This policy governs reporting, analysis, headlines, images, updates, and corrections across every TellingPointy desk.
Editorial responsibility
The TellingPointy Editorial Board, reached at [email protected], maintains the publication-wide standard. Helena Ward, Managing Editor, coordinates the daily application of that standard across the newsroom. Each article identifies the responsible specialist editor; the newsroom directory lists every name, remit, and desk email.
Accuracy before amplification
Editors verify the central claim before publication, identify the strongest available source, and state the current status precisely. When reliable facts are limited, the article should be shorter and narrower rather than padded with assumptions.
Source hierarchy
We prefer primary evidence: official documents, court filings, legislation, regulatory notices, company disclosures, scientific papers, direct interviews, public data, and on-the-record statements. Reputable original reporting may supply facts that are not otherwise public. Aggregators and social posts can lead us to a story, but they are not proof by themselves.
Attribution and quotation
Information that is not common knowledge should be attributed clearly. Direct quotations must match the source. We do not manufacture quotations, unnamed experts, statistics, dates, reactions, or biographical details.
Fairness and right of reply
Serious allegations are described with legally and factually accurate status language. When practical, the person or organization at the center of a significant allegation receives a meaningful opportunity to respond. A denial is not proof, and an allegation is not a verdict.
Headlines, images, analysis, and opinion
Headlines must be supported by the article and must not hide a critical qualification. Images must be relevant, accurately captioned, and legally usable. Analysis may interpret verified evidence but must not present speculation as fact. Opinion, when published, is clearly labeled.
Updates
Developing stories may be updated as reliable information changes. Material updates receive an updated timestamp. Routine copy edits do not create false freshness.