Editorial Policy

Effective Date: [23/08/2026] Version: 1.0 Owner: Editor-in-Chief, The Shyok Times

1. Mission and Purpose

The Shyok Times exists to inform, educate, and serve the public interest through accurate, fair, and independent journalism. Our reporting shall prioritise truth, context, and public accountability over speed, sensationalism, or commercial pressure.
We are committed to:

• Reporting news that matters to our readers' lives, communities, and region.
• Holding power — government, institutions, and private actors — accountable.
• Giving voice to underrepresented communities and perspectives.
• Maintaining the trust of our readers as our most valuable asset.

2. Editorial Independence

• Editorial decisions are made solely by the editorial team, free from influence by advertisers, owners, political parties, or other outside interests.
• The business/commercial side of the organisation shall not dictate or veto editorial content.
• Any attempt by an external party to influence coverage in exchange for advertising, funding, or favour must be reported to the Editor-in-Chief immediately and refused.
• Op-eds, sponsored content, and advertising must be clearly labeled and visually distinct from news content.

3. Accuracy and Verification

• All factual claims must be verified through at least two independent, credible sources before publication, unless from a single source of direct, first-hand authority (e.g., an official document, an eyewitness with direct knowledge, or a recorded statement).
• Reporters must distinguish between confirmed fact, allegation, and opinion at all times in the text.
• Anonymous sources may be used only when:
  The information is of significant public value.
  It cannot be obtained through an on-record source.
  The source's reliability has been vetted by an editor.
  The reason for anonymity is stated to readers where possible. 
• Numbers, quotes, dates, and titles must be checked against original documents or recordings wherever available.

4. Corrections and Accountability

• Errors of fact must be corrected promptly, transparently, and prominently — not quietly edited without notice.
• A visible correction note must accompany any factual correction, stating what was wrong and what has been fixed.
• Significant errors affecting a person's reputation require a direct correction and, where appropriate, an apology.
• A public corrections log shall be maintained and accessible on the website.

5. Fairness and Balance

• All individuals or organisations subject to serious criticism or allegation must be given a fair opportunity to respond before publication.
• If a subject declines to comment, the article must state that an attempt was made to reach them.
• Coverage of contested political, social, or religious issues must represent the range of credible perspectives, without false balance that equates fact with unsubstantiated claims.
• Editorialising must be confined to clearly marked opinion, analysis, or editorial sections.

6. Conflicts of Interest

• Journalists must disclose to their editor any financial, personal, family, or political relationship that could compromise or appear to compromise their objectivity on a story.
• Staff may not accept gifts, payments, free travel, or favours from sources or subjects of coverage beyond nominal items (e.g., a meal during an interview).
• Journalists must not report on matters in which they, or their immediate family, hold a direct financial or personal stake, without prior disclosure and editor approval.
• Freelancers and contributors are held to the same conflict-of-interest standards as staff.

7. Sourcing and Attribution

• All information taken from other news outlets, agencies, or publications must be clearly attributed.
• Social media posts used as sources must be verified for authenticity before being cited or embedded.
• Leaked or confidential documents must be authenticated to the fullest extent possible and evaluated for genuine public interest before publication.
• Plagiarism in any form is strictly prohibited and grounds for disciplinary action, up to termination.

8. Privacy and Harm Minimisation

• Reporting must weigh the public's right to know against an individual's right to privacy, particularly for private citizens, minors, victims of crime, and vulnerable individuals.
• Names and identifying details of minors, sexual assault survivors, and victims of ongoing trauma will not be published without explicit, informed consent (and, for minors, guardian consent).
• Images and footage depicting graphic violence, death, or suffering will be used only when essential to the story's public interest value, and never gratuitously.
• Sensitive personal information (health, sexuality, immigration status, criminal history) will be published only when directly relevant to the story and in the public interest.

9. Use of Anonymous and Confidential Sources

• Confidentiality promises made to a source must be honored absolutely, even under legal or institutional pressure, except where the source's information is later found to have been knowingly fabricated.
• Only the Editor-in-Chief and the assigned reporter shall know the identity of a confidential source unless broader disclosure is essential and approved.

10. Digital and Social Media Conduct

• Staff bylines on social media must not editorialise on matters within their beat in a way that undermines perceived neutrality.
• Breaking news on social media must meet the same verification standard as published articles; "developing" or "unconfirmed" must be clearly labelled where certainty is incomplete.
• Reader comments and user-generated content are moderated for harassment, hate speech, defamation, and misinformation.

11. Headlines, Photos, and Multimedia

• Headlines must accurately reflect the content of the story and must not be written to mislead for engagement ("clickbait").
• Photographs and video must not be staged, digitally altered in misleading ways, or presented out of context.
• Captions must accurately describe what is shown, including date and location where verifiable.
• AI-generated or AI-altered images and content must be clearly labelled as such.

12. Corrections to Institutional Bias

• The newsroom shall maintain diversity of staff and sourcing across gender, ethnicity, religion, region, and political viewpoint to reduce systemic blind spots.
• Coverage patterns will be periodically reviewed to identify and correct recurring imbalance (e.g., over-reliance on official sources, under-coverage of marginalized regions or communities).

13. Legal Compliance and Safety

• All reporting must comply with applicable defamation, privacy, contempt-of-court, and national security laws.
• Reporters working in hazardous or conflict environments must follow organisational safety protocols and are never required to take unreasonable personal risk for a story.
• Legal counsel must be consulted before publishing material with substantial legal risk.

14. Enforcement

• Violations of this policy will be reviewed by the Editor-in-Chief and, where relevant, an editorial standards committee.
• Consequences may range from a formal warning to suspension or termination, depending on severity and intent.
• Staff may report suspected violations confidentially, including by colleagues or superiors, without fear of retaliation.

15. Review of This Policy
This policy shall be reviewed annually, or sooner if a major incident or change in law necessitates revision. Proposed changes must be approved by the Editor-in-Chief in consultation with senior editorial staff.

This document reflects the editorial standards of The Shyok Times and applies to all staff, contributors, and freelancers producing content under its name.