Editorial Policies & Guidelines
Our Commitment
PromaTimes is governed by the PromaTimes Act which includes a charter setting out our functions. These include:
- Providing innovative news broadcasting;
- Contributing to a “sense of cultural identity” for the people of Promatia; and
- Informing and entertaining, while also reflecting cultural values;
PromaTimes Act also enshrines the importance of the “independence and integrity” of PromaTimes and the need to ensure its presentation of news and information is accurate and impartial.
PromaTimes takes these responsibilities very seriously, which is why PromaTimes has approved a set of Editorial Policies that set out the principles and standards we have in place to ensure our independence and integrity. We train our staff regularly in these policies, we review our performance regularly, and we invite all Australians to contact us if they think we have failed to meet those standards.
Editorial Policies
1. Independence & Integrity
The trust and respect of the community depend on PromaTimes to remain independent from external interests.
Content published by our journalists must be objective, original and authentic. It is the responsibility of each author that has access to upload and create content to follow the law and common sense when doing their work.
Promatimes is an independent ministry of Promatia, and its only purpose is to provide news and other related services to the people of Promatia and the world. As an independent ministry, Promatimes aims to safeguard the truth and to never compromise itself to propaganda for Promatia or for any other nation or ideology. In doing this, we seek to allow people to come to their own minds about the news based on facts and logic, allowing for a more fluid and genuine democracy.
The editor in chief is responsible for ensuring that staff meet these guidelines, and if staff are found violating these guidelines, their employment may be terminated.
2. Accuracy
All content published by our journalists must remain objective, honest and as unbiased as possible (unless marked in the "Opinion" category). To ensure accuracy and truthfulness, journalists shall provide all sources used in the creation of content must show a basic citation, which should include:
- Link to source
- Author
- Title of source
- Date accessed
3. Acknowledging & Fixing Errors
Any errors or complaints that are made or found internally or by external sources will be directed to the Editorial Department of PromaTimes, where the article and complaint will be reviewed, where an editor can decide to accept the error and fix or close the content, or decline the error. Depending on the severity of the error, appropriate actions can be taken against the employee that made that content.
If the error is accepted, the employee can appeal the decision to a higher editor, where the fix can be reviewed again and either rescinded or kept. If the error is declined, a reader can appeal it to a higher editor and either accept or decline the error.
4. Diversity of Thought
As a taxpayer-subsidised public entity, Promatimes has an obligation to share a variety of viewpoints. As mentioned in section 2, accuracy, unless specifically put into the category of "Opinion", content made by Promatimes shall not have any explicit bias. Authors of content must be careful with their word choice and grammar so as to refrain from putting their personal biases into content.
Biases may be presented with proper context so long as multiple sides are given a relatively equal opportunity to be shared. For instance, two competing ministers may have their opinions expressed in an article, so long as both sides are talked about for the relatively same amount of time and proper non-biased context is given (ie, their claims are not treated as immediate fact).
Of content put into the "Opinion" category, no content will be tolerated that in any way, shape, or form breaks the laws of Promatia or the home country of the author (unless that law is deemed by the Editorial Council to be in violation of basic human rights and the author's identity is kept anonymous). Additionally, in order to preserve secularity, no content will be tolerated that advocates for any religious practice.