Editorial standards
The rules our reporters and editors are held to.
Last updated: September 21, 2026
sourcing
Every report rests on direct observation, field interviews, and verifiable institutional records from museums, universities, or municipal registries. We identify all named craftspeople, scientists, and cooperative members by their actual occupations and districts. We do not use anonymous quotes unless a clear, documented personal safety concern exists and has been approved by the editor-in-chief.
verification
Reporters check botanical names, architectural terms, and geographical coordinates against established reference standards before filing copy. Field notes and recording logs are retained for editorial review throughout the fact-checking process. Any claim about historical structures or archaeological digs must be confirmed by active excavation reports or conservation authorities.
corrections
When a factual mistake occurs in print, we correct it promptly and transparently at the foot of the original article. The correction note details the specific error, provides the accurate information, and records the time the update was made. Readers who spot an inconsistency or inaccurate place name are encouraged to send an editorial note for review.
independence
Our correspondents pay for their own regional transit tickets, meals, and accommodations during field assignments without accepting promotional travel junkets. We do not accept paid product placements, sponsored craft profiles, or commercial brand partnerships within our editorial reporting. Editorial assignments are determined solely by our desk based on seasonal relevance and cultural interest.
images
Photographs must represent the scene accurately without staged actions, digital element insertion, or artificial tone manipulation. Captions identify the precise district, the activity depicted, and the date or season of capture whenever possible. Archival photographs and historical sketches are clearly credited to their home institutions, libraries, or family donors.
AI assistance
Drafts, data summaries, and digital visual illustrations may be machine-assisted during the research and production process. An editor reviews, verifies, and approves every published sentence and piece of visual media before public release. Any artificial or synthetic visual element used in our layouts is explicitly labelled as illustrative.
Labelling
Each story carries a label describing what kind of piece it is — Report, Feature, Explainer, Analysis or Field report — and the name of the journalist responsible. Columns in Field Notes are first-person and clearly marked as such.
Contact the standards editor
Questions about how a story was reported can be sent to [email protected]. We reply within two working days.