The editorial mission of our publications is to tell the truth, We do this through honest and independent journalism that serves engaged and focused audiences.
Each publication represents a unique voice speaking to a distinct audience, but all share a passion for building a trusted relationship with their readers, through fearless and original journalism about what matters, or should matter to them. We tell our readers what we know, how we know it, and why we believe it matters. And we are open about how we got there.
The desire to help our readers understand their world guides our work. We seek to inform, debunk, challenge, provoke, untangle, and amuse but above all to tell the truth as we see it. We will write honestly, transparently and with intellect, But we will treat our readers and those we write about as reasonably as we can and recognize the humanity of those we cover.
The issues and interests of our audiences are paramount. We build their loyalty and engagement through the quality of our journalism and their experience of it, and by enabling them to share their knowledge and perspectives.
Accuracy, updating and error correction
The pursuit of truth requires that we are accurate in all we write and say, from the slightest fact to the broadest context. Writers are responsible for the accuracy of their published output regardless of format and distribution platform, but everyone who touches the copy during editing shares in that responsibility.
Information must be verified before publication, using original sources where possible. Neither the need for fast turnarounds nor format is an excuse for inaccuracy. We are always up against deadlines, and new information may become available, but errors of omission, partial truths and missing context dent our credibility. Best practice is to update and, where necessary, correct information throughout the life of a story, and to be clear about which is which. Post-publication, we must correct our errors, large or small, as soon as we become aware of them.
Anonymous sources
As a general rule, we do not publish information attributed to anonymous sources. Providing clear provenance for facts and quotations builds the trust of readers in the credibility of our reporting. Anonymous tips and talking confidentially to sources will always be an essential part of reporting, but in published stories, sources will be granted anonymity only for specific and crucial reasons. There are times when anonymous sourcing is unavoidable, notably to prevent an individual from being put in harm’s way or losing their job were they to be identified
Social media
We apply the same standards to all of our content on whichever platform we publish.
Sourcing
We do not pay for interviews or documents. We do not promise favourable coverage in return for a source’s co-operation.
Compliance with these policies
Editorial management stand over these policies and do not anticipate every situation that will arise in work as fast-changing and challenging as ours, nor can they provide infallible rules for the decisions editors and writers have to make hour by hour. But they do provide crucial guidelines for those occasions where we have difficult, sensitive, or uncommon decisions to make..
We believe that all editorial staff want to produce the best journalism they can for their audiences, and to that end that they will, as routine, exercise professional judgement in their daily work and dealings with readers, subjects, sources and colleagues.
Any further queries can be directed to
Connect Publications
HQ 2 Dominick Street Tralee CO Kerry
