Publish or perish is a phrase that's usually associated with academia, but is relevant also to news companies like The Day.

We're a daily publication, so we need to publish new content every day.

That doesn't mean we rush to post or print something we haven't confirmed. We don't run with information we hear on the police scanner until we've gone to the scene or verified the information with someone who has firsthand knowledge. We treat information on social media, and tips from readers, the same way.

Sometimes we have to restrain ourselves, even when it seems like everybody is talking about something and we think the public needs to know the true story.

When New London beat reporter Greg Smith told editors a few weeks ago that a secretly recorded conversation of Police Chief Peter Reichard by a subordinate may have something to do with Reichard's abrupt retirement, we wanted the story right away.

Smith was hearing that Reichard, who was negotiating for a contract extension, disparaged the city and made comments about white officers being passed over for minorities. We thought it was an important story, because the New London Police Department has had budget, staffing level and morale problems, and is being sued by two members who claim there is institutional racism and sexism. And the official announcement of Reichard's retirement had not mentioned the recorded conversation.

We wanted the full story but, as it turned out, we had to wait.  

Smith spoke with people who said they had heard the recording and he submitted a Freedom of Information request to the city. He obtained a transcript of the conversation early in his reporting, but without hearing the recording himself, he had more work to do. He made more calls and talked to some of his sources multiple times. He listened to public comments about the recordings at a City Council meeting and continued asking questions. He talked to Mayor Michael Passero and called Reichard.

The story finally came together this week and was published on theday.com and in our print edition. Smith still hadn't obtained the recording, but was able to verify the information through multiple trusted sources and, finally, the mayor. 

Smith didn't "empty his notebook" into the story, or write everything he knows, because he still needs to verify some of the information he was told.

We hope showing you how we report on important stories such as this one enables you to trust the information you read in The Day. We also want you to know you play an important part in shaping our coverage.

A reader emailed to ask us, "When does this 'trust crap' start?" after reading a column about a trust initiative we're working on. He pointed out that a photo caption on a story about the Abbott's restaurant expansion appeared to have incorrectly identified Maine as the origin of some buoys that were pictured.

Having spent many years on the water, the reader recognized the buoys as coming from a more local fishing operation. I asked the photographer, Dana Jensen, to look into it, and although she couldn't pin down exactly where they came from, we made a correction. It may seem like a small thing, but it mattered to him, and to us, that we got it right.

Then something embarrassing happened to me. I wrote a brief article to post online because our managing editor, Izaskun Larrañeta, was participating in a panel discussion about none other than trust issues that evening.

The problem was, I wrote a headline saying the event was on Wednesday, though it was actually on Tuesday. A reader again pointed out our error, and we quickly made a correction with an editor's note explaining the error.

We work hard to ensure the accuracy of our reporting, and if we make a mistake, we own it and correct it immediately. If we don't, we're counting on you to let us know.

Karen Florin is The Day's engagement editor. She can be reached at k.florin@theday.com or (860) 701-4217.