Ethics Policy

The New Trier News strives to be accurate and fair. We train our journalists to be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.

Our journalists strive to:

• Take responsibility for the accuracy of our work and verify information before releasing it. 
• Use original sources whenever possible. 
• Remember that neither speed nor format excuses inaccuracy. 
• Provide context. Take special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing, or summarizing a story.  
• Make necessary corrections in a timely manner. If a correction is needed in a published story, we will update the story online as soon as possible and include an editorial note at the beginning of the article with a summary of the update and the date the correction was made. 
• Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.  
• Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. Give voice to the voiceless. 
• Support the open and civil exchange of views. 
• Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate.  
• Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of perspectives within the school. 
• Be conscious of the ways our values and experiences shape our biases and strive to be as fair and balanced as possible when reporting. 
• Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations, altered images, and re-enactments.  
• Never plagiarize. Always attribute. This includes not misrepresenting work generated by AI as our own.
• Avoid conflicts of interest whenever possible. If a conflict of interest between a writer/editor and the story subject is unavoidable, we will disclose the conflict interest in an editorial note at the beginning of the article.