Ethics & standards

Status

This policy is a first draft based on the LION Publishers and SPJ ethics frameworks. It will be reviewed by a California media-law attorney before launch.

Our commitments

Pier and Point follows the ethics frameworks of the Society of Professional Journalists and LION Publishers. The four pillars below are how we apply those frameworks to a hyperlocal AI-assisted newsroom.

1. Seek truth and report it

• We verify facts before we publish them. Where verification is incomplete, we say so.
• We attribute every factual claim to a primary source whenever possible.
• We attempt to reach every named subject for response before publication. If we cannot reach them, we document the attempt and say so in the story.
• We do not fabricate quotes, sources, events, or details. We do not let AI tools do so on our behalf.

2. Minimize harm

• We treat sources, subjects, and the public as human beings deserving of respect.
• We weigh public interest against potential harm — particularly in stories about private individuals, juveniles, victims of violence, and people accused but not convicted of crimes.
• We label arrests, charges, and convictions distinctly. See our naming policy.
• We do not publish booking photos for nonviolent arrests absent a specific articulable public-interest justification.

3. Act independently

• We disclose unavoidable conflicts of interest inside the story they affect.
• We do not let advertisers, sponsors, donors, sources, or political actors influence editorial coverage. Sponsored content is clearly labeled.
• We resist insider pressure and we take care not to publish material that primarily serves the interests of a friend, family member, or business partner.

4. Be accountable and transparent

• We name the human reviewer on every AI-assisted story.
• We explain our reasoning when readers ask why we covered a story a particular way.
• We correct errors quickly and visibly. See our corrections policy.
• We preserve corrections — we do not silently rewrite published stories.

Editorial decisions

The author of a story has final say over the story’s words, subject to the standards above, the sourcing policy, the naming policy, and any required legal review. Sponsors and donors do not see editorial copy before publication.

Hold us accountable

If you believe we have fallen short of these standards in a specific story, please email corrections@pierandpoint.com with the story URL and the issue. We will respond.