The Local Alert

Editorial Standards

Our sourcing, attribution and accuracy rules.

Sourcing

Every factual claim in a story is attributed to a named source — a named news outlet, an agency statement, or a public record. Each source is linked at the bottom of the article.

Multiple sources

Where outlets disagree, we say so and attribute both accounts rather than picking one silently.

Naming people

We name a person in a crime story only when they have already been named by a named outlet or an official release. We use "charged," never "guilty," until a court says otherwise.

Victims and families

We do not publish the name of someone killed before their family has been notified and an agency or named outlet has released it. Coverage of fatalities is written plainly and without sensational detail.

Photographs

We do not republish photographs owned by other news organizations. Our images are maps, our own graphics, agency-released material, or licensed stock. Nothing on this site is presented as a photograph of a scene unless it actually is one.

Advertising

Advertising is labeled. Advertisers have no input into coverage, and no story is written, changed or withheld because of an advertiser.

Corrections

See our corrections and removals policy.