These standards describe how Sayer prepares and publishes reports. They are a working editorial policy for a digital news publication, not a claim that every story will be complete or free of error.
Stories appear on this site only after they have been released through Sayer’s publishing process. Drafts, research packs, editor notes, and internal scores are not public.
Accuracy
Information should be supported by available evidence before publication. Sayer does not treat a claim as established fact solely because it is circulating, because it would make a stronger headline, or because a language model produced it.
Where the evidence is limited, the report should reflect that limit. Uncertainty is not a defect in the copy; presenting an unverified point as confirmed is.
Sourcing
Sayer prioritizes strong sources where they are available, including primary documents, government records, court documents, company statements, official announcements, direct statements, and reputable reporting.
The existence of another news article, on its own, does not make a claim true. Secondary coverage can help the desk find a story and locate original material, but important claims should be traced toward the strongest available original or primary source whenever that is practical.
Sayer does not invent quotations, statistics, names, dates, or URLs. Source material cited in a story remains the property of its original publisher.
Cross-verification
When practical, significant claims should be compared against additional independent information. Independent does not mean “a second article that repeats the first.” Copies of the same original account are not independent confirmation.
A story that still rests on a single source should say so, and should not be written as if the claim has been separately established.
Attribution
Claims, allegations, estimates, and statements should remain properly attributed. Sayer should not turn “police say X happened” into “X happened” unless the underlying evidence supports stating it as established fact.
The same rule applies to company statements, court filings, market estimates, and second-hand accounts. The wording in the report should match the strength of the record.
Developing stories
Sayer distinguishes, in the published copy, among:
- confirmed information
- reported information
- allegations
- estimates
- unknown information
Articles may be updated when additional credible information becomes available. An update is not a correction by itself. When a published story changes in a meaningful way, the article page shows an updated date. Recent or still-developing reports may also show a publication time.
Conflicting accounts
When credible sources disagree, Sayer should represent the disagreement accurately rather than silently choosing the version that produces the strongest headline. The existence of a conflict is itself part of the record.
Headlines
Headlines should accurately represent the underlying reporting. Sayer should not use misleading clickbait simply to increase traffic. A headline that overstates what the body of the story can support is a failure of the same standard as an unsupported sentence in the copy.
Corrections
Meaningful factual errors should be corrected transparently on the affected article, where appropriate. Minor spelling, formatting, or grammatical changes do not necessarily require a correction notice. The corrections policy explains how to request a correction and how those requests are reviewed.
Coverage limits
Creator and celebrity stories must have a commercial hook — a company, deal, product, or other business. Gossip for its own sake is out of scope. See About Sayer for the beat list.
Automation
Sayer uses automated systems and artificial intelligence as tools in parts of its newsroom workflow. Those tools assist with research, drafting, checks, and related production work. They do not replace source material, and they do not publish. The AI and automation disclosure describes that process.