Editorial standards

These standards explain how DOWNTOWNEASTSIDE.ORG reports, verifies and corrects its work, and how we handle interests that could affect our coverage.

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Types of work

• Reporting & analysis. Articles based on reporting, public records, official data or other attributed sources. We distinguish facts from interpretation and say when an article relies mainly on first-hand reporting.
• Voices. First-person accounts and opinion. These pieces reflect the writer’s perspective. We check verifiable factual claims and make clear what rests on a person’s account.
• Guide. Practical information about local resources and services. We check details against available sources and correct information when it changes or proves wrong.

Verification

We check factual claims against the best available evidence and link to or name primary sources when we can. We identify information we could not independently verify. We do not invent quotes, combine sources into a single person or present reconstructed scenes as first-hand observation.

A second member of the editorial group reviews Reporting & analysis before publication under these standards.

Fairness and right of reply

Before publishing substantial criticism or allegations about a named person or organization, we give them a reasonable opportunity to respond. We include the relevant response or tell readers if we did not receive one. A person or organization named in a published piece can also request a review or ask to have a response considered.

Sources and anonymity

We normally name sources. We may withhold a name when there is a real risk of harm and the information cannot reasonably be obtained another way. At least one editor must know the source’s identity. We corroborate material claims independently and explain why the source is unnamed when we can do so safely.

A source whose name we withhold is different from a contributor who writes under a pseudonym.

Conflicts of interest

Anyone who writes or edits for us must disclose relevant financial, employment, property, organizational or advocacy interests to the editorial group. The group keeps a private record of disclosures and how it handled them.

A person with a material conflict steps back from reporting, editing and approval. Another editor may reassign the work and decide what readers need to know about the conflict. If we cannot handle the story independently, we hold it.

We do not accept money, gifts or favours in exchange for coverage. Funders do not review stories or decide what we publish. See how the site is funded.

Corrections

We correct material factual errors in every type of work and explain what changed. See how to request a correction or raise a complaint.