A guide

Living with an old story?

You're not alone, and you may have more options than you think. A growing number of newsrooms will take a second look at old coverage. Here's how to ask.

1. Find out whether the newsroom has a policy

Start with the Policy Atlas: look the newsroom up by name, city or website and see what it has published about changing old stories. Then check the newsroom's own site for pages on "corrections", "unpublishing", "takedown" or "old stories". If it has a policy, follow it: use its form, and answer the questions it asks. If you can't find one, that doesn't mean there isn't one; ask the newsroom how it handles these requests.

2. Decide what to ask for

Newsrooms treat these as different requests, and the smaller ones are often easier to say yes to:

• An update. Adding what happened later: charges dropped, an acquittal, an expungement.
• An editor's note that puts the story in context.
• Removing your name or identifying details, where you're a private person and your name isn't essential to the story.
• De-indexing. The story stays on the newsroom's site but stops appearing in search engines.
• Removal. Taking a story down entirely. Newsrooms with published policies generally reserve this for exceptional cases.

3. Write to the editor

Keep it short, factual and specific. Include:

• a link to the story and its date;
• what has changed since: the outcome of the case, or simply the years that have passed and what you've done with them;
• documents that back that up, if you're comfortable sharing them, such as a court record of a dismissal or expungement;
• how the story affects you now, in a sentence or two;
• the one change you're asking for.

Write it yourself if you can. These processes are built for the people in the stories, and you don't need to pay anyone to ask.

4. If the answer is no

Ask for the main reasons and whether there's an appeal. Accurate reporting on a matter of public interest may stay as it is, and that's a legitimate answer. But circumstances change: a later court outcome or more time passing can justify asking again.

Newsrooms with a published process

These newsrooms explain how they handle requests. Each sets its own limits, so read the details before you apply.

• The Boston Globe: Fresh Start
• The Philadelphia Inquirer: Up for Review
• Chicago Sun-Times: "right to be forgotten" policy
• Bangor Daily News: old crime stories

Listing a newsroom here isn't a promise of any outcome. More in our research. If you work at a newsroom without a process, our Policy Toolkit is free to adopt.