Editing Web for Bad Vibes

With increasing popularity of news on the Web, forgetting a story may not be as simple as throwing the newspaper away.

A Poynter Institute article, written by Bob Steele and Bill Mitchell, addresses the removal of old web-based stories from archival storage. While these stories sit just a few clicks away from anybody with access to the Internet, sources complaining about fact errors and issues "not in good light" are want these gone for good. Despite ethics a journalist must follow, these "wrong" stories remain on Web space for as long as they're kept in accessible storage.

Sources think the misconstrued information embarrasses them, affects their job opportunities, and influences their customers if they are able to be seen negatively through a story. Although more personal, you may be thinking of other areas that others gain access to with only a username and password, like Facebook and MySpace.

So, lesson of the day: watch what may potentially be put on the Web, because the whole "wide world" can judge you on it.