Editorial standards

These are the rules the Tribune follows. They are short on purpose. A reader should be able to tell what kind of story they are reading, where a claim came from, and how to ask for a correction or a reply.

Two kinds of stories

Every story is labeled informational or investigative. An informational story is a guide. An investigative story examines a record. The two are not the same piece of work. A guide should not dress up opinion as instruction, and an investigation should show what it relies on.

Corrections

If we get a fact wrong, we correct it. Write to the editors with the headline, the date, and the sentence that needs fixing. When we correct a published story, we change the text and add a note at the top of the article saying what changed and when. We do not quietly rewrite the record.

Right of reply

Anyone named in an investigative story has a right of reply. Before publication, we ask the people and organizations the story concerns for a response, when we can reach them, and we reflect that response fairly in the story. After publication, a reply can be sent to the editors. We will publish a fair reply, or a clear summary of it, with the story.

Disclosures and sources

If readers need to know something before they begin — a conflict, a limit of the reporting, or how a person asked to be identified — that note appears in a box at the top of the article. Investigative stories list the records, documents, and interviews they rely on at the end, so a reader can see where a claim came from.

Tips, corrections, and replies go through the contact page.