Editorial Standards

Our purpose

1887 First reports on Eatonville from a perspective rooted in the people, history, land, culture, and future of the community. We believe Eatonville should not be defined only by outsiders, institutions, political interests, or developers. Our responsibility is to document the record, seek the truth, preserve community memory, and create space for voices that are too often ignored.

Our point of view does not excuse inaccuracy. We distinguish verified fact from analysis, opinion, allegation, and advocacy. We aim to be fair to the facts, transparent about our perspective, and accountable when we fall short.

Core principles

Our editorial work is guided by seven commitments:

1. Seek and report the truth. We verify material facts before publication and identify what remains unknown or disputed.
2. Serve the public. We prioritize stories that help people understand decisions, systems, history, risks, opportunities, and changes affecting Eatonville.
3. Center community knowledge without abandoning verification. Lived experience, oral history, local memory, and resident testimony matter. We verify them with records and additional sources whenever possible.
4. Minimize unnecessary harm. Public interest—not humiliation, spectacle, or online attention—guides decisions involving private individuals, children, victims, grieving families, and vulnerable people.
5. Act independently. Advertisers, clients, sponsors, donors, political candidates, public officials, and business partners do not receive control over independent editorial decisions.
6. Label content honestly. News, analysis, opinion, sponsored content, and corrections must be clearly distinguishable.
7. Be accountable. We correct meaningful errors and explain substantial changes.

Accuracy and verification

Before publishing, we seek to:

• Verify names, titles, dates, locations, quotations, statistics, documents, and material claims.
• Use original records and firsthand sources when available.
• Attribute information so readers can understand where it came from.
• Contact people or organizations facing significant criticism and provide a reasonable opportunity to respond.
• Reflect the response fairly, including when a person declines to comment or does not respond by the stated deadline.
• Link to public documents, meeting records, studies, court records, datasets, and source material when lawful and appropriate.
• Tell readers when information cannot be independently verified.

Speed does not excuse avoidable inaccuracy. When facts are still developing, we may publish what is confirmed and update the story as reliable information becomes available.

Fairness and right of response

Fairness does not require false balance. It requires accurately representing relevant evidence, context, and material responses.

When a story includes a serious allegation or criticism about an identifiable person or organization, we normally seek comment before publication. Our outreach should describe the substance of the issue, provide a reasonable response deadline, and identify how the response may be used. Urgent public-safety or breaking-news circumstances may require publication before every response arrives; later material responses may be added with an update note.

Sources and attribution

We identify sources whenever doing so is responsible and safe. We do not offer anonymity casually.

Anonymous sourcing may be used when:

• The information serves a meaningful public interest.
• The source has credible access to the information.
• The information cannot reasonably be obtained on the record.
• Disclosure could expose the source to a credible risk of retaliation, harm, or loss.
• An editor knows the source's identity and approves the arrangement.

We explain the source's relevant relationship to the story without exposing identifying details. We do not allow anonymity merely to deliver personal attacks, speculation, or information the source is unwilling to support.

Source protection can have legal limits. No staff member or contributor should promise absolute confidentiality without editorial approval and, when appropriate, legal advice.

Documents, data, and public records

Records strengthen accountability reporting, but possessing a document does not automatically make every detail newsworthy. We authenticate documents when possible, explain relevant limitations, and redact sensitive information that does not advance the public interest.

We do not publish private addresses, personal phone numbers, Social Security numbers, financial-account details, medical information, children's identifying information, or other sensitive data unless there is an exceptional and clearly documented public-interest reason.

Children and young people

Young people are part of Eatonville's present—not only its future. We seek to include their ideas and experiences while taking additional care with consent, privacy, dignity, and long-term digital consequences.

For interviews, images, audio, or video involving minors, we ordinarily obtain permission from a parent or legal guardian as well as the young person's willing participation. We may withhold a minor's full name, school, location, or other identifying details when publication could create a foreseeable risk.

We do not pressure children to discuss trauma, family conflict, legal matters, health information, or experiences they do not wish to share.

Crime, tragedy, and vulnerable people

We approach victims, grieving families, and people experiencing trauma with care. We avoid graphic or invasive detail that does not materially improve public understanding. We do not identify survivors of sexual violence without informed permission, except in extraordinary circumstances with a compelling public-interest justification and editorial review.

An arrest is not a conviction. Coverage of criminal allegations must use precise language and include relevant outcomes or updates when they become known.

Opinion, analysis, and advocacy

Opinion and analysis are legitimate parts of 1887 First's public voice, but they must be labeled.

• News presents verified reporting and material context.
• Analysis uses reporting and expertise to interpret events or patterns.
• Opinion expresses the writer's argument, judgment, or viewpoint.
• Sponsored or Partner Content is paid for or materially supported by an outside party.

