Ethics Policy
Adopted 1991. Revised 2004, 2011, and 2019. The 2011 revision was occasioned by an incident the desk has agreed to describe as instructive.
Independence
Editorial decisions are made by the masthead. Consolidated Documentation Holdings has not sought to influence a story. On two occasions the publisher has inquired about a story in advance of publication. Both inquiries were logged, both stories ran unchanged, and both logs are available to any reader who asks for them in writing.
Advertising
Advertising is sold by a desk that does not report to the masthead and does not see editorial calendars. Advertisers receive no advance notice of coverage and no opportunity to review it. An advertiser has twice withdrawn from this publication following a story. Both were invited to return and one did.
Sponsored material, should this publication ever carry it, will be labeled as sponsored in the same position and the same type size as this sentence. There is no arrangement under which that labeling would be omitted.
Sources
Sources are named wherever naming them is possible. Anonymity is granted where a source faces professional consequence, which in this trade is more often than the desk would prefer. Anonymous sources are known to at least one editor. Field Reports are published with identities withheld as a matter of standing policy.
Gifts, loans, and equipment
Staff do not accept gifts from manufacturers, distributors, venues, or studios. Equipment provided for review is returned at the conclusion of the review, and the fact of the loan is disclosed in the review. Meals are accepted at industry events and are not disclosed, on the grounds that the desk would have eaten regardless.
Conflicts
Staff who work in the trade they cover disclose that work to the masthead and do not report on their own market. Three members of the current staff shoot weddings. The desk considers this a qualification and manages it as a conflict, which are not mutually exclusive positions.
Corrections
Errors are corrected promptly, in full, and permanently. Corrections are not removed from the record and are not quietly amended into the original text. See ourpublished corrections.