Editorial Policy

The Statement of General Principles

Accuracy and clarity

Ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
Provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.

Fairness and balance

Ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.
Ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of General Principle 3.

Privacy and avoidance of harm

Avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
Avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Integrity and transparency

Avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
Ensure that conflicts of interests are avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence published material.

The Statement of Privacy Principles

These cover the following areas:

Collection of personal information

Use and disclosure of personal information

Quality of personal information

Security of personal information

Anonymity of sources

Correction, fairness and balance

Sensitive personal information

Privacy Principle 1: Collection of personal information

In seeking personal information, journalists should not unduly intrude on the privacy of individuals and should show respect for the dignity and sensitivity of people encountered in the course of gathering news.

In accordance with Principle 7 of the Council’s Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest. Generally, journalists should identify themselves as such. However, journalists and photographers may at times need to operate surreptitiously to expose crime, significantly anti- social conduct, public deception or some other matter in the public interest.

Public figures necessarily sacrifice their right to privacy, where public scrutiny is in the public interest. However, public figures do not forfeit their right to privacy altogether. Intrusion into their right to privacy must be related to their public duties or activities.

Privacy Principle 2: Use and disclosure of personal information

Personal information gathered by journalists and photographers should only be used for the purpose for which it was intended. A person who supplies personal information should have a reasonable expectation that it will be used for the purpose for which it was collected.

Some personal information, such as addresses or other identifying details, may enable others to intrude on the privacy and safety of individuals who are the subject of news coverage, and their families. To the extent lawful and practicable, a media organisation should only disclose sufficient personal information to identify the persons being reported in the news, so that these risks can be reasonably avoided.

Privacy Principle 3: Quality of personal information

A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Privacy Principle 4: Security of personal information

A media organisation should take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it holds is protected from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access.

Privacy Principle 5: Anonymity of sources

All persons who provide information to media organisations are entitled to seek anonymity. The identity of confidential sources should not be revealed, and where it is lawful and practicable, a media organisation should ensure that any personal information derived from such sources that it holds does not identify the source.

Privacy Principle 6: Correction, fairness and balance

In accordance with Principle 3 of the Council’s Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts. In accordance with Principle 4 of the Council’s Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of General Principle 3. A media organisation should take reasonable steps to provide a correction or other adequate remedial action for publishing any personal information that is significantly inaccurate or misleading, in accordance with Principle 2 of the Council’s Statement of General Principles. The media organisation should also take steps to correct any of its records containing that personal information, so as to avoid a harmful inaccuracy being repeated.

Privacy Principle 7: Sensitive personal information

In accordance with Principle 6 of the Council’s Statement of General Principles, media organisations should take reasonable steps to avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time.

Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by the press. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.

Specific Standards on Coverage of Suicide

General reporting and discussion

General reporting and comment on issues relating to suicide* can be of substantial public benefit. For example, it may help to improve public understanding of causes and warning signs, have a deterrent effect on people contemplating suicide, bring comfort to affected relatives or friends, or promote further public or private action to prevent suicide.
Subject to careful compliance with the following Standards, the Council does not wish to discourage material of this nature. Extra caution is required when the material is likely to be read or seen by people who may be especially vulnerable (e.g., because of their age or mental health) and relates to suicides by their peers or by celebrities.

Reporting individual instances

In deciding whether to report an individual instance of suicide, consideration should

be given to whether at least one of the following criteria is satisfied:

(a) clear and informed consent* has been provided by appropriate relatives or close

friends*; or (b) reporting the death as suicide is clearly in the public interest*.

In deciding whether also to report the identity of the person who has died by suicide,

account should be taken of whether at least one of the following criteria is satisfied:

(a) clear and informed consent has been provided by appropriate relatives or close

friends; or (b) identification is clearly in the public interest.

