A rule for online news: Errors are inevitable; lack of transparency is not

[Commentary] In the digital realm, there are no hard deadlines. Editors can tweak a story and reporters can update it at any moment. The ability to revise without limit — virtually instantaneously — has, of course, revolutionized journalism. But most publications still haven't figured out a good way to alert readers to substantive changes and alterations.

If there's an error of fact, publications may amend the digital text and add a correction, usually at the bottom of the Web page. Editors often put through non-factual changes without bothering to notify readers at all. Rarely do corrections or clarifications carry any kind of explanation: how the reporter got the wrong vote count for an important bill; why the editor decided that the penultimate paragraph wasn't really necessary. There's a stunning lack of transparency.

[Anthony De Rosa is the former editor in chief of Circa, a mobile news start-up.]