The electronic archive of oudaily.com is intended to be an accurate historical record of all content published in The Daily on oudaily.com. As such, stories should never be removed from the archive. If a story is found to be inaccurate, a note will be appended to the archived story setting the record straight.
When a reader contacts OU Student Media to request removal of an article for any reason, the matter should be handled by the editor-in-chief, who will follow these procedures:
- If the person regrets comments published or actions that resulted in a story but does not challenge their accuracy, the editor-in-chief will explain that the archive is a historical record of what was published and it will not be changed. The editor should then notify the adviser of the request and outcome.
- If the person believes the article was inaccurate and it was published within the current semester, the editor will initiate an investigation to determine the accuracy of the article. If an inaccuracy is confirmed, a note will be appended to the archived article making the correction. In either case (inaccuracy confirmed or not), the editor will notify the person of their decision in writing, with a copy going to the adviser.
- If the person believes the article was inaccurate but it was published before the current semester, the burden of proof shifts to the person. The editor should ask them for proof of an inaccuracy – for example, a court record showing a criminal charge has been expunged. If such evidence is provided, and the editor is convinced of an error or substantive change in the facts, a note will be appended to the archived article indicating the error or change. In either case (inaccuracy confirmed or not), the editor will notify the person of the decision in writing, with a copy going to the adviser.