General Standards and Practices for Hearst Newspapers

FIRST SEEN 2026-07-29 · VERSION 20260729_rev01 · COMPARED WITH 20240601_rev01

Full text changes — 20240601_rev01 to 20260729_rev01

COLOUR MARKS THE SEVERITY OF A FLAGGED CLAUSE · + AND − MARK ADDED AND REMOVED

31	31	Plagiarism is one of the most serious lapses in ethical conduct among journalists, and it is one that undermines the individual reporter's and the news organization's credibility with readers and colleagues. It is unacceptable to use wording, quotes or other material from another publication or individual without proper and complete attribution. All language, research findings and images in our publications should be the original work of our staff or should be credited to an original source. Even if credit is given, if you use someone else's actual phrasing, it should be marked as a quotation.
32	32
33	33	Stories that include material from wire services should credit the service when specific language or quotes are borrowed, or should use an attributing phrase such as "the Associated Press reported" in the body of the story and, if appropriate, at the end of the story. Similarly, material used from a press release or contained on a website should be attributed to the source. It may at times be appropriate to attribute the original source of a story if it was broken by another media source.
34	34
35	35	Previously reported material from your news organization can be used without attribution, but if a story relies heavily on such material, it should be attributed. You should not rely on the reporting of other news organizations, and, if such other reporting is referenced, it should be attributed and kept to a minimum.
36	36
	37	Any use of generative artificial intelligence in connection with journalistic work must conform with our existing policies on the use of AI. AI-generated material may not be submitted as your original work.
	38
37	39	### Identification as a journalist
38	40
39	41	In all forms of newsgathering, representatives of the newsroom should not purposefully mislead subjects. As a practice, journalists should proactively identify themselves as such. Any decision to misrepresent oneself or to impersonate someone else can undermine our organization's credibility. There may be limited reporting situations where anonymity or the use of a pseudonym is necessary, such as when food critics visit restaurants they are reviewing. Nevertheless, any decision to misrepresent oneself or use reportorial anonymity must be approved by the editorial leadership of your publication in advance, and, if appropriate, reviewed by legal counsel.
40	42
41	43	### Fact checking
42	44
318	320	The ability to use a drone does not allow you to invade the expectation of privacy of others. In other words, treat individuals' privacy the same you would when dealing with individuals face-to-face. Drone pilots must follow FAA regulations and current laws. Regular consultations with editors and legal counsel for the current state of the law is essential.
319	321
320	322	### Copyrighted material
321	323
322	324	The use of photographs without permission can expose the company to significant reputational, financial and legal risk. Photographs that are not created by our staffers must be attributed to the copyright holder, and permission to use the image should be obtained in advance of publication. When permission to use an image cannot be obtained, consult with legal counsel.
323	325
324		Rev. 2023-01-19
	326	Rev. 2025-05-16