Reporting Standards
How we source, check, correct and fund the journalism you read here — written down so you can hold us to it.
Sourcing
A news story is written only after it has been checked against at least three independent sources. Where a claim rests on a single document, statement or eyewitness account, the story says so and attributes it plainly. Every piece carries its citations, and each citation lists where it came from and the date it was retrieved.
Verification
Names, dates, places, figures and agreement terms are checked against primary documents and official records wherever those exist — electoral commissions for election dates and polling, official results for sport, market data for markets, and authoritative records for a date of death before an obituary is published.
Neutrality
News copy is written to inform, not to persuade: no editorial slant, no loaded framing, no party, faction or candidate favoured over another. Where a story is genuinely contested, the competing claims are reported side by side and attributed to those making them. Opinion is clearly labelled and kept separate from reporting.
Corrections and updates
When we get something wrong, we correct it openly rather than quietly. Readers can raise an error on any story, and every published correction is listed on our Corrections page. Developing stories carry a timeline, and updated material is added rather than swapped in silently.
Images and media
Photographs are checked before publication and credited to their source. Obituary portraits are published only when the file’s own attribution genuinely names the subject — otherwise the story runs without a picture, or with a clearly credited illustration, rather than risk showing the wrong person.
How stories are produced
Reporting is drafted with AI assistance inside our editorial system and is held to the same standard as any wire copy: verified sourcing, neutral language, no editorial slant. Reader submissions pass through an editor before publication, and eyewitness accounts are verified before they appear.
Independence and funding
PENN is funded by reader subscriptions and donations, and by advertising that is clearly marked. No sponsor, advertiser or donor has any say over what we cover or how we cover it.
Hold us to it
Spotted an error, or something that does not add up? Tell the desk — corrections are published, and reader questions go to the reporters who filed the story.