Editorial Standards and AI Policy

Adopted July 2026 - Applies to all staff, contributors, and freelancers

These standards are not necessarily legally binding but instead represent a framework of guidelines that will aid our writers, contributors, editors, and our readers through any ethical, creative, or conflicting issues.

Mission and Independence

The Erie Reader is Erie’s only local print source for news, arts, and culture. As an independent publication, the Reader’s mission is to inform, uplift, challenge, and help connect the Erie community through coverage of local arts, music, culture, special interests, and local government.

The Erie Reader is funded largely through sale of advertisements, however editorial judgement is solely that of the Erie Reader’s editors and publishers. Advertisers, sponsors, or donors do not have any influence over what is covered or the way in which something is covered. We accept no funding that comes with any editorial conditions. No sponsor or donor is given access or prior review or approval of editorial content before publication.

Sourcing and Verification (Fact-checking)

The Erie Reader’s standards rely upon original writing submitted by contributing writers or editorial staff through reporting, interviews, direct quotations, and verifiable, fact-based information. The editorial staff verifies all claims, particularly those which could cause reputational damage to a person, business, etc., prior to publication and will provide public links in the online version of articles as citations.

First-hand sources are stated as “on the record” by default, and sources may only remain anonymous if the source faces verifiable personal risk. Editorial approval must be given prior to a source being labeled anonymous, and editors must be made aware of the source’s identity.

Any information or art that is coming to the Erie Reader from an outside source will be credited to the original source.

Any direct quotes are printed as verbatim from the source. We reserve the right to trim a block of speech for clarity but will not make substantive edits or change the meaning or intent of a quotation.

Plagiarism (defined as “the process or practice of using another person's ideas or work and pretending that it is your own”) is prohibited. Erie Reader will no longer accept contributions from any writer or editor found plagiarizing, or reusing one’s own work without informing an editor.

Fairness

If a person, business, or entity within a written feature is subject to significant criticism, they will be given a reasonable opportunity to respond prior to publication. Any attempt to reach that person will be reported within the piece as reporting due diligence. If a response is given, it will be recorded within the piece.

The Erie Reader presents verifiable facts in our writers’ own voices. Any OpEd, characterizations, or opinions will be attributed to those who hold them (whether that is a writer or a source). The Reader will not assign or assume intent – we will instead present facts as they occurred and allow our readers to make any assumptions or connections they may. Any descriptions of named individuals will use neutral language.

Opinion, Commentary, or Letters to the Editors

Opinion-based content (OpEds, editorials, columns, letters to the editors, or public comment) will be labelled as “Opinion” (listed within the “Category” section on our website) or under the “News and Opinion” section in print. Any opinion stated within a feature is the writer’s own opinion, not necessarily the opinion of the Erie Reader. Any facts listed within an opinion piece will be subject to routine fact-checking. The Reader will edit or refuse to publish opinion pieces built on false premises.

The Erie Reader verifies the identity of any contributing OpEd writer and will publicly disclose any affiliations as relevant to the subject of the piece. Any published Letters to the Editor will contain the submitter’s real name.

Pseudonyms are generally not permitted unless a piece published under a writer’s real name poses a verifiable risk to their safety. The editor will approve any pseudonym and be aware of the writer’s real identity.

Visual Journalism

Photograph submissions for news-based writing will remain in their original form. Cropping, brightness or contrast editing, or dust removal for clarity of the photograph’s subject are acceptable. Adding, removing, or rearranging any elements in a photograph for news-based writing is not acceptable. Any photograph accepted as a “contributed photo,” or taken by someone other than the Erie Reader’s photographer is assumed to be authentic. If it is determined not to be, we will remove the photograph in question. AI-generated graphics or promotional photographs will generally not be accepted for publication, and if they are they must be clearly labeled as such. Photo illustrations, composite photos, or AI-generated photos may never be presented as documentary/photojournalistic images of real people or events.

