Here's a new Internet-based question ...

Well, speaking only of my place, our writers wouldn't have the first knowledge about getting into the database to do anything like that. It would have to be an editor. The writers don't even have that access, not for protection but because they just never have.

 

SF - I think there's a lot of merit to this debate.
Such as, how long after the story is too long? For instance, I constantly rely on a past material database to check stuff. For instance, what did some guy say last time he won this race, or what were the exact sequence of events (if I'm a little fuzzy on the history). Because I work at a paper, it doesn't matter if I change a typo or such from a story I have archived on my laptop -- I'd submit a tearsheet if I entered a contest and not what I have on file.
But I would certainly make the correction, if for no other reason than for my own sanity.
So what happens if you write something in February, notice a typo and fix it while doing a little research in May and then want to enter a contest in November? Which edition do you submit?

I think the answer may be edit time stamps that need to be submitted along with the copy. Such as an "originally posted" date, and then a log of any subsequent dates (times) the story is altered.

 

Very logical solution - I would agree with this

 

Interesting debate.

A lot of this depends on the type of story we're talking about. If it's a breaking news situation (or live event coverage), you're encouraged to have multiple versions, with updates throughout the day. A cover letter explaining the nature of the story and frequency of updates.

A lot of what we're talking about here is in the context of a feature/column, which IMO, should be limited to the original date of publication. Judges might be forgiving when it comes to a typo, but how far do you take that?

"I'll just tweak this graf a bit."
"I'll catch up with that one source that didn't return my call."
"I really wasn't crazy about that lede, anyway."

 

Wouldn't there be a time-stamp on the piece, though, once you made the changes? If you entered a column on the Steelers' Super Bowl victory, and it was stamped "updated Jan. 8, 2007," that might arouse some suspicion. I know that after one of my pieces is posted, if I notice a typo or need to correct something, I send in my change, and the piece is stamped "updated," with the date and time of reposting to follow.

 

No matter how many times we update a story, unless we manually change the time and date, the original one remains. Again, no way to track it.

I think our solution will be, if it comes up, to submit whatever it is we find when we go back looking for contest possibilities, with no updates other than what would have been routinely done were a contest not involved.