Commentary by Chris Smith, editor-in-chief:

CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – In an environment in which anyone with a smattering of digital know-how can launch a website, then post articles and call it “journalism,” it’s critical that responsible, professional media operations be transparent about what they stand for, how they do what they do, and why it matters for our readers to have media sources that they can trust.

To that end, we’ve crafted and are publishing our Clarksville Now ethics policy, “Clarksville Now’s Promise.” This policy applies to the Clarksville Now editors, reporting team and news content, and to how we interact with our 5 Star Media Group advertising team and radio station colleagues.

This promise is a three-legged stool. Without any one of these legs, we’ve broken our trust with the community, and we ought to be held accountable for that.

This promise is based on and sometimes borrows from the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, the industry standard, and it has been simplified and customized to reflect our priorities here in Clarksville.

Report with honesty and fairness

We promise to:

  • Strive for accuracy, always correcting our errors and pointing out significant corrections.
  • Present you with verified information, not rumors, and use original sources wherever possible.
  • Identify our sources, telling you where we got our information.
  • Use anonymous sources only as a last resort. While news tips are often anonymous, we won’t rely on anonymous sources for reporting or quotes unless it’s critical to our mission, and we’ll be transparent when doing so.
  • Strive to get both sides of the story, regardless of our own personal opinions.
  • Use ethical, transparent reporting methods. We will identify ourselves, and you’ll know when you’re being quoted.
  • Label opinion or commentary so that readers know up front if a piece is intended as the opinion of the author.

Minimize harm

We promise to:

  • Balance the legal access to information with the ethical justification to publish or broadcast that information. We will avoid tipping those scales toward “lurid curiosity.”
  • Exercise sensitivity when dealing with crime victims, juveniles and survivors.
  • Exercise grace when dealing with private citizens who may not be used to being in the public eye. This is a different standard from what’s expected of public figures, politicians and those seeking to influence the public.
  • Consider the long-term impact of criminal charges and strive to update stories regarding criminal charges when cases are finalized.

Act independently

We promise to:

  • Avoid conflicts of interest and disclose any that are unavoidable.
  • Prohibit staff political activity, including running for office, campaigning, signing petitions, displaying bumper stickers or yard signs, and posting political social media statements.
  • Deny favored treatment to advertisers, sponsors and business partners, both in what is covered and how it is published.
  • Distinguish news from advertising, and clearly label advertiser-sponsored content.
  • Refuse any gifts, favors or other special treatment.

These policies aren’t always easy to follow. There are always temptations to do things more quickly, more easily, and in ways that make people happy. But that’s why policies exist: To remind us of how things ought to be done.

And because it’s not easy, we need you, our readers, to hold us to these standards. Let us know how we’re doing, because we can’t do this without you.