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Corrected
Versions

If a story contains a factual error, be sure to file a correction as soon as the mistake is noticed. For bureaus directly linked to the desks it is sufficient to refile the story, pointing out in the advisory line immediately below the headline what is being corrected:

Kenya-Lion/
CORRECTION: Tourist mauled to death by lion
Eds: Refiling to correct nationality, age of victim =

   Nairobi (dpa) - A Frenchwoman taking photographs of a lion ...

If a story contains only a minor spelling error or garble, it is sufficient to refile, explaining why in an advisory line:

Kenya-Lion/
Tourist mauled to death by lion
Eds: Refiling to correct garbled word =

   Nairobi (dpa) - A Frenchwoman taking ...

Holds and
Kills

If a story that has been issued is subsequently suspected of being erroneous, a hold should be issued to stop clients using it while we are checking:

Australia-Queen/
HOLD HOLD HOLD •••••''''' =

   Please hold item dpa 123 "Queen ends visit". There is some doubt whether the queen has actually left.

If a check confirms the original version was correct, an advisory should be sent, stating that the story can be used in its original form.
Otherwise refile as a corrected version.
Stories found to be so basically wrong that they cannot be put right by a correction should be killed and a substitute issued:

US-Space/
KILL KILL KILL •••••''''' =

   Please kill item dpa 157 "U.S. launches Mars rocket". The launch was called off at the last moment because of bad weather. A substitute story will run immediately.

The hold/kill line contains five bells and five apostrophes. In PEN software the bells can be written with AltGr + G

Advisories

Advisories are used to alert customers to an upcoming story or event, changes in skedded items, technical problems, etc. The slug consists of the country of origin and the word advisory. The second line should read simply Attention Editors.

UN-Advisory/
Attention Editors =

   The full text of the speech by U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan will be transmitted on this wire shortly.

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