Editorial Independence Policy

New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism’s Editorial Independence Policy

The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism is a member of the Institute for Nonprofit News and has adopted INN’s editorial independence policy. INN’s board of directors drafted this editorial independence policy for the optional use of its membership. It was formally approved during a board meeting on January 5, 2015.

The policy is intended to set expectations for donors to member organizations and help ensure that they understand they are prohibited from exerting influence over the members’ editorial process.

Policy on Editorial Independence for INN member organizations.

The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism subscribes to INN’s standards of editorial independence as follows:

The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We will 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.

The New Hampshire Center for Public Interest Journalism also 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 who give a total of $1,000 or more. 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.