Our ethics and standards – Waltham Times

As an independent and nonpartisan publication, the Waltham Times strives to provide fair, accurate and compelling journalism to the Waltham community. As such, we adhere to journalism best practices and the ethical standards outlined in the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.

Furthermore, we believe the responsibility to provide fair and accurate journalism falls on every member of our team – editors, reporters, board members and volunteers. We earn the trust of all stakeholders – our readers and viewers as well as those covered in our publication and the community we serve – by always striving for the truth and providing transparent, credible information.

All members of our team adhere to the guidelines below.

Reporting

Whether paid reporters, guest columnists or volunteer writers, we expect all those writing for The Times to introduce and identify themselves as journalists when interviewing individuals.

We do not require them to identify themselves if they are reporting on events that are open to the public (such as government meetings) or where they and/or other members of the public have been invited (such as an educational forum). However, they shall not misrepresent their identities or occupations if asked and should identify themselves if they pursue interviews with any individuals.

Comments and Letters to the Editor

We welcome community engagement on the content we publish in our comments and letters to the editor sections. Comments and letters must be signed by the real first and last names of the authors. We encourage civil discourse and we will not publish comments containing profanity or hate speech.

Corrections

We strive for accuracy. If an inaccuracy is published, we will tell the audience that an error has been corrected through a note titled “Correction” at the bottom of the article or post. Similarly, we will update an article if it was published with a significant omission that changes the context of the story and will alert the audience with a “Correction” note. Typographical errors will be corrected but do not require a “Correction” note unless the error changes the context of the story.

In the extreme case that the entirety of the story is harmful or inaccurate, we will include an “Editor’s Note,” explaining to the audience why the post should not have been published. Such notes will be reviewed and vetted by The Waltham Times board of directors.

Removal of posts

Any requests to update, anonymize or take down previous posts are subject to an official process of deliberation by our board of directors. We will avoid removing posts because, as a news site, we have a responsibility to maintain a public record that should not be erasable. However, we will evaluate requests on a case-by-case basis, primarily considering whether a story poses a threat to an individual’s physical well-being.

Sources and attribution

We guard against publishing statements out of context or without proper attribution. We always aim to accurately report the quotes, comments and information from sources.

Quotes given in another language shall be translated accurately, and we will note when a translator is used.

When we build on reporting created by other sources, we will attribute this reporting to the original publisher.

We want to be as transparent as possible about who our sources are and therefore avoid using anonymous sources. If an anonymous source is used, the editor of the story must be aware of who the source is and a reason for granting anonymity will be provided to the reader in the story. Any claims or allegations made by an anonymous source must be corroborated. Likewise, leaked documents must be thoroughly fact-checked and claims corroborated.

As required by Massachusetts law, we ask for consent before recording conversations. We often ask sources to record conversations because recording provides a far more comprehensive record than taking notes by hand and minimizes risk of misunderstanding and inaccuracy.

Fact-checking

All stories – including personal essays, guest submissions and opinion pieces – published or produced by The Waltham Times will be fact-checked and edited before publication by reporters and/or editors through interviews and using information shared in presentations, documents, publicly available data and other sources.

Fabrications

We observe and tell how an event actually happened. We should never stage scenes or events. For photography, we should never ask a subject to pose for a photo unless they are posing for a portrait.

We will never knowingly publish false information. We will never intentionally omit important or relevant facts from a story.

Integrity and conflicts of interest

We never pay for sources or access. We do not accept gifts, tickets or discounts provided by a person or organization we may report on. Exceptions are made for gifts or trinkets of nominal value ($25 or less) as well as press tickets to events that are provided to journalists who are covering said events for publication in The Waltham Times.

Writers – whether paid reporters or volunteers – may not accept anything that could be considered outside payment for coverage. We will always disclose if a writer has any self-interest in the story the writer is writing or may appear to have such.

Reporters will not participate in partisan/political activities, nor should they participate or be employed by the organizations or individuals they cover. Guest columnists do not need to adhere to these rules, and The Times will disclose any affiliations and employment of guest columnists related to the topic of the articles they write.

Our coverage is not determined by our funders, some of whom have specific interests that may or may not align with our independent, nonadvocatory and nonpartisan position. We also prohibit funders from contacting reporters in attempts to influence coverage.

We shall not commit illegal acts while reporting nor encourage any subject to commit an illegal act.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is prohibited.

We may publish press releases and other statements supplied to The Waltham Times for publication and may edit for style, grammar and clarity.

We also may aggregate stories or report on events that have been previously reported; however, we do not permit patch writing, which entails taking another author’s original work, changing some of the words or phrasing, and publishing without proper attribution. When we aggregate or publish our own stories with other potential news partners, we will include the byline of the original author and the original property that published the story.

We prohibit our team of reporters and writers from using artificial intelligence to write their articles, although they may use AI in recording conversations, transcribing notes or drafting outlines.

Our donor transparency policy

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.

Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes.

Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.

We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources. We will not accept donations from sources who, as deemed by our board, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

Donors who gave $1,000 or more:

Anonymous
Tom Benavides
Rachel Berger
Community Foundation of MetroWest
Carol Grossman
Jones Partnership Fund
June Kinoshita
Dennis LaRosee
Nicholas B. Ottaway Foundation
Annette Reynolds
Amy Rothstein
Marc Rudnick
Constance Stubbs
Waltham Community Foundation
Watertown Savings Bank