Opinion writers remain responsible for factual claims. Labels do not permit fabrication, defamation, plagiarism, or deceptive editing.

Editorial independence and agency clients

1887 First operates both a media platform and a creative agency. That structure requires a clear boundary.

• Agency clients do not receive prior review, approval, removal rights, favorable coverage, or protection from legitimate reporting.
• Purchasing advertising or services does not guarantee editorial coverage.
• Refusing to purchase advertising or services does not result in negative coverage.
• Editorial staff should disclose relevant personal, financial, political, organizational, or family relationships to an editor.
• When a conflict cannot be managed through disclosure or reassignment, the affected person should not participate in the coverage.

Sponsored content and advertising

Paid material must be clearly and prominently labeled with language such as Advertisement, Sponsored, or Partner Content before a visitor engages with it. The sponsor's identity should be disclosed. Labels should not be hidden in small print or replaced with vague language.

Sponsored content must not make false or unsubstantiated claims. 1887 First may reject advertising that conflicts with its standards, misleads readers, promotes discrimination, exploits children, or creates an unacceptable risk to the community.

Artificial intelligence

1887 First may use responsible technology to assist with research organization, transcription, translation, brainstorming, data review, accessibility, or production workflows. Human editors remain responsible for everything published.

We do not knowingly publish AI-generated facts, quotations, sources, images presented as documentary evidence, or finished reporting without human verification and editorial review. Materially altered or synthetic visuals must be labeled when a reasonable viewer could mistake them for an authentic record of an event, person, or place.

Confidential source material, unpublished reporting, personal data, and sensitive documents should not be entered into public AI systems without authorization and appropriate safeguards.

Photography, video, audio, and editing

Documentary images, recordings, and captions should accurately represent the event or subject. Routine adjustments for exposure, color, cropping, noise, and clarity must not change the factual meaning of the scene.

Illustrations, reenactments, composites, stock images, archival images, and materially altered or AI-generated visuals must be labeled. Photo, video, and document credits should be provided whenever known.

Plagiarism and attribution

We do not present another person's reporting, images, language, research, or ideas as our own. Quotations must be attributed. Reporting from other organizations should be credited and linked when available. Copyrighted work should be used only with permission, an appropriate license, or a good-faith legal basis.

Community submissions

Story tips, photographs, documents, guest essays, letters, and other submissions may be reviewed, verified, edited, declined, or removed from consideration. Submission does not guarantee publication. We do not pay for news tips unless a written agreement states otherwise.

Submitting information through a standard website form or email does not create an attorney-client relationship, confidential relationship, employment relationship, or promise of anonymity.

Editorial comments and community discussion

Public comments may be enabled on editorials. Comments are not enabled on straight-news reporting unless 1887 First later changes this policy and implements appropriate moderation.

1887 First welcomes disagreement, criticism, context, and debate. We do not tolerate hate speech or content that attacks, degrades, threatens, or excludes people based on race, color, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex, pregnancy, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, disability, age, veteran status, or another protected or deeply personal characteristic.

Comments may be rejected, hidden, or removed when they include:

• Hate speech, slurs, dehumanizing language, or support for discrimination or violence
• Threats, intimidation, harassment, stalking, or encouragement of harm
• Private personal information, doxxing, or information that could create a safety risk
• Sexual exploitation, graphic violence, or unlawful material
• Impersonation or deceptive claims about identity or affiliation
• Defamation, knowingly false factual claims, or manipulated material presented deceptively
• Repetitive spam, unrelated promotion, scams, malicious links, or automated posting
• Copyrighted or private material the commenter has no right to publish
• Comments that are entirely unrelated to the editorial under discussion
• Attempts to evade a prior moderation decision or suspension

Criticism of 1887 First, its reporting, its leadership, public officials, institutions, or prevailing viewpoints will not be removed merely because it is forceful or uncomfortable. Moderation should focus on conduct and content, not whether a commenter agrees with us.

1887 First may moderate comments before or after publication, use automated spam or safety filters, limit repetitive participation, close comments on a particular editorial, or suspend access when reasonably necessary. Automated flags should be reviewable by a human moderator when practical.

Publishing a comment does not mean 1887 First endorses it. Commenters remain responsible for their statements. To report a comment or question a moderation decision, use the Contact form and select Editorial Comment or Moderation.

Corrections and accountability

We correct meaningful errors promptly and transparently. Minor typographical or formatting changes that do not alter meaning may be fixed without a note. Substantive corrections, clarifications, editor's notes, and retractions are handled under our Corrections Policy.

Questions about these standards may be submitted through the Contact form by selecting Newsroom or Editorial Standards, or by calling 888-339-1887.