Editorial Standards

These standards describe how South Today intends to work. Some of them apply today, in a launch edition made of illustrative stories, and some describe commitments for the day we publish reported work. We have tried to mark which is which.

Illustrative content is labelled

Every story in the launch edition is an illustrative scenario. The people in them are fictional or described only by role, and we avoid naming real individuals, businesses, venues or brands. Real places such as cities, rivers and mountain ranges are fair game. We do not present illustrative material as news, and we do not invent statistics or cite studies that do not exist.

Sourcing

When South Today publishes reported work, we will say where information comes from, distinguish what we saw from what we were told, and prefer first-hand sources. We will be careful with numbers: modest and hedged where we are unsure, and never attributed to organizations that did not publish them.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we will fix it and say so. A correction should be visible, specific and plain about what changed. Readers can report errors to [email protected]. We do not promise a response time, but we will read what arrives.

No disguised advertising

There are no ads on the site today. If brand partnerships begin, they will be clearly labelled and kept apart from editorial. We will never accept payment to place a business, product or person inside a story that looks independent. Our brand partnerships page sets out the principles in more detail.

Respect for communities and heritage

The South belongs to the people who live in it. We aim to write with specificity rather than cliche, to avoid dialect parody and nostalgia for things that deserve none, and to credit the traditions we describe. Food, music and craft carry histories, including painful ones, and we try not to smooth those over.

• Describe people by what they do, not by stereotype.
• Treat heritage as living, not as a costume.
• Give outdoor and food content as general information, and point readers to local conditions and advisories.

Questions about these standards can go to [email protected].