n.the degree of precision to which something is correct, truthful, and free of error or distortion, whether by omission or commissionAIIM 1992Records produced within a short period after the event or activity occurs tend to be more readily acceptable as accurate than records produced long after the event or activity. However, a challenge to admissibility of a later-produced record can be overcome by a showing that the time lapse had no effect on the record’s contents. For example, a computer printout of a statistical report produced annually in the regular course of business can be shown to accurately consolidate data compiled over the course of a year.Goerler 1999, 316Sometimes the historical accuracy of a documentary—its relationship to the historical evidence—may be in conflict with its commercial value as entertainment. . . . To rescue [a film about native life in Samoa] from financial disaster, the producers insisted on adding a prologue and retitling the film. Released as The Love Life of a South Sea Siren, Flaherty’s revised documentary opened with scenes of chorus girls in grass skirts. Shortly thereafter, Flaherty fled Hollywood.
