EastIdahoNews.com Code of Ethics

Commitment to the Truth, Fairness and Balance

• EastIdahoNews.com provides honest and accurate reporting on news of the day.
• Reporters strive for a neutral, unbiased tone in all their articles.
• Staff are expected to find and vet the most reliable sources possible for articles.
• To ensure fairness, we believe in covering not only the most powerful or outspoken voices on a topic, but also those who are not normally heard from.
• If an error is published, it is corrected quickly. Any significant error will include a correction citation explaining the mistake.

Sourcing & Attribution

• EastIdahoNews.com strives for total accuracy when quoting, paraphrasing or representing sources.
• We permit sources to revise their comments to clarify complicated or technical matters. However we do not allow sources to review articles prior to publication.
• Reporters and editors only publish information that is obtained on-the-record. Information given on background or off-the-record remains confidential.
• All sources are disclosed, with the rare exception of those granted anonymity. When using a confidential or anonymous source, EastIdahoNews.com will explain the reasoning behind the decision.
• We provide clear attributions throughout a story. When possible, web links are used to provide additional information or context.
• EastIdahoNews.com does not pay for interviews, information, photos or videos.

Expectations of EastIdahoNews.com staff

• Reporters and editors at EastIdahoNews.com recognize they are public figures and are acting as the face of the company even when not working.
• Editorial staff should avoid political involvement such as running for or holding office, actively participating in political parties, volunteering in campaigns, serving on community boards, donating to campaigns or displaying campaign materials on their property or persons.
• Editorial staff should not publicly express opinions about topics they may be likely to cover.
• Staffers should not accept gifts with a value greater than $50. However, staffers may accept tickets or press passes to events we are covering or reviewing.
• Staffers are to be accessible to users through phone, email and social media accounts.
• Reporters and editors are expected to disclose any conflicts of interest that might undermine their ability to report fairly on a topic.

• Journalists should be aware of personal biases that can skew their reporting.

Advertising Policy

• EastIdahoNews.com receives sales revenue from local, regional and national businesses. That money is handled by a sales department separate from the newsroom.
• Advertisers have no say in the selection or content stories that appear on EastIdahoNews.com.
• All paid content on EastIdahoNews.com is clearly marked as sponsored content or as an advertisement.

Online Commenting

• EastIdahoNews.com comment boards are a place for open, honest, and civil communication between readers regarding the news of the day and issues facing our communities.
• We encourage commenters to stay on topic, use positive and constructive language, and be empathetic to the feelings of other commenters. THINK BEFORE YOU POST.

• Hate speech, offensive, vulgar or obscene language.
• Personal attacks or name-calling towards any other commenter, person or groups of people. This includes EastIdahoNews.com staff and comment moderators. You may disagree and you may be critical of someone else’s viewpoint, but personal attacks will not be tolerated.
• Victim blaming, shaming or insensitive comments regarding a crime, accident or tragedy-related article.
• Posting excessively graphic photos or information about a crime, accident or tragedy-related article prior to that information being released by EastIdahoNews.com. If you have information, photos or video that you feel is vital to a story, please contact us directly.
• Repeatedly posting the same links or verbatim comments (aka spamming) on multiple stories or threads.
• Knowingly posting links or comments that spread fake news, disinformation, or half-truths about any topic.
• Commercial promotion or solicitation of any kind.

• EastIdahoNews.com makes every effort to review comments on social media and the website, although due to the large volume we receive not all comments are reviewed. If you have concerns about a specific comment, please contact us at news@eastidahonews.com
• We have a system that permits individuals to “flag” comments for potential problems, and we review those “flagged” comments in a systematic and timely fashion.
• We edit comments to remove potentially libelous language or hate speech, as we define it, but we do not change spelling or grammatical errors.
• We allow pseudonyms for commenting as long as a user has registered an account with us.

Crime Reporting & Mugshot Policy

• EastIdahoNews.com publishes news about felony and misdemeanor crimes, and follows cases from an initial arrest or court summons until a suspect’s innocence or guilt is confirmed.
• All suspects are given the presumption of innocence until proven guilty.
• This organization publishes mugshots as part of its crime reporting.
• With few exceptions, we do not publish the names or mugshots of those suspected of only misdemeanor crimes, legal infractions or citations.
• We do not name juvenile suspects unless extraordinary circumstances exist to justify doing so.
• We do not identify victims of sex crimes without their express permission. All efforts are made to hide the identity of those victims and their relationship with a suspect.

• EastIdahoNews.com acknowledges crime reporting has long-lasting implications and consequences for suspects, convicts and their family or friends. We do not believe those consequences should be lifelong.
• EastIdahoNews.com will remove — upon request — crime stories, mugshots and social media posts about convicts after an individual has paid their debt to society, and is no longer on probation.

Fatal Crash Reporting & Unexpected Death Policy

• EastIdahoNews.com recognizes that prematurely identifying victims of vehicle crashes or other accidents may cause harm to friends and family.
• Staffers work closely with law enforcement to only release names or identifying information about a victim after notifications of a family has been made.
• EastIdahoNews.com publishes photos of fatal vehicle crashes. However, during initial reporting only wide-shots or extreme closeups will be used to obscure the identity of the vehicle.
• We reserve the right to obscure or pixellate images when the intent is to protect the identity of someone in an image or to protect viewers from gory or graphic material.
• EastIdahoNews.com does not publish photos of the deceased unless extraordinary circumstances exist to justify their use.

Mental Health & Suicide Policy

• EastIdahoNews.com covers mental health and suicide as broad public health issues.
• We will not publish stories about specific suicides, unless the stories involved a prominent public figure, or if the suicide occurs in a very public place.
• We will not use graphic images alongside stories about suicide or mental health.
• We will include contact information for resources for people in mental health crises. (For example, “The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline in the United States is available 24 hours a day at (800) 273-8255.)

Equality & Diversity Policy

• EastIdahoNews.com uses religious, racial, ethnic, and sexuality identifiers when specifically germane to a story but not otherwise.
• We identify transgendered or non-binary individuals by the gender they use publicly.

Correction Policy & Contact Information

• EastIdahoNews.com strives for accuracy in all situations, but understands that mistakes do happen. If you believe you have found an error in a news article, tell us here.