WXYZ/WMYD Offering Website News Article Removal Requests

Scripps Media’s WXYZ-TV and WMYD-TV (Detroit) has announced that it will now accept requests for removal of news articles from its website. The station, in a website post, writes that, “7 Action News not only covers southeastern Michigan’s communities, but our employees are also part of them. We understand that lives change, and people change, and online search results can have a lasting impact on someone’s ability to move forward.”

The station is now welcoming appeals from people who would like the station to update past articles or remove an article entirely from both WXYZ.com and TV20Detroit.com, stating that, “we believe these actions will give people the promise of moving forward without minor indiscretions of the past following them into the future.”

Stories that are eligible for editing or removal include, but are not limited to:

Nonviolent misdemeanor crimes, particularly those from many years ago.
Missing persons cases that are resolved without criminal charges.
Incidents such as Amber Alerts which were resolved without criminal charges.
Stories and photos that involve embarrassing, noncriminal behavior.

The decision to edit or remove an article lies solely with the WXYZ-TV News editorial team.  The station stated that they will not consider requests involving serious felonies, particularly those involving violent crimes.

Public figures and those in positions of trust are held to a higher standard of scrutiny and therefore, stories involving these individuals will be evaluated accordingly.

WXYZ may check court records and other public records to make an informed, compassionate decision.

More information can be found here.