How we operate and why it matters.

At The Issaquah Spotlight, we believe the responsibility to provide fair and accurate journalism falls on every member of our team — our editor, advisory board members, freelancers and reporters. It’s up to us to earn the trust of our readers by always striving for the truth and providing transparent, credible information across all our channels.

Comments

We welcome community engagement on the content we publish in our comments sections. We require commenters to include first and last names for comments to be published. We encourage civil discourse when leaving any comment and we will not publish comments including profanity or hate speech.

Corrections

We strive for accuracy, but everyone gets something wrong sometimes. If an inaccuracy is published, we will always tell the audience that an error has been corrected through a note at the bottom of the article or post, titled “Correction.” Typos do not require a correction unless the error changed the context of the story.

If crucial context is missing from a story, and we add clarification after publishing, we must alert our audience through a note at the bottom of the article or post, titled “Clarification.”

In the extreme case that the entirety of the story is harmful or inaccurate, we will include an “Editor’s Note,” which is reviewed and vetted by the Board of Directors, explaining to the audience why the story should not have been published.

Removal of Posts

Any requests to update, anonymize or take down previous posts are subject to an official process of deliberation by our team. We seek to avoid removing posts wherever possible out of a responsibility to maintaining a public record that should not be erasable. We evaluate these requests primarily on the basis of whether a story poses a threat to an individual’s physical well-being.

Sources & Attribution

We do not publish statements out of context or without proper attribution. We do not alter statements, except for some light grammatical or spelling errors that would otherwise detract from the story.

Quotes given in another language should be translated accurately, and we will note when a translator is used.

When we are building on reporting created by other sources, we do our best to attribute this reporting to the original publisher of the story whenever possible and appropriate.

We want to be as transparent as possible with our audience about who our sources are, and therefore we avoid using anonymous sources when possible. If an anonymous source is used, the editor of the story must be aware of who the source is and a reason for granting anonymity should be provided to the reader in the story. Any claims or allegations made by an anonymous source must be corroborated. Likewise, leaked documents must also be thoroughly fact-checked and claims corroborated.

As required by Washington law, we ask for consent before recording conversations. We often ask sources to record conversations because recording provides a far more comprehensive record than taking notes by hand, and minimizes risk of misunderstanding and inaccuracy.

Fact-Checking

All stories published or produced by The Issaquah Spotlight should be thoroughly fact-checked before publication. Fact checking is the responsibility of the reporter, with backing from the editor. We will corroborate claims made by all of our sources, and for previously unreported claims or allegations, we typically require multiple sources for corroboration.

All stories are subject to one or more rounds of editing. As we recruit additional staff and volunteers, we hope to implement additional rounds of editing and fact-checking.

Integrity & Conflicts of Interest

We never pay for sources or access. We do not accept gifts or discounts provided by a person or organization we may report on. Exceptions are made for gifts or trinkets of nominal value ($25 or less).

Staff members may not accept anything that could be considered payment for coverage. We should always disclose if a writer has any self-interest in the story they are writing, or if they may appear to.

Our coverage is not determined by our funders, some of whom have specific interests that may or may not align with ours. We also prohibit funders from reaching out to reporters in attempts to influence coverage.

We may never commit illegal acts while reporting or encourage any subject to commit an illegal act.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is never allowed.

When aggregating stories or reporting on events that have been previously reported, we do not permit patch writing by taking another author’s original work, changing some of the words or phrasing and publishing without proper attribution.

When we aggregate or publish our own stories with other potential news partners, we will always include the byline of the original author and the original property that published the story.

The Issaquah Spotlight will use the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics as a source to guide our team, ensuring the high quality and professionalism the community expects and demands of local news agencies.

AI Content

If content is collected or created by AI, it must be noted clearly. AI cannot be an author or co-author. AI-generated content must be manually checked for accuracy.

The Issaquah Spotlight subscribes to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.

• Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
• We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects.
• Our news judgments are made independently — not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
• We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. As a news nonprofit, we will accept charitable donations from anonymous sources provided that sufficient safeguards have been put in place to assure editorial independence. We will not accept donations from sources who, as deemed by our board, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
• We will never share donor information with third-party organizations.

Our mission comes first

The Issaquah Spotlight is an independent, nonprofit newsroom serving the greater Issaquah area with fact-based reporting on education, the environment, local government, civic life and more. We rely on a mix of reader support, grants and sponsorships to sustain our work.

Advertising and sponsorships are welcome forms of support, but they do not sway our journalism. Editorial decisions are made independently and are not influenced by revenue considerations.

Our general standards

• We accept sponsorships and advertising from businesses, nonprofits, institutions and individuals whose products, services or missions we believe are relevant to our readers’ lives and interests.
• All advertising content must be clearly distinguishable from editorial content. Ads will be labeled “Advertisement” or “Sponsored” where appropriate.
• An advertisement or a sponsorship deal is not an endorsement by The Issaquah Spotlight.
• We will decline any advertising or sponsorship that we deem inconsistent with our mission and values or jeopardize the trust of our readers.

Types of ads and sponsorships

• Website: Banner placements, sidebar and in-story ads on desktop and mobile, sold directly by The Issaquah Spotlight, as well as third-party ads not sold by us.
• Newsletter: Sponsor messages within our email newsletters, always clearly labeled, sold by The Issaquah Spotlight and the nonprofit News Revenue Hub.