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Newsroom Guidelines

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Mission statement

Founded on Nov. 25, 1905, we serve the readers of Orange County, reporting and writing accurately and fairly, shining a light on injustice and defending the public’s right to know. Our staff of journalists live and work in the cities we cover, reporting on city government and local elections, crime, housing, schools, sports, entertainment and investigations of public corruption.

Editorial ethics

The Southern California News Group is committed to the highest ethical standards. Fairness and accuracy are among our core values. But nothing stands above the need to maintain our integrity. The public’s trust — our most important asset — depends on it.

The Southern California News Group’s ethics policy covers fairness and accuracy in reporting; use of unidentified sources; quotations and attribution; bylines, datelines and credit lines; meals, tickets and travel; and gifts and sample products.

The ethics policy also addresses credibility and conflicts of interest. Staff members should avoid online and real-world activities that could conflict with their jobs. The policy covers financial holdings; freelancing; use of company property while freelancing; radio and television; honorariums; connections; and relationships.

To read our full editorial ethics policy please click here.

Policy on sources

Unidentified sources

We attribute information to unnamed sources only when news value warrants and it cannot be obtained any other way.

When forced to rely on unnamed sources, we avoid letting them be the sole basis for a story. We do not allow unnamed sources to make personal attacks.

We describe the unnamed source in as much detail as possible to indicate the source’s credibility. Simply attributing a comment to “a source” is inadequate.

Additionally, whenever possible readers are told the reason the source requested or was given anonymity.

A reporter must identify any unnamed source to his or her editor, and the editor must bring the story to a senior editor for discussion and approval.

To the extent possible, we apply our own standards regarding unnamed sources when we publish stories produced by other news organizations, wire services, blogs or independent journalists. If these stories conflict with our policy on unattributed sources, we try to contact the originating news agency for more information. When we rely on information distributed via social media, we verify the identity of the poster.

Quotations and attribution

Quotations are always to be the exact words that someone spoke, with the exception of minor corrections in grammar and syntax. Parentheses and ellipses within quotations are rarely appropriate and can almost always be avoided.

We generally explain when a quote was received in a manner other than an interview: via e-mail, in a prepared statement, in a televised press conference. If we conduct an interview through a translator, we identify quotes received in that manner.

We do not make it sound as if a source made a statement to our reporter if it came to us through a third party.

Verification and fact-checking standards

The Southern California News Group commits to do its best to publish accurate information across all of its content. We take many steps to ensure accuracy:

We investigate claims with skepticism; question assumptions; challenge conventional wisdom; confirm information with subject-matter experts; and seek to corroborate what sources tell us by talking with other informed people or consulting documents. We verify content, such as technical terms and statistics, against source documents or make clear who is providing the information. We may share relevant components of a story with a primary source or an outside expert to verify them.

We stand by the information as accurate, and if it’s not, we will change it as quickly as possible and be transparent with our readers about the magnitude of the error.

We welcome feedback from our readers and sources regarding the information that we publish. If you would like to reach our editors regarding coverage, you can find their contact information on our Contact Us page. To report an error, please email online@scng.com.

Corrections Policy

The Southern California News Group corrects all significant errors that are brought to the attention of the editors.

Updating digital stories

Stories posted online will be fixed immediately after an error has been found. This includes fixes of minor errors such as misspellings. As a story develops, we do not note updates unless there is a particular reason to note the addition of new information or other change. Each story includes the time stamp of original publication and the time stamp when it was last updated. A story’s time stamp will signal to readers that they are reading a developing story.

Stories that contain a material error — an error that would significantly affect a reader’s understanding of a story — and have been published online for a significant period of time will have a correction appended as soon as the correction is approved by editors.

Corrections & clarifications

The Southern California News Group strives to have accurate information. Significant factual errors will be corrected and noted in the online article as well as in the newspaper, if applicable.

To report an error, please email online@scng.com, and submit what needs to be corrected, where the error was found (which page/section of the newspaper and/or the URL to the story) and any other additional information.

Articles significantly corrected after digital publication will appear at ocregister.com/tag/corrections. Corrections for the print edition of our newspapers generally appear in the A-section.

Legal demands for corrections must be in writing and sent to Executive Editor Frank Pine at 605 E Huntington Dr Ste 100 Monrovia, California 91016.

“Unpublishing” stories

The Southern California News Group generally does not “unpublish” content or remove details such as names from our websites and archives. On a case-by-case basis, a committee of editors will review individual requests to remove, redact or de-index published content, considering whether circumstances have changed since publication. Email contentreview@scng.com with the url and reason for the request.

