Editorial ethics

Independence

No one outside the newsroom sees a story before it publishes. Sources do not get to review copy, approve quotes, or read drafts. We will read a direct quotation back to a source to confirm accuracy; that is the limit.

No advertiser, sponsor, or funder has any say in what we cover or how. If we ever take money from someone we also cover, we will say so in the story itself, every time.

Conflicts of interest

The Ledger's publisher also runs an advocacy site supporting Rossmoor cityhood. That conflict is disclosed in full on our ownership page and is disclosed again inside any story where it is relevant.

Anyone writing for the Ledger discloses to readers any membership, employment, donation, candidacy, or family relationship that a reasonable reader would want to know about. When in doubt, we disclose. Disclosure is cheap; credibility is not.

Sourcing

We prefer documents to characterizations of documents. When we describe what a budget, agenda, staff report, or filing says, we link to it so you can read it yourself.

Anonymity is granted rarely, only when the information matters and the source faces real consequences for providing it, and never to let someone attack a named person from behind cover. When we use an anonymous source we explain why they are anonymous.

Fairness

Anyone criticized substantively in a story gets a genuine opportunity to respond before it runs, and we say in the story when someone declined or did not answer.

We label opinion as opinion. Every story carries a type-of-work label so you never have to guess whether you are reading reporting or argument.

Elections

The Ledger does not endorse candidates or ballot measures. We will cover who is running, what they have said, what they have done, and who is paying for it.

Mistakes

We correct errors quickly, in public, and we keep the record. See our corrections policy for exactly how.

Artificial intelligence

We do not publish machine-generated reporting. Facts in Ledger stories are verified by a person against a primary source. If we ever use an AI tool in a way that materially shapes a story, we will disclose it in that story.

Tell us when we fall short

Write to editor@losalledger.org. Complaints about a specific story are answered, and where we got it wrong, corrected.