Everyone knows that accuracy is essential to good journalism. Without accuracy, newspapers lose the trust of their readers.

Yet a perception exists that The Daily is often inaccurate. I do not have statistics to prove this assertion, nor do I believe any statistics are necessary. Just ask anyone who reads the paper. Many will say they have been misquoted and have noticed factual errors. I too was misquoted before becoming public editor.

Granted, many of these assertions probably are not true. People say all sorts of things when interviewed and will later forget or regret their own words. Journalism is a thankless job, and keeping every reader happy is impossible.

Still, The Daily does not do enough to combat the perception that its coverage is inaccurate. The paper should print more corrections, develop an online corrections policy and better explain to readers how to express complaints.

Even the best journalists are imperfect, and the best daily newspapers print several corrections every day. Most days, The Daily prints none. This quarter, the paper has issued 20 corrections, averaging less than one every two days. That would not be a problem if the paper had made only 20 mistakes. But readers and I have requested at least two corrections that editors have not published.

For example, The Daily received an e-mail on May 18 from a source who said a story contained a misquotation and a minor factual inaccuracy. The reporter said she wrote exactly what the source told her. The Daily printed the e-mail on May 23 but did not confirm the allegation.

Editor in Chief Ryan Wenzel said he probably would not print a correction because more than seven days had elapsed since the article was published and because the alleged error was minor.

The Daily should be proud to publish corrections. Mistakes are shameful; corrections are not. When readers see an error, they lose trust in the entire paper. Printing a correction can help the paper regain that trust.

The Daily’s lack of an online corrections policy has led to other decisions that could have been more ethical.

On April 6, Andrew Bentley wrote a satirical column that, if taken literally, assumed the accuracy of allegations that Duke lacrosse team members committed rape. After the column was printed, Wenzel realized it was potentially libelous and removed it from The Daily’s Web site.

The paper gave no indication, in print or online, that the article had been removed from the Web site. This was not the first time an article was removed quietly and without explanation.

Can you imagine what might happen if The New York Times or Chicago Tribune did this? Corrections and retractions are necessary sometimes, but articles should not be removed without notice. A newspaper should have nothing to hide.

The Daily needs an online corrections policy, Online Editor Lensay Abadula said, so issues like Bentley’s column are handled with guidelines in mind. Wenzel said a policy is currently being formed.

As for readers’ frustration with the paper’s alleged inaccuracies, editors might remedy the problem by creating an e-mail address, [email protected]. Editors should respond to all complaints within 24 business hours.

This e-mail address should be displayed prominently on page two, where corrections normally go, even if no correction is issued. A description of the public editor’s role should also appear there. Many newspapers publish this information daily in the corrections section.

In the interest of full disclosure, I committed a factual error in my April 26 column, misidentifying the title of Northwestern Chronicle article “Black people drive me nuts.” A correction was issued April 27.

Public editor David Spett serves as the reader’s representative. His opinions and conclusions are his own. He can be reached at [email protected].