Editorial principles

These are the rules the newsroom works by. They are written down so that readers can hold us to them, and so that anyone joining the newsroom inherits the same standard rather than guessing at it.

Accuracy comes before speed

We publish when we are confident the facts are right, not when we are first. A story that is late is a story that is late; a story that is wrong is a correction, a lost reader, and a debt we have to pay back.

Names, dates, numbers, addresses and titles are checked against a primary source — the person, the organisation, the document — and not against another news site. Where a fact comes from a single source and matters to the story, we say so in the article.

Sources

We name our sources whenever we can. Naming is the default; anonymity is the exception, and it is granted only when the information is in the public interest and the person would face real harm — to their job, their visa, their safety or their family — by being identified.

When we grant anonymity we tell the reader why, and we tell them what the source is in a position to know. We do not use unnamed sources to carry opinion or to attack someone who is not given a chance to respond.

Fairness and right of reply

If a story makes a serious allegation about a person or an organisation, we put it to them before publication and give them a fair opportunity to answer. If they decline or do not respond in time, we say that in the article rather than leaving a silence the reader has to interpret.

Independence from advertisers

Advertising and sponsorship never buy coverage, and they never buy silence. Nobody who sells advertising decides what the newsroom publishes, and no advertiser sees an article before it is published.

Sponsored content is labelled as sponsored, on the article itself, and is not written to look like a news report.

Conflicts of interest

Members of the newsroom declare any interest that a reasonable reader would want to know about — a business relationship, a family connection, a role in an organisation we cover — and step away from stories where that interest would compromise the work. Where we cover an event that Gringo Media itself organises or sponsors, we say so in the article.

Community and language

We write about a migrant community, and we take care with how we do it. We do not identify anyone by nationality, visa status, religion or ethnicity unless it is directly relevant to the story. We do not publish material that treats the community as a single opinion, and we seek out the people affected by a story rather than only the people speaking about them.

The portal publishes in English. That is a practical choice about the newsroom we have, not a statement about who the community is.

Images

Photographs are credited to whoever took them. We do not use an image that misrepresents when or where something happened, and we do not alter a news photograph beyond ordinary adjustments to exposure and colour. Where an image is an illustration rather than a record of the event, we say so in the caption.

When we get it wrong

We correct errors openly and quickly, and we say what changed. How that works, and how to tell us about a mistake, is set out in the corrections policy.