Policies
We are guided by the journalism industry’s best practices.
Our policies are informed by the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, the Institute for Nonprofit News’guidelines for Editorial Independence & Donor Transparency, and the American Press Institute’s guiding principles for nonprofit newsrooms and funders of nonprofit media.
Editorial Independence
Our journalists prioritize the public’s interest when deciding what stories to cover and how to tell them. We do not promise specific outcomes of our reporting or accept directed conclusions from funders.
We prioritize diversified funding for the general support of our activities, and we have a review process to determine whether to accept and how to handle funds to ensure independence from special interests.
Fairness
We report for our readers, not our sources, funders or supporters. Our primary consideration when presenting information is the truth. We aim to be concise, clear and neutral in our language and story framing, and we avoid loaded words.
We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve in our staff, contributors, editorial choices and editorial priorities. We aim to correct our own implicit and explicit biases while also respecting people’s different experiences and needs. And our journalists strive to report more accurate stories by looking at how structures and systems can intentionally or unintentionally harm, oppress or discriminate against people.
We seek out a variety of experiences, expertise and perspectives and strive to portray that diversity of views accurately. This, however, does not mean that we will always give all sides equal weight in a story to portray a sense of balance. This is especially the case when the facts are well known, such as the fact that global warming is occurring, or when evidence substantially supports one side of an issue over another.
We aim to be fair in how we treat our sources. We will listen with an open mind and do our best to be faithful to what they mean when we paraphrase what they’ve told us. We will be honest with our sources about the angle of our stories and what we’re trying to accomplish, and we will do our best to keep them updated if our story angles change.
Sources
We seek out diverse voices from the start of our reporting. We recognize that no single voice can always represent an entire community, and we do our best to depart from stereotypes (held by us and others) of various groups. Hawai‘i’s peoples and communities are complex and diverse, and it’s our job to accurately reflect that.
We always want to talk with the people most impacted by the topic at hand. And, when applicable to a story’s context, we ask each source how they prefer to be referred to (such as race/ethnicity, gender identity, pronouns, disability, etc.).
Sources should also have a reasonable amount of time to respond to our interview requests and to any accusations. That amount of time will vary depending on the situation.
When we don’t hear back from a source but still need to proceed with the story, we will diligently search public records to pull out previous comments made by the individual or organization that may help explain their perspectives. We will also search for others who may be able to help represent them or provide context. And we will tell our readers about our attempts to contact sources we don’t hear back from.
We grant anonymity to sources when 1) the source has direct knowledge of the information; 2) the information is factual, not speculative; 3) it’s the only way we can get the information; and 4) the source has a reasonable basis to fear retaliation or harm from speaking with us.
We will explain in our articles why a source was granted anonymity, and we will attribute information to an anonymous source using a description that establishes the source’s credibility. For example, “a state government official who was at the meeting and heard what the president said.” If we use an anonymous source in an article, we cannot quote that same person on the record elsewhere in the story as refusing to comment.
We will verify everything anonymous sources tell us using public records, named sources, and by requesting documents or photos from the source requesting anonymity.
We do not pay sources for information. We do not enter into nondisclosure agreements or make deals in exchange for access to information or people. We do not make promises regarding publication, placement or angle of a story.
Conflicts of Interest
Our journalists and contributors serve the public interest above all other interests. We avoid conflicts of interest (real or perceived) and disclose unavoidable conflicts when they arise. We recognize that in community-rooted journalism, reporters and contributors may live and work within the systems they cover. Proximity to an issue does not disqualify insight. However, lived or professional involvement does not confer editorial authority or advocacy control. HCJ applies editorial standards, verification, and transparency to all reporting and contributions. We do not accept gifts, favors, fees, or special treatment that could compromise our integrity, impartiality, or credibility.
