The following policies have been crafted from Monitor institutional knowledge, industry best practices, and successful examples cited by other news organizations.

Concord Monitor newsroom policies

The following policies are set up to help us provide accurate, consistent and transparent reporting and to help readers understand our goals and what we stand for as a newsroom. We view these policies as guidelines that may be modified or updated based on feedback from our readers, a change in industry standards or our newsroom’s perception of additional needs. At this time, the following policies apply only to stories written by Concord Monitor staff that appear in our print edition or at concordmonitor.com.

Corrections

Our goal is to always provide accurate information. If we learn that information we published is factually inaccurate we will publicly correct the mistake as soon as possible. In print, corrections and clarifications run on either Page 2 or Page 3. They are also added as an Editor’s Note either above or below a previously published online article. When our reporting is factually correct, but the language is unclear or requires more detail, a clarification may be published at the discretion of the editors To report inaccuracies, please email news@cmonitor.com to point out the error and if possible direct us to the correct information. Please use “Correction” in the subject line of the email.

Opinion content

The purpose of the Opinion section, both in print and at concordmonitor.com, is to elevate the conversation in our communities by giving space to thoughtful, reasoned commentary. The section features a range of perspectives and ideas, submitted by readers and community members, and offers a platform for people to share their voices. Those wishing to submit content to the opinion section must be in New Hampshire or have a clearly stated direct connection to the state. Full information and guidelines for the Monitor’s community-submitted opinion content, including how to submit a Letter to the Editor or My Turn, can be found in our Opinion Policy.

Obituaries & other announcements

The Concord Monitor publishes paid obituaries both in the paper and at concordmonitor.com. Obituaries are printed as submitted by families and funeral homes. Obituaries intended for the next day’s paper must be submitted by 1:30 p.m. The Monitor does not charge for obituaries of those ages 17 and younger.

As of 2023, the Monitor will no longer offer free engagement, anniversary and wedding announcements. We encourage readers to submit their announcements through the advertising department’s celebrations platform.

Anonymous sources

The Monitor seeks to be fair, accurate, and transparent in its reporting, and therefore will reserve anonymity for sources only on extremely rare occasions when anonymity is required to obtain vital information. To be granted anonymity, the source must be reliable and in a position to have direct knowledge of the information. When a story includes an anonymous source, we will provide context to why anonymity was granted.

Examples of instances where anonymity may be given include if a source is sharing information that has not yet been made public or cannot be obtained elsewhere or if a source would be at risk of imminent harm or retribution due to revealing their name. No opinion-related content will be permitted anonymously.

Community guidelines for public comments

The Monitor and its readership value civility, and in order to maintain that we have established community guidelines for responding to articles. Due to the volume of comments and limitations of our small team, we are unable to moderate all comments posted on social media, but we will do our best to remove objectionable material and commenters that frequently do not meet our values of civil debate.

We encourage readers to respond to articles by submitting a Letter to the Editor using our online form here. Our Opinion section provides a platform for readers to respond to articles or comment on local, community or state topics, and is moderated by an editor.

Here’s what we want in Letters to the Editor and public comments:

  • Direct responses to the article about how your experience relates the topic at hand
  • Factual information that enhances or provides context to the article
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the article
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic

Here’s what we don’t want in Letters to the Editor and public comments:

  • Comments that include intentionally false information or are based on unproven theories.
  • Harassment, excessive profanity, discriminatory or derogatory language, or personal attacks.
  • Multiple accounts, throwaway emails and spam

Privacy of victims, survivors and minors

The Monitor generally will not identify a victim or survivor of domestic or sexual violence or abuse, or those at risk of imminent harm unless the individual explicity expresses the desire to be named or publicly identifies themself. However, identification may be approved by an editor depending on specific circumstances.

The Monitor also generally does not identify minors, whether they are involved with, accused of, or witnesses to a crime. Identification may be approved by an editor depending on specific circumstances such as whether police have formally released the minor’s name or if it involves a matter of public safety.

Reporting on a death by suicide

When reporting on a death by suicide, the Monitor will report the death as a suicide and keep information about the location, person and note (if applicable) general. If including the method of suicide is deemed directly relevant to the story, we will not dwell on the details, as that could become impactful for some readers. We will avoid using terms that may promote stigma, stereotypes or further harm and instead use language that is clear and in line with best practices such as those from The Recommendations for Reporting on Suicide. We will also include relevant information regarding local crisis assistance and treatment resources as well as the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (1-800-273-8255) and Crisis Text Line (text HELLO to 741741) within the article.

Removal of content from online archives

The Monitor seeks to report the truth, minimize harm, and be responsive to the community. Requests to remove content from the online archives will be considered on an individual basis and take into account the person’s interest in removing the content and the public’s interest in the content remaining available. In general, we will not remove a published article in its entirety, but may make changes or updates if further editorial action is deemed necessary by an editor.

When a removal request is being considered, the individual may be asked to provide copies of related legal or other documents as proof. We will not accept requests from companies, government agencies, or lawyers on behalf of an individual. When an article is altered due to a content removal request, we will include an editor’s note to the online article with an update that content has been removed.

Inclusion and fairness in sourcing

We aim to include voices from multiple perspectives and provide well-rounded context in our stories. When we reach out to an individual for comment and they don’t respond by the print deadline, we will provide the details surrounding our outreach within the article (i.e. the individual, group or organization we tried to reach and how we tried to reach them.) We aim to give sources time to respond, generally speaking, at least 24 hours. We do not mislead sources and when reaching out will identify ourselves as reporters for the Concord Monitor. We do not typically share a draft of an article with individuals outside of the newsroom prior to publication. Reporters and editors are able to provide clarity for those with questions about the article process.

We publish information from official, trusted sources or sources that we have verified, and will provide access to source material when available. We rely on information coming from readers, community stakeholders, local and regional government leaders and industry experts. We will clearly identify our sources so readers can understand the context around a quote, source or piece of information.

Making coverage decisions

Our goal is to provide readers with stories that are accurate, valuable and relevant to their lives and communities. We aim to reflect what people are talking about in their communities with our coverage by publishing stories of high interest to readers and those we feel are important to bring to the community. We determine what to cover based on a number of factors, including local relevance, expressed interest and value, and online viewership. We hope our coverage encourages readers to get engaged within their communities.

Our reporters are dedicated to a beat or subject area, which allows them to focus deeply on a topic, area or community. The Monitor’s reporter beats include education, sports, science and technology energy and the environment, policing, and specific cities, towns and regions.

Feedback from readers also helps us understand what is most useful and interesting. You can help guide our coverage by offering feedback in multiple ways, including:

  • Responding to a newsroom survey
  • Emailing a news tip to news@cmonitor.com
  • Reaching out to a reporter or editor with feedback or questions
  • Submitting a Letter to the Editor. This is a public form of feedback or comment that may be shared in print and online

We are a small, dedicated staff working to effectively and comprehensively cover our communities, towns and state, but we do not always have the bandwidth to dedicate a reporter to every story, issue or event. However, there are multiple ways to get involved with the Concord Monitor and highlight your team, group, club, school or town.

We encourage readers to look at all of the options available to share their share photos, events, information and updates on our To Our Readers page under “How (and where) to submit content to the Monitor.”

Editorial independence

The Concord Monitor accepts gifts, grants and sponsorships to help sustain local news coverage. In all cases, the Monitor maintains complete editorial control in all aspects of its reporting. Our funders agree to support us because they value the role of a free and independent press. They have no influence on what or how we report and have no advance knowledge of specific stories we are pursuing. Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.