Our editorial standards
Give readers useful news in plain language. Every sentence must add a fact, context or an action they can take.
Lead with the news
Open with the development and its local consequence. Do not open with the existence of a document, a meeting or our effort to verify it. Put the most useful facts first.
Make headlines specific
Use a concrete subject and a strong, accurate verb. A headline must be supported by the story. Avoid vague teasers, question headlines and labels posing as news. Aim for 6–12 words; the house ceiling for briefs is 14.
Make the summary earn its space
Add a detail the headline does not contain: a deadline, amount, location, eligibility rule or consequence. Use one sentence, at most 30 words. Do not advertise our confidence level or repeat the headline.
Keep qualifications that change the reader’s decision
Read the sentence without the qualifier. If the fact and the reader’s next step stay the same, cut it. If the distinction matters, name it once next to the claim. Give a specific next step when readers need one.
Use the right verb instead of a disclaimer
A council proposes, requests, approves or spends money; those verbs describe different actions. Never upgrade one into another. Do not make copy sound certain by removing a factually necessary distinction.
Hold stories that lack their central fact
A routine meeting agenda is not a result story. After the meeting, obtain the decision before publishing a routine funding recap. Publish an advance proposal story only when it has independent news value. Keep unfinished reporting in the internal queue. There is no minimum story quota.
Attribute naturally
Identify the responsible organization early and link to the original record. Repeat attribution when the source changes or a contested claim requires it, not in every sentence. Keep supporting links under a simple Sources heading.
Write as one neighbor explaining it to another
Prefer familiar words, active verbs and short paragraphs. Use one or two sentences per paragraph. Keep a brief’s opening paragraph within 40 words. Cut promotional adjectives, bureaucratic phrases and filler. Read the copy aloud before release.
Give readers a next step
A calendar listing is enough for a routine event. Give a service brief its own story when eligibility, cost, a deadline or a common mistake changes what readers should do. Include the relevant detail, what happens next and the closest working link to the form, official instructions or responsible office. Open that link before release. Use a longer report when records or interviews add an answer readers cannot get from the notice.
Keep reporting notes in the newsroom
Use the best available source to give the reader the answer. Keep resolved source conflicts, verification notes and routine reporting steps in the internal record. If a live conflict changes what readers should do, give the specific difference and where to get the answer. Explain the publication’s reporting process on the About page.
Use consistent local copy style
Use Nov. 14 and Dec. 1 with dates; spell out a month without a day. Use 3 p.m., 9 a.m. to noon, $20 million in prose and 2027–28 for a school year. State the time zone once per edition. Name an organization before using an unfamiliar abbreviation.
Correct and edit honestly
Preserve attribution, amounts, dates and eligibility conditions during a style edit. Explain material factual corrections at the affected article. Record withdrawals with a concise reason. Do not silently replace an unsupported claim with a stronger one.