Editorial standards
The rules our journalists follow, published so readers can hold us to them.
Accuracy
We would rather be second and right than first and wrong. Facts in our articles are checked against a primary source wherever one exists: a statement, a filing, a data release, a recording or a named person speaking on the record. Numbers are checked twice, once by the reporter and once by the editor.
When we rely on reporting by another news organization, we say so in the text (“CBC News reported”, “according to The Globe and Mail”) and link to it in the Sources box. We do not present another outlet's exclusive work as our own.
Sources
- We prefer named sources. We grant anonymity only when a source faces a real risk, when the information is important and when it cannot be obtained on the record. The reason is explained in the article.
- Quotations are reproduced as spoken or written. We may trim a quotation, never in a way that changes its meaning.
- We do not pay for information or interviews.
- Material from news releases is attributed to the organization that issued it.
Independence and conflicts of interest
Staff may not cover organizations in which they or close family members hold a financial interest, and may not accept gifts, trips or tickets from people they cover. Event tickets used for reviews are paid for or clearly disclosed. Staff do not take part in political campaigns or post partisan views on public accounts.
Fairness
People and organizations facing criticism in our reporting are given a real chance to respond before publication, and their response, or the fact that they did not reply, is included. We avoid identifying private individuals unless it is necessary to the story.
Labels and timestamps
Every article shows when it was first published and, if changed, when it was last updated. Significant updates are noted at the end of the article. Advertising is labelled “Advertisement”. We do not publish sponsored articles.
Images and artificial intelligence
The Northline does not send photographers to most of the events it covers. Instead of reusing photographs we have no right to, the lead images on our articles are illustrations produced with an AI image model from a written brief and checked by an editor. Each one is captioned as an illustration so it cannot be mistaken for a photograph of the event. We never generate images of real people.
We do not use AI to write or rewrite articles, quotations or headlines. Details are set out in our AI policy.
Diverse voices
Canada is a country of regions, two official languages, Indigenous nations and large immigrant communities. We track whose voices appear in our reporting and actively seek out sources beyond Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver.
Questions
Questions about these standards go to the editor-in-chief at standards@northlinenews.com. We reply to every message that is not spam.