{"id":654,"date":"2026-08-22T03:36:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-22T03:36:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/paperfoldsnews.com\/staging\/9696\/policies\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\/"},"modified":"2026-08-22T03:36:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-22T03:36:35","slug":"editorial-standards-ethics-policy","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/paperfoldsnews.com\/staging\/9696\/policies\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"Editorial Standards &#038; Ethics Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"\t<article class=\"pf-policy\" aria-labelledby=\"pf-policy-title\">\n\t\t<header class=\"pf-policy__header\">\n\t\t\t<p class=\"pf-policy__eyebrow\">Paper Folds transparency<\/p>\n\t\t\t<h1 id=\"pf-policy-title\">Editorial Standards &amp; Ethics Policy<\/h1>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"pf-policy__date\">Effective April 2026<\/p>\n\t\t\t<p class=\"pf-policy__intro\">Paper Folds News exists to serve Tipton County with independent, accurate, and accountable local journalism. These standards guide every editorial decision we make. They are not aspirational\u2014they describe how we actually work.<\/p>\n\t\t<\/header>\n\t\t<div class=\"pf-policy__body\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Independence<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Paper Folds News operates as an independent LLC. No government body, political party, business, or advertiser has any say in what we cover, how we cover it, or what we publish. Editorial decisions are made solely by our journalists.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Advertisers receive no favorable coverage, no advance notice of stories, and no ability to kill or alter reporting. If a potential conflict of interest exists between an advertiser and a story we\u2019re pursuing, we disclose it.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Accuracy<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We verify information before publishing and use multiple sources where possible. When a single source is used, we say so. We do not publish rumors or speculate without clearly labeling it as such.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When we get something wrong, we fix it promptly and transparently.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Fairness<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We give people we write about\u2014especially when coverage is critical\u2014an opportunity to respond before publication. We report what they say accurately and in context, and we do not distort quotations.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We cover all of Tipton County\u2019s communities, not only those with political access or social capital.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Transparency<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We are transparent about who we are, how we are funded, and the limitations of our reporting. Advertising and sponsorships are disclosed, and our journalists are named.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We do not publish stories anonymously. When a source is granted anonymity, we explain why.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Conflicts of Interest<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our journalists do not accept gifts, free travel, or benefits from people or organizations they cover; accept payment from covered entities; publicly advocate for candidates, parties, or ballot measures; or cover matters in which they have a direct personal or financial stake.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Personal Relationships<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>In a small county, personal connections are sometimes unavoidable. Journalists disclose relevant family, friendship, romantic, and business relationships internally. Depending on the circumstances, we may proceed, add a disclosure for readers, or reassign the story when independent reporting is not possible.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>When in doubt, we favor disclosure. These decisions are documented internally.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Sources<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We prefer named sources. Anonymity is granted only when the information serves the public interest, cannot reasonably be obtained otherwise, and identification could cause genuine harm.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Sources do not receive prepublication review. We may read quotations back to a source to verify accuracy.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Sponsored Content and Native Advertising<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We never disguise sponsored material as editorial journalism. Paid content is clearly labeled and visually distinguished from newsroom work.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Social Media<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Our social accounts represent Paper Folds News and follow the same standards of accuracy, fairness, independence, and transparency as our published reporting.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<h2>Corrections and Accountability<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>We correct errors promptly, label material changes, and do not make stealth edits. Read our <a href=\"https:\/\/paperfoldsnews.com\/staging\/9696\/policies\/corrections-policy\/\">Corrections Policy<\/a> for details.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<footer class=\"pf-policy__contact\">\n\t\t\t<strong>Questions or concerns?<\/strong>\n\t\t\t<a href=\"mailto:news@paperfoldsnews.com\">news@paperfoldsnews.com<\/a>\n\t\t<\/footer>\n\t<\/article>\n\t\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":653,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-654","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.4 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Editorial Standards &amp; Ethics Policy - Paper Folds<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Editorial Standards &amp; Ethics Policy - Paper Folds\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/paperfoldsnews.com\/staging\/9696\/policies\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Paper Folds\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/policies\\\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/policies\\\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\\\/\",\"name\":\"Editorial Standards & Ethics Policy - Paper Folds\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-22T03:36:35+00:00\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/policies\\\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/policies\\\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/policies\\\/editorial-standards-ethics-policy\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Editorial Standards &#038; Ethics Policy\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/\",\"name\":\"Paper Folds News\",\"description\":\"Telling the stories that shape Tipton County\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"alternateName\":\"Paper Folds\"},{\"@type\":\"NewsMediaOrganization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"Paper Folds News\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/app-icon.webp?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/05\\\/app-icon.webp?fit=512%2C512&ssl=1\",\"width\":512,\"height\":512,\"caption\":\"Paper Folds\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/paperfoldsnews.com\\\/staging\\\/9696\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"legalName\":\"Rose Media Co. 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