t from the official’s lack of action, but there was definitely a lack of communication.

The paper hadn’t been on the news stands for two hours before I received my first phone call. I was wrong. I was being told I was a terrible reporter.

Well, that was news to me. I went back to my original sources and they still felt the same way. It took days of research by me to straighten out the mess and find the answers, but I did. However, it was too late. I already looked bad as a reporter and there wasn’t anything I could do about it.

Sometimes sources are wrong or they misunderstand a situation. It isn’t the source who will look bad, it is the reporter.

Once I quoted someone giving the definition of a “jake brake” and was subjected to an half hour lecture by my grandpa after the paper came out. I had it wrong. It’s easy for people to forget you just write the story, you don’t make it up. A jake break, by the way, is a special brake used by semi trucks. Residents of a city were blaming the use of jake brakes on the loud squealing noise semi trucks would make when stopping at a light in a residential area. The noise blended in during the day, but at 3 a.m. the squealing noise tended to upset some residents.

In both of these cases, I didn’t know or even suspect the source was wrong until it was too late. It was the publication of the article that shed light on the truth. Without the articles, the erroneous facts wouldn’t have been corrected.

In the meantime, however, I look bad. Days after the article about the former government official, my editor received a letter from an attorney. The letter demanded a retraction. Needless to say, the letter made my editor a bit nervous.

My process of reporting the story was questioned. Who said what? Are you sure this was said then? Where can you get a copy of this?

I knew the mistake wasn’t mine. If there was a mistake it was a made by the public body. But this week’s paper states a public official did an act they might not have done.

Could I prove the mistake wasn’t mine? I had my notes, but no tape. If my sources changed their story, I wouldn’t have any proof.

The incident taught me a valuable lesson. I have always relied on my hand written notes for a story. I don’t like forwarding and rewinding tapes to find a particular quote. I just don’t have the time for that when on deadline.

I might not need a tape in order to write the story, but I will always record government meetings and most interviews now. Even if I never listen to the tape, I will have more than my word if I ever need to prove my accuracy again.