HCJ retains full editorial control over all coverage decisions. Donors, sponsors, institutional partners, advertisers, and sources have no right of approval or influence over editorial content. We do not accept funding that would compromise our integrity or credibility, and we decline support tied to predetermined conclusions or outcomes. Likewise, funding we receive does not constitute endorsement of a donor’s views, products, services, or policy positions.
We avoid personal, financial, or organizational relationships that could influence (or appear to influence) coverage. When potential conflicts cannot be avoided, we will disclose them to audiences when relevant.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, HCJ is nonpartisan and does not endorse political candidates or parties.
Financial Transparency & Policy
We serve our community by reporting accurately and honestly. We believe that editorial independence and financial transparency are integral to earning and maintaining the public’s trust.
- We disclose donors who give more than $5,000 per year and note them in articles where they are subjects.
- We do not accept funding that compromises our independence, values, ethics or mission.
- We avoid accepting donations from political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office.
- We may accept anonymous donations only for general support and will carefully evaluate these donations against our ethical standards.
- We will publish our ethics policies, mission statements, conflict of interest policies, and federal tax returns on our website as applicable.
- We inform funders of our mission and values, emphasizing that support for independent media differs from public relations and advocacy.
- As a nonprofit organization, The Kūpa‘a Network and its programs abide by all IRS regulations.
This policy was inspired by those of the Institute for Nonprofit News and American Press Institute’s guiding principles for nonprofit newsrooms and funders of nonprofit media.
Clarifications and Corrections
We always strive to portray information accurately, clearly and within context. But we’re human and may occasionally make a mistake. Corrections will be made promptly, and a note explaining the changes made will be added at the bottom of the story.
If information was unclear or misleading, we will clarify the information and add a note to the bottom of the story about how the original information was unclear.
Artificial Intelligence
We do not use generative artificial intelligence to write articles or create images for us. We do use AI to help us make mundane processes more efficient (for example, transcribing interviews, as scheduling assistants or adjusting a photo’s lighting). And we sometimes use AI to help us brainstorm questions, ideas or social media teasers, but all work involving AI is checked by a human. We will be monitoring local and national conversations about best practices regarding AI’s use in journalism.
Republishing Our Stories
Our stories may be republished for free with written permission. You must credit Hawaiʻi Community Journal (HCJ) by stating at the top of the story: “This story was originally published by Hawaiʻi Community Journal (HCJ), an online newsroom covering the systems and solutions behind Hawai‘i’s most pressing issues.” You should link our name “Hawaiʻi Community Journal (HCJ)” to the story’s original URL. For the byline, we prefer “Author name, Hawaiʻi Community Journal.” And if you are republishing online, you must include all links in our story.
No editing of our stories is allowed, except to reflect changes in time and location. For example, “yesterday” can be changed to the actual date, and “here” can be changed to the actual location.
We appreciate being tagged if you reshare any of our stories on your social media accounts. We have official accounts for Instagram, LinkedIn, Bluesky, Threads and Facebook.
Social Media
We are on several social media platforms to introduce our work to new readers, connect with the communities we serve, gather information, cultivate sources and participate in important conversations. Many of the individuals who work for us (both journalist and non-journalist) have their own social media accounts for their personal uses and to share their work.
Our team is required to identify themselves as being with Hawaiʻi Community Journal (HCJ) if they use their accounts for work in any way. Personal opinions of our team are not representative of Hawaiʻi Community Journal and our team should never use their affiliation with Hawaiʻi Community Journal for personal or private gain.
Our team may not post about internal HCJ or The Kūpa‘a Network discussions or share confidential or proprietary business information.
Social media can be a powerful tool to shed light on how our journalists do their work, and we welcome our journalists using these platforms to help readers understand their reporting and how their identity and experiences strengthen their reporting.
Our policies are inspired by other newsrooms that also practice community-centered, solutions-oriented and systems thinking journalism: The Oaklandside and El Tímpano in the Bay Area, LAist, LA Public Press, Outlier Media in Detroit, national newsroom The 19th News, and many others.