Trust is all a local newspaper has. These are the standards County Line News holds itself to.
Accuracy and fairness
- We verify facts before we publish and attribute information we did not witness ourselves.
- We give people and institutions we report on a fair chance to respond before publication, and we say so when they decline.
- We separate news from opinion. Opinion pieces are clearly labeled.
Minors
- We generally do not name people under 18 who are accused of wrongdoing or who are victims, and we avoid details that would identify them.
- Exceptions, such as a minor charged as an adult, are decided case by case and explained to readers.
Anonymous sources
- We use unnamed sources only when the information is important, cannot be obtained on the record, and the source has a real reason to fear harm.
- We corroborate information from unnamed sources and tell readers why a source was not named.
Conflicts of interest
- We disclose any personal connection our staff has to the people or institutions we cover.
- We do not accept gifts or payment from people we report on.
Corrections
When we make a mistake, we correct it promptly and add a note at the end of the story explaining what changed and when. We do not quietly edit errors away. To request a correction, email tips@countylinenews.org with the story link and what is wrong.
Removing stories
We rarely remove published stories. We will update a story when new facts emerge, such as charges being dropped.