Editorial Standards & Ethics Policy

1. Factual Verification & Sourcing

Our reporting is grounded in first-hand reporting, public records, and on-the-record interviews. Reporters are expected to verify all factual claims with multiple independent sources or primary documentation whenever possible.

• Primary Records: Reporters prioritize official court filings, municipal minutes, audited financial reports, and California Public Records Act (CPRA) disclosures over secondary reports.
• Attribution: All facts not directly observed by the reporter must be clearly attributed to their source.
• Anonymous Sourcing: Unnamed sources are permitted only when information is of critical public importance, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source faces credible risk of retaliation. The reporter must disclose the source's identity to a senior editor before publication.

2. Editorial Independence & Commercial Separation

Bay Area News Network maintains an impermeable boundary between our editorial staff and our business and advertising operations. This principle is non-negotiable.

• Advertisers, corporate underwriters, and financial supporters have no advance knowledge of news coverage, no input into story assignments, and no authority to review or alter editorial content.
• News coverage cannot be purchased. Sponsored content, paid announcements, or advertising placements are always conspicuously labeled with prominent visual disclosures.
• No reporter, editor, or newsroom leader may participate in advertising sales calls or client negotiations.

3. Conflicts of Interest & Outside Activities

To preserve public trust, editorial employees must remain free of financial or political ties that could compromise—or appear to compromise—their impartiality.

• Editorial staff members are prohibited from making political contributions, publicly endorsing candidates, or holding elected office in communities covered by the network.
• Reporters may not accept gifts, free travel, event tickets, meals, or favors from sources, political campaigns, or commercial entities they cover.
• Any personal, familial, or financial interest in a covered organization must be disclosed to the editor-in-chief immediately, resulting in recusal from the story.

4. Corrections & Accountability

When an error of fact occurs in our reporting, our policy is to correct it promptly, completely, and transparently. We do not “stealth edit” articles to erase errors without public disclosure.

Every corrected story includes a timestamped correction note explaining what was changed and why. Members of the public are encouraged to report potential errors directly to our editorial team via our Corrections & Feedback Desk.

5. Artificial Intelligence & Emerging Technology

Journalism at Bay Area News Network is produced by human journalists.

• Generative AI tools are strictly prohibited from generating published news copy, inventing quotes, or creating synthetic reporting.
• Every article published across our network undergoes human editorial verification, fact-checking, and copy editing.
• We do not publish AI-generated photorealistic imagery depicting news events.

6. Community Representation & Sourcing Diversity

The Bay Area is composed of extraordinarily diverse neighborhoods, cultures, and economic perspectives. Our newsrooms actively seek out sources that reflect the full breadth of the communities we cover, ensuring coverage is not restricted solely to official spokespersons or entrenched institutions.