This page explains how the Marquette Tribune reports and publishes the news. It applies to everything written by our staff.
Accuracy and sourcing
We check facts before we publish. Votes, dates, dollar figures and quotes are taken from meeting records, public documents, the people involved or published sources we can name. When a story relies on another outlet’s reporting, we say so in the story. When we can’t confirm something, we leave it out or say plainly that it is unconfirmed.
We name our sources whenever we can. We grant anonymity only when a person would face real harm for speaking and the information can’t be had another way, and the editor has to know who the source is.
Bylines and dates
Every story shows who wrote it and the date it was published. If a story is changed after publication in any way that matters, it also shows the date it was updated. Each byline links to the writer’s page with a short bio. The people behind the Tribune are listed on our masthead.
News, opinion and press releases
News stories report what happened. Opinion pieces argue a point of view, run in the Opinion section and are labeled that way.
We publish a selection of press releases distributed by PR Newswire. They are written by the organizations that issue them and are not reported or edited by Tribune staff. Each release is labeled “Press release” at the top of the page with the PR Newswire byline, and links inside releases are marked as sponsored. We do not present releases as our own reporting.
Independence
No one pays to be covered in our news stories, and no advertiser or subject of a story gets to review it before it runs. Staff tell the editor about any personal or financial tie to a person or business they are writing about, and the story goes to someone else when that tie is close.
Photos
We use our own photos, photos supplied by the people and organizations in a story, and openly licensed images such as those on Wikimedia Commons. Licensed photos are credited in the story. We do not alter news photos beyond cropping and basic color correction.
Corrections
When we make a mistake we fix it and say what we changed. Details are on our corrections page.
Questions
Questions about these standards go to the editor, Jessica Morgan, through our contact page.