Siegal Committee proposals
The proposals of the Siegal Committee that Bill Keller said The New York Times would adopt are: A «public editor» will be appointed to review reader complaints and recommend corrections. He or she will also write independent commentaries on how the newspaper covers issues. A «standards editor» will be responsible for the developing of rules and educating staff on matters of accuracy and ethics. A third editor will be assigned to oversee recruitment and hiring, training and career development, transfers, promotions and evaluations. Every member of staff will receive an annual performance assessment. Byline and dateline policies will be rationalized, clarifying who is responsible for an article and where he or she was when reporting on it. Each department will have to have a systematic way of tracking errors and monitoring the performance of those who make them. The use of anonymous sources will be reviewed. The centralized management structure for copy editors will be reviewed, with the aim of bringing them closer to the desks they serve. Editors will become more accessible and the internal exchange of information within the staff will be enhanced.
