Editorial standards

This page explains the standards we try to meet at JAM Radio News. Our Chief Editor, Euen Herbert-Small, is accountable for what we publish. We aim to provide accurate, fair and useful reporting and commentary.

Independence

We decide what to report and how, on our own. Advertisers, sponsors, affiliate partners, supporters and friends do not get a say in our coverage, and paying us does not buy a story or change one.

News, opinion and advertising are kept apart

We tell news reporting apart from opinion, commentary, analysis, advertising and sponsored material, and we try to label each clearly so you can tell the difference between a story and an advert.

• News reports what happened, with context. It aims to be impartial.
• Opinion and commentary say clearly that they are one person's view.
• Advertising and sponsored content is always labelled. It is served separately from our stories, and advertisers do not see or approve our stories before they run.
• Affiliate links are marked, and we explain below how we are paid.

We avoid misleading headlines, and we update stories when significant facts change.

Accuracy, sourcing and verification

We aim to be accurate and to show our working. Where we can, a story links to its sources, such as official documents, statements, data and reports, so you can check them yourself. We check facts before we publish, we tell you when something is unconfirmed, and we do not present rumour as fact. We try to confirm important claims with more than one source.

If we find a mistake, we correct it. See our corrections page.

Fairness

We try to be fair to the people and organisations we write about. Where a story makes a serious claim about someone, we try to give them a chance to respond before we publish, and we say if they did not reply. We aim to represent communities accurately and with respect, and to avoid stereotypes.

Anonymous sources

We prefer to name our sources. Sometimes a person can only speak safely or honestly if their name is withheld. In those cases an editor will know who the source is, we will explain why they are not named, and we will protect them as far as the law allows. We try not to rely on a single anonymous source.

Pictures, audio, video and credits

We credit the people who made the pictures, audio and video we use, and we tell you where they came from when we know. We use material only when we have the right to, and we say if a picture is a file photo or an illustration. We do not present a picture as something it is not. If you own a picture that we have used wrongly, or think a credit is wrong, tell us and we will fix it.

Ownership and funding

JAM Radio is independently owned. It is funded by advertising, sponsorship and affiliate links, none of which decides what we report. We earn a commission when readers buy something through some affiliate links. We may add other sources of funding in the future. If that changes, we will tell you on our about page.

Conflicts of interest

Our writers and contributors tell the editor about any work they do for other publications or organisations that could be seen as a conflict, and where it matters we say so on the story or the author's page. Where we have an interest in a story, for example because of our own radio station, an advertiser or an affiliate partner, we will say so in the story or step the person involved away from it.

Tips, comments and things you send us

We welcome story tips, pictures and information from readers and listeners. We check what we are sent before we use it, just as we would check anything else, and we do not publish something simply because it was sent to us. We will treat a tip as confidential if you ask us to. Please see our terms of use for what you agree to when you send us something.

Complaints

If you think we have broken these standards, email [email protected] with the link to the story and what concerns you. Please put "Complaint" in the subject line. The editor will look into it and reply as soon as we reasonably can.

For a simple mistake of fact, our corrections page is the quickest route. You can also read about us or use our contact page.