Journalism Principles
Bethesda Magazine is an independent organization that operates based on widely recognized journalistic principles and practices. This includes the following commitments:
- Accuracy: Report news, information and data accurately and make reasonable attempts to verify its accuracy
- Context: Present information from sources, such as quotes or clips, in their original tone, not altering their intent or meaning
- Balance: Explore issues and events from multiple perspectives, free of bias and stereotypes
- Timeliness: Share information in a timely manner to keep our audience informed
- Independence: Conduct our news gathering and reporting free of censorship and pressure from special interests, including advertisers, sponsors and public officials
- Transparency: Clearly identify paid content and maintain a separation between journalism and advertising
- Diversity: Reflect the diversity of our community, especially in terms of gender equity and cultural sensitivity
- Openness: Operate in a transparent manner and respond to complaints and concerns, even when this includes criticism of our reporting and work
Corrections and reader comments
When a mistake is made, either in fact or context, Bethesda Magazine is committed to publicly acknowledging the error and publishing or broadcasting corrections in a timely and consistent manner.
Bethesda Magazine gathers information with the intent of making it available for public consumption. Bethesda Magazine generally does not “unpublish” or remove information from its public channels, except in cases of egregious error or when legally required to do so. Bethesda Magazine will generally reject public requests to remove or alter information and cases of “source remorse.”
Bethesda Magazine encourages its readers to comment on and share their perspectives by commenting on its stories, by either contacting us directly or through social media. Posts that are libelous, inflammatory, used to market a company/product or are otherwise off-topic are typically removed in order to promote constructive discussion about local business issues.
How we deal with sources
Bethesda Magazine collects information from sources and generally makes these sources known using the following guidelines:
- Not for attribution: Bethesda Magazine may quote statements directly, but the source may not be named, although a general description of his or her position may be given.
- On background: Bethesda Magazine may use the essence of statements and generally describe the source, but we may not use direct quotes.
- Off the record: Bethesda Magazine may not report the information, which can be used solely to help our own understanding or perspective.
Complaints and concerns
Complaints or concerns should be sent to us through our contact page. Bethesda Magazine endeavors to respond quickly, but a response might take up to three business days.
