The Pilot-Independent is a weekly community newspaper. We try to get the small facts right because small facts are what most public life is made of.

Accuracy before speed

Names, dates, vote counts, scores, addresses, public records and quotations are checked before publication. When the record and recollection differ, the record gets another look.

Sourcing

• Named sources are the rule.
• Anonymous sourcing is reserved for information the public needs and a source cannot safely provide on the record. The editor must know the source’s identity.
• Rumor is a reporting lead, not a publishable fact.
• Opinion, letters and advertising are labeled and kept distinct from reported news.

Conflicts and fairness

Staff disclose personal conflicts to the editor and step away from coverage when the conflict is substantial. People criticized in a news story are given a reasonable chance to respond before publication.

Corrections

We correct factual errors plainly. Material online corrections are noted on the story; print corrections run in the next edition. See the Corrections Policy.

Photos and captions

Captions should say what the photograph shows, where it was made and why it matters. Photographs are not staged to make a reported event look more dramatic than it was.