Never forget your gatekeeper

Speaking with a variety of publishers recently reminded me of a recurring gap in many organisation's publishing processes - the final check pre-press.
This applies on- and off-line, and was drummed into me at a tender age, when I was cutting my teeth on a local newspaper.
I am not referring to tone, or even grammar and spelling, but simply checking the content overall. You know, the really simple items that are so easily left out, rarely noticed, but could be critically important from the point of view of a reader, lawyer or advertiser. Items include image credits, pull quotes (does it match the article, or has it been grabbed from somewhere else by a designer?), late-change facts and figures or even folios (are the pages numbered consecutively?)
Too often editors, art directors and subs (assuming that luxury is available) pontificate over a creative detail, overlooking more serious errors. Image captions are particularly important and something that all publishers should watch carefully. With cheap 'n cheerful galleries springing up all the time on the net, many staff assume there are no Ts&Cs to observe.
All organisations who are publishing content (that's all of them these days) should draw up a simple list of 'forgettables' such as those listed above, then ensure that someone is responsible for checking each and every one before going to press - the gatekeeper.
That person should, ideally, be someone removed from the day-to-day creative process. Even better, someone with an eye for detail who is as near as possible to your average reader. In small organisations I often find the best person for this role is someone from the accounts team.
Ultimately of course, the publisher must take responsibility for these items and in my experience setting time aside at the beginning or end of a day, with a strong coffee, away from email and phones, is the best formula.

Never forget your gatekeeper