Ethics & Standards Charter

The Providence News operates under an editorial charter that is legally separate from its commercial operations. No advertiser, investor, government body, or donor may direct, withhold, or alter editorial coverage in exchange for financial consideration of any kind.

Every journalist at The Providence News signs an Editorial Independence Agreement on their first day of employment. This agreement explicitly prohibits interference in their reporting from any internal commercial function. Violations are treated as gross misconduct.

The Editor-in-Chief has sole authority over editorial decisions. The Editor-in-Chief may only be removed by the Editorial Board — not by the CEO, CFO, or any commercial officer of the company.

All factual claims published by The Providence News must meet a two-source minimum: the primary source (documentary evidence, official record, direct statement) and at least one independent corroborating source. Exceptions to this rule require written approval from a senior editor and must be disclosed to readers in the published article.

Anonymous sources are used only when the information is of clear public interest, the source would face genuine risk of harm if identified, and the information cannot be obtained through any attributable channel. The identity of all anonymous sources is known to and verified by at least one senior editor before publication.

Artificial intelligence tools may be used to assist with research, translation, or transcription. AI may not generate or substitute for original reporting, interviews, or factual claims. Any AI-assisted work must be disclosed in the article's methodology note.

Journalists at The Providence News are required to disclose any financial, personal, or political interest that could reasonably be perceived to influence their coverage of a story. Upon disclosure, editors determine whether recusal is required.

The Providence News journalists may not accept gifts, hospitality, or travel of material value from sources, subjects of coverage, or organisations with an interest in our reporting. Invitations to press trips, events, or junkets must be approved in writing by the relevant desk editor.

Staff are prohibited from engaging in political activity — including donating to campaigns, standing for public office, or publicly endorsing candidates — in jurisdictions or on issues they are assigned to cover.

We publish an annual Interests Register disclosing the outside financial interests, board memberships, and major investments of all The Providence News editorial staff. This register is available on request.

The Providence News corrects errors promptly, prominently, and transparently. We do not delete articles or alter published content without disclosure. All corrections are appended to the original article with a timestamp and a clear description of what was wrong and what the correct information is.

Significant factual errors that affect the substance of a story may result in a retraction, accompanied by a separate article explaining the original error and the editorial process failure that allowed it to be published.

We operate a public Corrections Log, updated in real time, listing all corrections made to published articles. This log is available at theprovidencenews.com/corrections.

Any individual, organisation, or institution that is the subject of critical coverage in a The Providence News article is offered a right of reply before publication. The standard response window is 48 hours for daily news and five working days for investigative or long-form features.

Substantive responses to our journalism are published in full, integrated into the original article or as a clearly labelled addendum. We do not edit responses except to correct demonstrable factual errors, with the respondent's knowledge.

Where a subject declines to comment or does not respond within the given window, this is stated explicitly in the published article.

We apply a documented public-interest test before publishing any information relating to private individuals that was obtained without their knowledge or consent. Factors considered include: the significance of the information to legitimate public debate, whether less intrusive means of obtaining the information were available, and the potential harm to the individual from publication.

We do not publish the names, images, or identifying details of children under the age of 18 without explicit parental or guardian consent, except in cases of overriding public interest approved by the Editor-in-Chief.

We observe a standard of sensitivity in reporting on victims of crime, trauma, and disaster. In all such cases, our journalists are expected to follow the guidance set out in the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma's reporting guidelines.

Readers, sources, and subjects of coverage may submit a formal complaint about any The Providence News article to our Standards Editor at standards@theprovidencenews.com. All complaints are acknowledged within two working days and receive a substantive written response within five working days.

If the complainant is not satisfied with the Standards Editor's response, the matter may be escalated to the Editorial Board for independent review. The Editorial Board's decision is published on our website.

The Providence News is a voluntary signatory to the West Africa Press Freedom Charter and accepts independent adjudication of complaints by the charter's Standards Panel as a matter of good practice.