Diversity policy

Inclusiveness is at the heart of thinking and acting as journalists. The complex issues we face as a society require respect for different viewpoints. Race, class, generation, gender and geography all affect point of view. Reflecting these differences in our reporting leads to better, more nuanced stories and a better-informed community.

We are interested in hearing from different ethnic, civic and business groups in the communities we serve. Please let us know about stories in your neighborhood by reaching out to staff on our contact page.

Diversity staffing report

We seek diverse voices in our management and reporting staff. Our staffing data is available via the American Society of News Editors (ASNE) website. You can see a visual representation here or learn more about the ASNE diversity survey here.

Reader engagement and feedback

Our readers are a frontline witness to life in this area – public safety, politics, housing, social movements, schools, culture – and your insights can help shape our news agenda. We invite your comments and complaints on news stories, suggestions for issues and events to cover or sources to consult, and your participation in our policy conversations and town hall meetings that follow news developments. We believe that news organizations have a responsibility to engage with the public on the values, issues and ideas of the day, and that we have much to gain in return.

We have an extensive guide for sending news tips on our site. Please find all our contact information on our Contact Us page.

Commenting on a story

At the bottom of most articles, we provide a space for community reactions and discussion of the topics covered. We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community.

Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing online@scng.com.

Masthead

Our leadership team is based in our newsrooms throughout Southern California.

Ron Hasse

Ron Hasse is President and Publisher of the Southern California News Group representing nine daily and six weekly publications throughout Southern California. Ron has served as President since 2013 and has been a senior executive with the Southern California News Group since 2009.

Email: publisher@scng.com | Twitter: @rhasse

Frank Pine

Frank Pine is executive editor of the Southern California News Group. In nearly 20 years working for Southern California news media, Pine has directed reporting that has earned national acclaim and led transformational efforts to deliver news on digital platforms. He also has served as a journalism adviser and guest lecturer at local colleges and universities. A native of Southern California, he has lived in both Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.

Email: editor@scng.com | Twitter: @fpine

Kyla Rodriguez

Kyla Rodriguez is the senior vice president of advertising for the Southern California News Group.

Email: krodriguez@scng.com

Dan Scofield

Dan Scofield is the chief financial officer for the Southern California News Group.

Email: dscofield@scng.com

Jon Merendino

Jon Merendino is vice president of operations for the Southern California News Group.

Email: jmerendino@scng.com

Byline policy

Bylines, datelines and credit lines should accurately convey to readers the source of reporting. All stories, including briefs, should have a byline and contact information for the writer so readers know who to contact if there is an error or issue.

In multiple bylines, the first name generally should be that of the reporter who wrote the article, or if different, of the largest contributor. Any reporter who contributed substantively to a story should be included in the byline. Contributor lines should be reserved for those who provided small slices of reporting, such as a single quote or two, for a story.

We should treat material from our Southern California News Group colleagues at partner newspapers just as the work of our individual newspaper’s staff. When a reporter writes an article based in part on wire service reports and in part on the reporter’s own work, the article should carry the reporter’s byline and a credit to the wire service in a tagline. If the reporter independently reports the facts of the story, the byline can stand alone. If the reporter simply inserts some local material, the byline should be the originating source with a reporter’s credit at the end.

When adding a wire-service quote to a story, particularly if it is exclusive information or an anonymous quote, indicate the source: “Bush is going to run for re-election,” a senior administration official told the Washington Post.

Non-staff bylines

On some pages you will see bylines from news agencies rather than our staff. We trust news agencies to help us cover the world as fully as possible and to adhere to the highest journalistic standards.

The Associated Press. AP is an independent, not-for-profit news cooperative, serving member newspapers and broadcasters in the U.S., and other customers around the world. The Southern California News Group is one of them. AP journalists in more than 100 countries tell the world’s stories, from breaking news to investigative reporting to visual storytelling. Since 1846, AP has been covering the world’s biggest news events, committed to the highest standards of objective, accurate journalism. Learn more about policies and standards in AP’s Statement of News Values and Principles.

City News Service. CNS is a regional wire service covering Los Angeles, Orange, Riverside and San Diego counties. Its reporting and editing staff cover public safety, courts, local government and general assignment stories. Learn more about its procedures on its About Us page.

No bylines

We have a “no byline” policy on editorials written by our Editorial Board. The editorial board and opinion section staff are independent of the news-gathering side of our organization. Through our staff-written editorials, we take positions on important issues affecting our readership, from pension reform to protecting our region’s unique natural resources to transportation. The editorials are unsigned because, while written by one or more members of our staff, they represent the point of view of our news organization’s management. In order to take informed positions, we meet frequently with government, community and business leaders on important issues affecting our cities, region and state. During elections, we meet with candidates for office and the proponents and opponents of ballot initiatives and then make recommendations to voters. Read more about who is on our Editorial Board here.

