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GroundReport’s Editorial Policy GroundReport vets all contributors and contributions prior to publication and syndication. Every news item waits in a submissions queue until a member of our Editorial Staff approves or rejects the report. Submissions from our Verified Content Partners are automatically published and syndicated. GroundReport contributions are evaluated along the following criteria: 1. Factual Accuracy and Sourcing 2. Spelling and Grammar (American English) 3. Language Sophistication and Fluency 4. Copyright Compliance 5. Non-Commercial Content 6. Non-Offensive Content 7. Non-Pornographic Content 8. Transparency of Affiliations and Disclosures 9. Timeliness GroundReport's Terms state that our Editorial Staff may edit your contribution at anytime to correct spelling, grammar, syntax and factual inaccuracies. The following document describes in greater detail the GroundReport approach.
o The role of editors is to preserve voice through minimal editing while maintain factual accuracy. o GroundReport has a team of editors that look through every article submitted to check for grammar, language, factual inaccuracies. o A managing editor approves each submission before an article, video or photo is put on the website. If the article is plagiarized, inappropriately offensive, or commercial (see Content below) it is removed. o Grammar and Language. Written English articles follow spellings of the Merriam-Webster dictionary, standard American punctuation. o Fact Checking ranges from article to article, but generally spelling of names of public figures, numbers, and events referenced to are fact checked by the editors through online search and verification. o Amending articles. Once published, contributors are allowed to edit their stories with clear documentation (ex: UPDATE: ) to add supporting information or updates. As part of GroundReport’s editorial policy, your work may be edited at any time by GroundReport’s editorial team.
B. Role of commentators o GroundReport is an interactive forum and we encourage the feedback and additional insights to stories, images, and videos from commentators. However, we will delete comments that are inappropriate and unconstructive to the debate or developing story. This includes hate mail, offensive language, racist comments, advertisement, or comments that are clearly irrelevant. o We encourage readers to comment with information they have that provide another angle to the story, know facts that add to the article, or notice a possible factual inaccuracy.
o GroundReport encourages all types of articles, from narratives to third person reports. However, they must be original, appropriate, and non-commercial. Below are guidelines for the types of articles we accept.: Accepted: • All work must be original. Articles, images, or videos taken from other sites will be removed. • Non-commercial. You aren’t trying to sell something, make people click or collect e-mail addresses. • News articles concerning world events and developments. • Narrative articles that describe an experience or a point of view of a certain issue or event. Forbidden: • Plagiarized content. If you don’t have the rights to publish, don’t post it. Articles, images, and video taken from other websites will be deleted immediately, and contributors will be banned. If you reference another article, video, etc, always source it. See Sourcing and Attribution below. • Commercial articles, advertisements or press releases. Anything linking to an affiliate or trying to sell something is strictly forbidden. • Pornography, hate and obscenity. Anything sexual or hateful in nature, or uses gratuitously strong language.
o Because of our minimal editing policy, GroundReport is an outlet for news that otherwise may not be heard in mainstream media. Although our editors are strict about factual accuracy, we understand that these articles are often and unavoidably biased. We do not demand objectivity, but require transparency from our contributors. • Creating an account and profile is needed in order to submit any articles. • We encourage all contributors to complete a detailed bio in their profile. This can include the contributor’s occupation, political background, and other publications he or she has written for. Ex: If the contributor is an organization, what is the mission of that organization?
o Contributors will be held accountable for inaccurate facts or information in their articles, images, or video. Contributors who publish libelous or false reports will be banned from GroundReport. o Information in written articles must be accurately sourced or linked. References to other article must include the date and publication article, or it is linked to. o Sources should be identified by relevance to the article or video (what position they hold, if they are affected by the issue discussed, if they were a witness to an event, etc.) o A description of the location and time the photo was taken is required for all photos. o In some situations, anonymous sources are allowed in articles. When anonymous sources are used, the citizen journalist should include sentence that explains why. • For example: “’I never saw anything like it,’ said a public safety officer who witnessed the protest. The public safety officer’s name is omitted from this story because they are not allowed to speak to the press.”
o Get the facts. It is strictly forbidden to fabricate quotes or make up facts or people. Therefore, it is important that you copy down your quotes accurately. • If you are interviewing someone, don’t hesitate to ask them to pause while you finish writing a sentence or to talk a little slowly. Sources always understand, as they want their quotes to be accurate as well. • If you are still concerned about getting accurate quotes, it may help to carry around a tape recorder in addition to writing things down. • In terms of anonymity, make sure you are always clear with your source about what you are allowed to quote, what can be paraphrased, if it is for entirely background purposes, or if they need to be anonymous. o Capture as many relevant points of view as possible. Interviews with sources are critical to reporting a story. • While GroundReport accepts opinion pieces, the more people interviews (although you may only quote a few of them), and the more diverse those sources are (each source is affected differently by the issue at hand) the stronger the article will be. • Not everything everyone says is entirely truthful. When reporting a story, aim to get both sides of the argument and always fact-check the claims made by others. |
