Sourcing, conflicts, and the public record.
Most IE Gazette stories begin with a public document: an agenda packet, a staff report, a budget, a set of minutes, a permit or a court filing. We link to those documents so readers can check our work. When a story is drawn entirely from the record, we say so in the provenance line beneath the headline.
We prefer named, on-the-record sources. Anonymity is granted only when a source faces real risk and the information is important and cannot be obtained another way. We do not invent quotes, and we do not paraphrase a document as if someone said it aloud.
Previews describe what a public body has scheduled, using the body's own agenda language, item numbers and file numbers. Recaps describe what happened, from the minutes, the vote record and the video. Neither includes analysis we cannot tie to a document or an identified person.
Staff do not cover agencies that employ family members, hold office, or own property that is the subject of a story. Relevant relationships are disclosed in the piece. Contributors to the Opinion section disclose employers, clients and financial interests.
We use software to track agendas, pull documents and flag items. Software does not decide what we publish. Every story is reviewed by a person before it runs, and every story carries a byline that is accountable for it.
See our corrections policy. Errors are fixed in the story with a dated note.
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