Reporting methods and locations

The method and location of a suicide should not be described in detail (e.g., a particular drug or cliff) unless the public interest in doing so clearly outweighs the risk, if any, of causing further suicides. This applies especially to methods or locations which may not be well known by people contemplating suicide.

Responsibility and balance

Reports should not sensationalise, glamorise or trivialise suicides. They should not inappropriately stigmatise suicides or people involved in them. But this does not preclude responsible description or discussion of the impacts, even if they are severely adverse, on people, organisations or communities. Where appropriate, underlying causes such as mental illness should be mentioned.

Sensitivity and moderation

Reports of suicide should not be given undue prominence, especially by unnecessarily explicit headlines or images. Great care should be taken to avoid causing unnecessary harm or hurt to people who have attempted suicide or to relatives and other people who have been affected by a suicide or attempted suicide. This requires special sensitivity and moderation in both gathering and reporting news*.

Sources of assistance

Published material relating to suicide should be accompanied by information about appropriate 24-hour crisis support services or other sources of assistance with these problems*. The degree of specificity may vary according to the nature of the report and the surrounding circumstances.

Specific Standards on Contacting Patients

Informed consent from the patient

Before making any contact* with a patient* in hospital*, journalists* should obtain the

patient’s informed consent unless

(a) the activity is an initial communication from outside the hospital for the purpose

of seeking informed consent*; or (b) an authorised person* confirms to them that informed consent has been given

by the patient; or (c) an authorised person has approved the contact on condition that no patient will be identifiable in any published material.

Journalists are responsible for establishing any claim by them that it was reasonable to believe informed consent has been given by the patient. This may often be difficult to achieve unless medical or other expert advice has been sought on the matter and been recorded.

Permission to visit the patient

Before visiting a patient in a part of the hospital in which patient care occurs, journalists should identify themselves and their publication to an authorised person and obtain permission for the proposed visit. However, making contact without permission is acceptable if doing so is clearly necessary as a matter of substantial public importance and has been approved at senior editorial level for recorded reasons.
Journalists are responsible for establishing any claim by them that

(a) they obtained permission from a person whom it was reasonable to believe was

an authorised person; and (b) they made adequate disclosure to that person of the nature and purpose of the

proposed contact.

Where the hospital has given permission to visit the patient, it is reasonable for the journalist to assume the patient is in a medical condition which enables informed consent to be given. When visiting the patient, however, it will still be necessary for the journalist to explain the nature of what is being sought from the patient and obtain informed consent.

Ceasing contact with the patient

Journalists should immediately cease the contact if they are

(a) asked to do so by the patient, or by an authorised person on reasonable

grounds; or (b) it becomes reasonably clear that the patient is not adequately aware of what

the contact involves and its likely consequences.

Bias and conflicts of Interest

Our goal: To ensure that conflicts of interests and bias is avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence our published material.

Staff actively seek to avoid putting themselves in a position where their duty to act in the best interests of The Times News Group conflicts with their personal, professional and business interests.

Actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest can arise because staff will have outside personal and professional relationships, interests and experience (which can bring benefits to the work of The Times News Group).

When a conflict arises, the issue is not usually one of integrity, but of the management of any actual, perceived or potential profit from a person’s position, or any conflicting loyalties. Even the appearance of a conflict has the potential to damage The Times News Group reputation and that of who we write about so any interests, duties or obligations which give rise to any unavoidable conflict of interest must be recognised, disclosed appropriately and dealt with carefully in accordance with this Policy.

Staff are to declare an interest if it exists and are to act in good faith and for a proper purpose at all times.

All paid advertorial, sponsored content or like editorial content bundled as part of ad sales appearing in Times News Group publications must be appropriately declared as such (advertorial declaration for print and sponsored content for online).

Accreditation

The Times News Group does not accept unsolicited news contributions from non-employees beyond clearly declared and identified opinion and editorial content.

Contributors who are not direct employees but providing content must be assessed for suitability and creditably via interview process, background checking or assessment of previous published work.