A photograph of a minor requires a parent/guardian’s consent in the form of a photo release in the case that the minor is named or used in a story with a sensitive topic, or if a minor’s photograph will be used in a prominent way (ie. on the cover), or for an advertising or promotional purpose. Photographs of minors in a group setting (ie. public events, athletic events, school activities, etc.) do not require individual parental releases.

Any victim of crime or trauma, or any vulnerable private citizen, will be, when feasible (ie. outside of a group setting), asked for prior consent before publishing a photograph. Public officials acting in their role within a public setting do not apply to this tenet.

Conflicts of Interest

Editors, writers, and staff will not cover subjects in which they will see a direct or indirect financial benefit or material interest. Any relationship or conflict must be given prior approval by an editor, who can then either reassign or choose to disclose it.

Editorial and publishing staff cannot hold office in, work for, or campaign for, any political candidates or organizations that they write about.

The Erie Reader will not accept payment, gifts, or free travel from any of the subjects of our published work beyond items of nominal value.

Freelance writers must inform their editor of any personal relationships to the subjects of any of their writing during the pitch-phase for either approval or reassignment.

Social Media and Public Content

Reporters should be aware that what they put into a public sphere on social media reflects back upon the Erie Reader and should make efforts to refrain from sharing personal opinions on political issues they may be writing about in a professional way – giving readers cause to doubt a writer’s bias within their news reporting. Sharing personal opinions on matters outside the scope of your work for the Reader are a writer’s own prerogative.

Corrections

If a mistake is made in print, we will correct it promptly and transparently in the online version of the story with an asterisk noting the correction before the body of the article and at the end – including a note about what was changed, why, and with a link to any citations, as needed.

The Erie Reader will not “unpublish” stories because of a complaint – however editors will decide if a story should be removed to protect a writer’s or subject’s personal safety.

Any error published on a social media account will be corrected in the format in which it occurs with an asterisked note explaining the correction.

Artificial Intelligence

This AI policy applies to any submitted original writing, art, and reporting.

No contributor or editor may submit any AI generated writing for publication, either in partial or in total. Any writing submitted as a contributor or editor must be the product of the writer’s own mind and judgement. AI may not be used to generate quotes, interviews, storytelling, asserted claims, event information, summaries, reviews, synopses, opinion, creative flourishes, captions, etc. (this list is not exhaustive). No artist may submit artwork that has been generated by AI for use on covers, within editorial writing pieces, or comic submissions without prior approval from an editor. Artwork is expected to be original and attributable to the artist.

A writer or editor may choose to use AI tools to aid in transcription, copy editing, proofreading, fact-checking support, insignificant original art/photographic retouching, or editorial suggestions. Any of the actions taken as a result of these suggestions must be verified and executed by the human writer or editor, and any fact presented within an AI suggestion must be independently verified before publication.

Published writing must reflect the writer’s own work. News reports may not be written by or substantively edited by AI and no use of AI should be presented as the writer’s own work. This is a form of plagiarism (see Sourcing and Verification, above). Any writer must disclose any use of AI beyond minor editorial suggestions or proofreading to an editor.

Any advertiser or sponsor who chooses to use AI generated copy or art in their paid advertisements are responsible for their own choices – the Erie Reader will not refuse or edit advertisements because they employ the use of AI.

Our job as a reliable, independent source for news and arts coverage relies upon trust from our community. AI cannot be held accountable – that accountability will fall upon the editors and publishers of the Erie Reader and putting our reputation at stake due to use of AI will result in immediate dismissal from the organization. Any article, feature, column, spotlight, OpEd, or artwork that is suspected of containing AI generated content will be assessed independently and may not be published or may be redacted after the fact.

For photography-related AI inquiries, refer to the Visual Journalism section above.

Advertising and Sponsored Content

Sales and advertising are a separate entity from the editorial and publishing side of the Erie Reader. Any paid content will be clearly labeled as such, will be visually distinct from editorial content, and will not be presented as reporting. Advertisers will not be shown preferential coverage, nor will factual reporting be withheld from publication because it involves an advertiser.

Any questions or concerns about any of these policies or items can be directed to the editors at contact@eriereader.com. This document is reviewed annually.