Editorial Independence Policy

The South Seattle Emerald™ subscribes to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect our organization’s best journalistic and business interests. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services, or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants, and sponsorships from individuals, organizations, and local governments for the general support of our activities, and we sell advertisement space on our website, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor or advertisement support.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.

The Emerald™ strives to uphold the principles of ethical journalism as outlined by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.

Retraction and Clarification Policy

The Emerald™ recognizes there are times after an article is published when information may surface to necessitate revisions to the article. These include additional facts or inadvertent errors. It is The Emerald™’s policy to promptly acknowledge and make corrections when needed.

A retraction or clarification to an article can be requested by sending an email to contact@seattleemerald.org. The request will be forwarded to the assignment editor who approved the article and The Emerald™’s managing editor for review. They will contact the requestor for additional information, as needed, and will inform them of the request’s status.

If a request is approved, The Emerald™ will add an editor’s note to the article explaining the change. If it is not approved, no change will be made. In either case, the requestor will be informed of the decision.