Other articles by Debbie Kornmiller:

Star readers give so kids can go to camp My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : 10 get Star employee accolades My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : Gas costs force rural route cutsMy opinion by Debbie Kornmiller: Photograph reminds us of sacrifice My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : 'Offender' poor word choice My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : A look back at land-deal coverageMy opinion Debbie Kornmiller: Star reduced errors substantially in 2007 My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : Fairness not always measured by the inch My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : Bhutto interview in Parade My opinion Debbie Kornmiller : 10 named Star top employees

Trades/Construction
RANCHO RESORT
MAINTANANCE POSITION Administrative & Professional
Jorgensen Brooks Group
Counselor Mechanical
Komatsu Equipment Co
Resident Field Mechanic Administrative & Professional
Tucson Urban League
CEO/President Finance and Accounting
Charles E. Gillman Company
Accounting Specialist Sales and Marketing
Everready Glass
Sales Reps

Nearly every day, readers can find corrections on previously published information on Page A2. The Star prints these corrections to set the record straight and to maintain credibility with readers.

Newspapers track factual mistakes in various ways. At the Star, errors are corrected on Page A2 and tracked in a database.

Thanks to an upcoming retirement, I now have greater responsibility to keep the Star accountable to readers.

Assistant Managing Editor Chuck Kramer, who created the error database in 2000 and was recognized nationally for his accuracy efforts, retires Friday.

Kramer joined the Star's sports department in 1970 as a copy editor and managed that department from 1985 to 1990. He later created the Star's design department and led the transition from paper and pencil to computer-generated pages.

His legacy, however, might be the accountability he's made part of the Star's core values.

The corrections that you read on Page A2 are part of a much bigger process.

Readers point out the bulk of the errors. All correction requests are sent to the person who created the information, his or her supervisor, department head and senior editor and are expected to be reconciled the same day.

My role is to track, report and train.

From April 1 to April 21, 47 errors were corrected on Page A2. This number is a bit high for 21 days, but not unusual.

I've found that:

● People who create information need to be thorough in verifying and rechecking facts. Those who create information have the best chance of seeing an error. Rereading information a second time or third time with ears instead of eyes might have caught mistakes such as 167.3 million instead of 16.7 million or "60 to 75'' instead of "60 to 75 percent," especially if it's read against notes or other source material.

● Police agencies pass along wrong information. It's inevitable, but reporters need to be skeptical. For the third time in a month, a correction ran about the make of a car. What was first called a station wagon was actually an SUV. A red flag should have gone up after the first error was corrected. Wrong ages for five people involved in a car crash? No chance of catching that at all. And the Star didn't, until a family member pointed out the error.

● A little bit of math logic goes a long way. Someone who's 31 probably didn't get her first professional job in 1991. Depending on the birthday, she would have barely been 15. Likewise, $2.75 times 100 isn't $2,750. It's $275.

● Even the tiniest type needs to be read with a skeptical eye. Three photos taken by Associated Press photographer Ed Andrieski were credited to Ed Andrieski/Arizona Daily Star.

And who better to know who's worked at the Star and who has not? The retiring Kramer, who can remember most of the Star employees he's worked with these last 36 years. We'll miss you, Chuck.

Fuzzying up

Last week's "Get Fuzzy'' and "Pearls Before Swine'' comics strips looked suspiciously similar. On three days the strips actually read the same. Cartoonists Stephan Pastis, "Pearls Before Swine,'' and Darby Conley, "Get Fuzzy,'' are good friends and like to do crossover strips, said Matt Herman, assistant editor/comics at United Features, which sells the comics to the Star. They did something similar last year for April Fool's Day. It's their "own little joke.''