The Record Searchlight wrote a column explaining the ethics that steer their newsroom. In it, they address how they try to be fair, accurate and balanced, but acknowledged that sometimes mistakes happen and bias creeps in. "We also have to be humble enough to admit we make mistakes and sometimes fail to fully live up to our best intentions. In our local reporting, bias may creep in because we choose to interview one person versus another, or cover one important topic instead of something else. We try to guard against this, but we know it happens," the column read.
After getting feedback from the public that the paper only highlighted images and tours of expensive homes in the community, the Milton Independent acknowledged and responded to the feedback by saying they were going to shift their coverage to include homes with lower cost of price. "We are thankful for your feedback and want to explain why we are creating this kind of content and address how we plan on adapting it based on your feedback," the Facebook post read. "We can see —based on what you click and comment on— that Milton readers enjoy flipping through photos of interesting and expensive houses. We too, find it fun, but we also want to make sure our content is useful, meaning we want to also introduce you to real estate that you might consider at some point."
USA TODAY editor Nicole Carroll started a dialogue with readers about why some people deny the seriousness of COVID-19. In a column she wrote about the experience, where she clearly stated the newsroom's goals of spreading facts, and then had health reporters address the claims she heard from readers. "I say this constantly: Our job is to spread truth. Many letters repeated the same false claims, the same bad information. So I asked our team of health journalists to take on the most stubborn misconceptions and set the record straight," Carroll wrote.
It’s important to label content so your audience understands when they’re reading an opinion story versus a news story. The editorial board at the Corpus Christi (Texas) Caller-Times did this by clearly labeling one of it’s editorials with the word “opinion.” The board also posted an explainer at the top of the editorial on how opinion content is different from traditional news coverage. “The conclusions and opinions here have been derived by our Editorial Board and are not associated with the news staff,” the board wrote.
While sharing a crime story on Facebook, the Coloradoan received questions about how they approach covering crime stories. In the comments section of the Facebook post, the news organization explained their crime coverage policy and answered questions from users.
Balanced reporting can happen over time, but readers don’t always see the full breadth of your coverage. An editor’s note can draw attention to the wide variety of sources you’ve interviewed—and highlight your promise to keep sharing a range of perspectives.