Keeping downloadable press materials current

A downloadable press file can keep circulating after its campaign ends. Give each file an owner and a visible date or version, and review it when the facts change. Updating the website cannot change copies already saved or received by email.

Keep track of public files

Maintain a register of each public asset: purpose, location, source version, owner and last review. Include files linked from older announcements and media emails, not only those on the main press page. Otherwise an outdated chart may remain accessible beside a current fact sheet.

Choose review triggers that fit the content. Check a spokesperson portrait when the person's role changes, a product sheet when eligibility or availability changes, and a chart when the underlying data or calculation is corrected. A scheduled review can catch forgotten files; a known material change calls for a prompt check.

Revise, retain or withdraw

Read each file as someone finding it for the first time. Can they see its date and tell whether it describes the current position or a historical event? A dated photograph of a past event may remain useful with an accurate label. An old sheet describing a completed trial as still in progress is likely to mislead.

When a fact changes, check each place it appears: the landing-page summary, download, preview, filename, chart and media handover. Update them from the same approved information. If the claim cannot yet be verified, qualify or withdraw the affected asset while checked. Where a research result changes, explain the correction rather than silently replacing the numbers.

Record the old version, new version, date and reason. Decide whether to retain the earlier file as a clearly labelled archive or remove it from current distribution. An archive needs enough context that an old statement is not mistaken for today's position.

Make the current version usable

Give each download a meaningful title and show its file type and size. Where possible, place essential facts in accessible web text as well. If a PDF is revised, check its tags and reading order again and provide an accessible way to obtain the information.

After replacement, open the public route and inspect the version a visitor receives. Check older links and previews. A tested redirect may help when an address changes, but it cannot update saved copies or attachments in earlier emails.

Correct copies already sent

If a material error appeared in a file sent to journalists, use the distribution record to identify known recipients. State which file or claim was wrong, give the corrected position and identify the replacement. Sending a new file under the same title without an explanation can leave conflicting versions in circulation.