Editorial policy
This policy sets out the principles that every Saltonstall Media publication works to. It applies to everything the titles publish, from a short news item to a long report, including headlines, captions and fact boxes.
Accuracy
We publish what we can stand behind. Facts are checked before publication, against the source they come from. Names, figures, dates and quotations are verified. A claim we cannot check is left out. When the facts of a story are disputed, we say so and set out what each side says.
Headlines that hold
A headline must be supported by the article beneath it. We do not promise more than the story delivers, and we do not sharpen a quotation or a number to make a better headline.
News and comment kept apart
Reporting tells the reader what happened and how we know. Assessment and analysis are written as such, so the reader can always tell the difference.
Fairness and the right of reply
When a person, a company or an authority is criticised, they are contacted before publication and given a fair chance to answer. Their response appears in the article. If they decline to comment, the article says so.
Independence
Editorial decisions are made by the editorial desk of each publication. Advertisers, partners and owners have no say over what we cover or how. No one outside the newsroom approves a story before it is published, and no one can have a story changed or removed because it is inconvenient.
Privacy and harm
We report on people with care. We name private individuals only when the story requires it. We take particular care with children, with victims of crime and accidents, and with people in a vulnerable situation. In crime reporting, a suspect is a suspect until a court has ruled.
National press ethics
Each publication also follows the principles of the press ethics code of its own country. Where national rules ask more of us than this policy does, the national rules apply.