Editorial Standards And Policies
At Ghana News Page, our utmost priority is to have an editorial with unmatched standards guiding our journalists to serve news and information of the highest quality in the interest of readers as well as the general public.
As a privately owned entity, we have a newsroom bent on promoting a balanced representation of Africa in the media while staying true to our independence from government interference or funding.
As we aim for journalism practiced with integrity, here are our editorial guidelines and ethics. Kindly do note that we regularly review these guidelines to better serve our audience.
Ethics Policy:
1. Being Factual
Although we cannot guarantee getting the truth 100% at all times to our audience, we prioritise putting out factual information at all times. Hence, this is our cardinal principle.
We believe every link should be an editorial decision, and the information served to the audience must at all times be accurate. We believe every story has multiple sides or versions, and reports must reflect the same. 2. Being Independent
As a private media outfit, our independence is very important to us. We do not only want to have an independent voice, but we endeavour not to act formally or informally on behalf of special interests, whether political, corporate, or cultural. 3. Reporting Impartiality & Fairly
Our orientation accepts that stories come with two or more sides. It may not be by force to capture every side in all stories we put out. However, what we believe is that our stories must at all times be balanced. As a result, we strive to always present stories objectively and impartially to gain the trust and confidence of readers. 4. Humanity
We never set out to do harm. It is a no-go area. Our publications may be distasteful for some parties on various occasions, but it is never our intent to cause harm. We imbibe in our journalists to be mindful of the choice of diction and accompanying images in order not to avert harm to our audience. 5. Accountability
Holding ourselves to the highest standard of journalism, we are ready to be accountable at all times. We may commit errors, but you should be assured that we will always correct them. When apologizing, our expressions of regret shall be sincere and not cynical in any form.6. Transparency
We have nothing to hide, and that is why we believe we should come clean to declare to our audience if we are affiliated with any political party. If there are any financial arrangements or other personal information that might constitute a conflict of interest, we should also declare. 7. Freedom of Expression
We will always be ready to open our platform to our audience to receive their opinions (comments, opinions, polls, rejoinders, etc.).
We believe we should give individuals and organizations a fair and timely opportunity to reply to inaccuracies when the issue is of significant importance or when reasonably called for.
We should always provide remedies to issues that are unfair.8. We say NO to Plagiarism
With the belief that the work of others must be acknowledged and credited, we say NO to plagiarism. Acts such as copying and pasting articles and doing the same for photos, graphics, and videos without sourcing should not be done by our journalists. 9. Comments, Facts and Propaganda
Our journalists should always defend our beliefs. We will not be champions of propaganda through controversial comments or the twisting of facts. Speculations shall not be presented as facts.
Diversity Policy
Our journalists work with the principle that stories should capture the diverse values, viewpoints, and lives of the people in our communities. Ours is to do away with stereotyping [be it towards race, gender, age, religion, ethnicity, geography, and sexual orientation].
Issues relating to gender identification, disability, physical appearance and social status are all included
Bylines Policy
Ghana News Page permits its journalists and correspondents to add their names to bylines as authors of articles. The company will at times only allow the website name to be used in order to protect journalists from legal attacks. This is to give journalists the chance to freely work and express themselves. The names of contributors and partner websites are also used as bylines.
Actionable Feedback Policy
We have made it a point to swiftly react to any feedback we receive. You can send your suggestions, criticisms, complaints, compliments, questions, concerns, or enquiries to [email protected], and we will respond as soon as possible.
Corrections Policy
We acknowledge the fact that mistakes do happen. For this reason, we are always ready to make corrections to all our stories and accept mistakes when they happen.
All corrections made to a story, title, or photo should be highlighted at the top of the story in italics. This is the standard practice we are keen on upholding to give our credibility a major boost.
If we update stories, our journalists add “UPDATED” before the title to indicate a major update to the story.
Unnamed Sources Policy
We should specify our sources, whether disclosed or undisclosed. We believe they should be clearly stated in stories to increase their credibility. Images used for stories should also be well captioned and sources cited.
Verification/Fact-Checking Policy
We task our journalists and editors to take responsibility for fact-checking to ensure that the content produced is factual. During the process, journalists and editors should highlight at least 3 different credible sources.
While we push our writers to produce content from their point of view, we also urge them to use credible sources to support their claim to promote trustworthiness.
In cases where journalists decide to use social media as a source, verified accounts and accounts of prominent individuals and organisations are the preferred options. We admit accounts can be hacked, and that is why information picked from social media accounts should be well-checked and several considerations made before usage.