Accuracy and Fairness Tips

1. Go with what you've got.
   

2. When in doubt, go without.
   

3. Follow general editing guidelines regarding fairness, style and identification of sources.
   

4. Learn and follow company policy, especially regarding identifications, attribution and ethical standards. If you are a standalone operation and don’t have such policies, create them. If you are partnered with another news organization, strive for one set of rules re handling of content via any method of distribution.
   

5. Always be edited.
   

6. Stories, images and other content files must be uploaded to the Web by the producer/editor in charge of that content area, unless editor OKs otherwise.
   

7. When unsure about how to handle a story or when to publish, don't go it alone. Check with an online supervisor. If one is not available, check with a traditional newsroom managing editor. Or, if the occasion warrants, both.
   

8. Don't let beating the competition, or how the competition handles a story, rule decision-making on when and what to publish. Choose to be right rather than first. Take a minute to think. Your integrity as a news organization counts online just as much, if not more, as it does in print or broadcast mediums.
   

9. Be consistent in your editing practices across the Web site.
   

10. Educate newcomers to your site and the rest of your staff to your policies.