All of our policies, practices and guidelines support our mission:
The Swampscott Tides is an independent nonprofit local news organization committed to informing and engaging the public with fact-based coverage of community issues, culture and events.
Editorial Independence
The Swampscott Tides adheres to the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists and the journalism standards set by the Institute for Nonprofit News, a national organization with 500 members.
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Our organization will make public all donors. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.
Gift Acceptance Policy
As a nonprofit we rely on the generosity of our community to support our mission, and we sincerely express our gratitude to our donors for their support.
The Swampscott Tides accepts financial contributions from individuals, businesses, organizations, and public and private foundations to help fund our general operation. Support may include funds from charitable distributions, donor advised funds, and securities.
We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and all sources of revenue. Our news judgments are not based on, or influenced by, donor support. We do not give donors the rights to assign, review or edit content. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services, or opinions.
We do not accept donations from anonymous sources, or from government entities, political parties, elected officials, or any candidates seeking town wide public office.
We will not accept donations from any source which, deemed by our Board of Directors, presents a conflict of interest with our work, compromises our independence or does not align with our mission.
We maintain a public list of all our donors on this site. We do not post dollar amounts.
Advertising
The Swampscott Tides reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement or sponsorship it is offered. We will decline to accept advertising that we know or believe to be misleading, inaccurate, fraudulent or illegal, or that fails to comply, in our sole discretion, with our standards of decency, taste, dignity, ethics or legalities.
The Swampscott Tides, maintains a clear separation between news and advertising content. Advertising that attempts to blur this distinction in a manner that, in our sole judgment, confuses readers will be rejected.
Sponsored Content & Advertorial Policy
Swampscott Tides occasionally publishes sponsored content, also known as advertorials. These are paid pieces created in collaboration with businesses or organizations that wish to share information with our audience.
To maintain transparency and uphold reader trust, every sponsored article is clearly labeled at the top of the story with a “Sponsored Content” or “Advertisement” designation. We also include a brief note explaining the nature of the content and who sponsored it. These pieces are created separately from our independent editorial content and are produced under separate guidelines.
Our editorial team does not write, produce, or endorse sponsored content, and such content does not influence our news coverage or reporting decisions.
Conflict of Interest
Any potential conflict of interest by a Board Director, staff member or freelance contributor must be immediately disclosed to the Board of Directors, who shall promptly determine the appropriate course of action. Conflicts of interest include any financial relationship between the subject of any news article or editorial and a member of the Board of Directors or staff.
Corrections and Clarifications
The Swampscott Tides strives for accuracy, but there will be times where corrections and/or clarifications are required. In the event of a factual error or incomplete context, Swampscott Tides will correct or clarify a story and note that such a correction or clarification has been added to the original article.
Statement Regarding Reader Engagement
Our top priority is reporting the news. We have chosen to put our resources into covering the people, places, events, culture and businesses that make Swampscott the special place it is. We want to deliver the best fact-based, fair and independent local journalism we possibly can. In order to maintain our high standards of journalism, if we were to publish letters to the editor or opinion pieces by guest writers, these would have to be fact-checked and/or moderated, and that would take time away from our main goal. In a similar vein, in our effort to be fair and independent, we’ve decided to forego online commenting features both on our site and our social media pages. This way, you can be sure that whatever you read under the Swampscott Tides banner is accurate and true to the best of our ability.
That doesn’t mean we don’t want to hear from you. We do. If you have story ideas or news tips, contact us at editor@swampscotttides.org. Or, if you have more general suggestions or feedback, please feel free to reach out to feedback@swampscotttides.org.