Ownership structure

The Southern California News Group (SCNG) is committed to transparency in our ownership structure. We cite potential conflicts of interest on the same page as the relevant work.

SCNG consists of 11 daily newspapers and 20 weeklies in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino and Riverside Counties.

All of the Southern California News Group publications are owned by MediaNews Group, which is based in Denver, Colorado. MediaNews Group is a privately-owned company managed by a board of directors that is controlled by majority shareholder Alden Global Capital, a privately held investment firm based in New York City. As a private company, MediaNews Group makes business decisions that keep shareholders in mind, but editorial decisions are independent.

The company’s largest properties include The Orange County Register, The Denver Post, The Mercury News, The Press-Enterprise, Los Angeles Daily News, Boston Herald and St. Paul Pioneer Press. Other MedaNews Group publications are listed at medianewsgroup.com/our-brands/.

Southern California News Group publications

    Daily publications:

  • The Orange County Register
  • The Press-Enterprise
  • Los Angeles Daily News
  • The Daily Breeze
  • Long Beach Press-Telegram
  • San Gabriel Valley Tribune
  • Pasadena Star-News
  • Whittier Daily News
  • Inland Valley Daily Bulletin
  • San Bernardino County Sun
  • Redlands Daily Facts
    Los Angeles County — weekly publications:

  • The Beach Reporter
  • Palos Verdes Peninsula News
  • Grunion Gazette
    Orange County — weekly publications:

  • Anaheim Bulletin
  • Coastal Current North
  • Coastal Current South
  • Irvine World News
  • Laguna Woods Globe
  • North County News-Tribune
  • Saddleback Valley News
  • The Wave

Privacy policy

In compliance with the California Consumer Privacy Act, MediaNews Group discloses the information we collect. The full list can be found here: https://www.medianewsgroup.com/ca-privacy-policy/

Requests for data related to the CCPA or requests for data to be deleted should be sent to californiadataprivacy@medianewsgroup.com.

They can also be mailed to:
MediaNews Group
PO Box 909
San Jose, CA 95106

The Trust Project

The Southern California News Group is a member of The Trust Project, an international coalition of reputable media organizations working together to promote truthful, verified news with fairness and accuracy. Through ongoing global collaboration with the public, news leaders, search and social platforms, the consortium is defining a standard for quality journalism that can be easily recognized anywhere.

The Southern California News Group is committed to using the standards and protocols of The Trust Project, such as transparent ownership and mission statements, ethics and reporting policies, clear labelling of story types and links to detailed author information on articles. These indicators are standardized across Trust-member websites and are machine-readable, meaning they can be recognized and certified by search engines and social media sites.

One of the Trust Project protocols involves clear labeling to help readers distinguish news — verified information based in the impartial reporting of facts — from opinion — articles based on personal interpretation of facts. The glossary below contains definitions for the various types of news and opinion content found on our websites.

News: Based on facts, either observed and verified directly by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources.

Analysis: Based on factual reporting, although it incorporates the expertise of the author and may offer interpretations and conclusions.

Investigative: In-depth examination of a single subject requiring extensive research.

Explainer: Provides context, definition and detail on a specific topic.

Obituary: Reports the death of an individual, providing an account of the person’s life including their achievements, any controversies in which they were involved, and reminiscences by people who knew them.

Opinion: Advocates for ideas and draws conclusions based on the author’s interpretation of facts and data.

Review: An assessment or critique of a service, product, or creative endeavor such as art, literature or a performance.

Sponsored: Produced on behalf of an organization or individual that has paid the news provider for production and/or approved publication.

Underwritten: Produced with financial support from an organization or individual, yet not approved by the underwriter before or after publication. Articles are held to strict journalistic standards, but are funded by entities interested in being associated with or expanding attention to a particular topic.

Advertiser Content: Supplied by an organization or individual that has paid the news provider for its placement. As a result, while it may be written in the style of the publication, it is not impartial journalism.

Affiliate Content: Produced by the advertising department to earn commission from products/services being mentioned and/or promoted. Amazon, Skim Links, etc .As a result, while it may be written in the style of the publication, it is not impartial journalism.

Branded Content: Produced by the paper’s own advertising department to attract advertising. May or may not include product placement. As a result, while it may be written in the style of the publication, it is not impartial journalism.