These editorial standards explain how Etowah Wire reports the news for Etowah County, Alabama, and what readers can expect from every story we publish. They apply to everyone who reports, writes, edits or publishes for Etowah Wire.
Accuracy
Facts come first. Before a story is published, we check names, titles, numbers, dates and quotes against primary sources: public records, meeting video and minutes, court filings, official statements and the people involved. When we cannot confirm something, we do not publish it as fact.
When we get something wrong, we correct it openly. Our Corrections policy explains how.
Sources
We link to the documents behind our stories wherever we can, so readers can check our work. Stories with a Sources box list the records, reports and statements we relied on.
We identify our sources by name. We use anonymous sources only when the information is important to the public, cannot be obtained another way, and the source has a real risk of harm if named. An editor must know who the source is, and the story explains why the source was not named.
We do not pay sources for information.
Fairness
We seek comment from the people and organizations we report on, and we give them a reasonable chance to respond before publication. When someone declines to comment or does not respond, we say so.
We separate fact from allegation. Arrests and charges are reported as allegations, and we follow cases to their outcomes, including dismissals and acquittals.
Care with people
We take particular care with minors, victims of crime, people in crisis and people who are not public figures. We generally do not name minors accused of crimes or victims of sexual assault. We do not publish graphic images without a clear public reason.
Independence
Etowah Wire is independent and currently self-funded. Our coverage is decided by newsworthiness and the public interest, not by officials, advertisers or anyone with a stake in a story. We do not take payment to publish, change or remove news coverage.
Staff disclose any personal or financial interest in a story to an editor and step away from coverage where a conflict exists.
Opinion
Opinion is clearly labeled and kept separate from news. News reporting does not take sides; opinion pieces are the views of their authors.
Sponsored content
If we publish sponsored or promotional content, it will be clearly labeled as such and kept separate from our reporting. Sponsors have no say over our news coverage.
How we use AI
We use modern tools, including artificial intelligence, to work efficiently: summarizing long public documents, transcribing, drafting and proofreading. Every story is reviewed and approved by a person before it is published, and that person is responsible for its accuracy.
We do not use AI to invent facts, quotes, sources, people or images presented as real. We do not publish AI-generated images as news photographs.
Updates and removals
When a story is updated with new information, we mark it as updated and show the time of the update. We do not remove published stories except in rare cases, such as a legal requirement or a serious risk to someone's safety. If we do, we say so.
Questions
Questions about these standards can be sent to hello@etowahwire.com. To report an error, email corrections@etowahwire.com.