At readingwire.co.uk, we are committed to producing trustworthy, accurate and transparent journalism that serves the interests of our readers. This Editorial Policy sets out the standards and procedures that govern every piece of content published on our site. It applies to all editorial staff, contributors, freelancers and partners.
Editorial process
Every article published on readingwire.co.uk is reviewed by an editor before it goes live. This ensures that all content meets our standards for accuracy, clarity, fairness and legal safety. The review process includes checking sources, verifying facts, assessing language for potential bias and confirming that any claims are supported by evidence.
For sensitive stories — including those involving legal matters, allegations of wrongdoing, health-related claims, financial advice or assertions, stories about minors, or reporting that raises privacy concerns — an additional layer of review is applied. These articles are reviewed by Thomas Ellery, our Standards & Fact-Checking Lead, before publication. Thomas also handles any corrections or clarifications arising after publication and oversees source verification and image attribution. For more detail on how we handle mistakes, please see our Corrections Policy.
Clear distinction between content types
We make a clear, visible distinction between different types of content so that readers can always understand what they are reading:
- News – factual reporting of events, statements and developments. Written in a neutral tone and attributed to named journalists.
- Analysis – interpretation and context provided by subject-specialist journalists or editors, clearly labelled as analysis.
- Features – long-form journalism that explores a topic in depth, often with narrative elements. Labelled as features.
- Opinion pieces – views and arguments from named authors, clearly identified as opinion. These reflect the author’s personal views and not necessarily those of the publication.
- Sponsored content – content paid for by an advertiser. All sponsored material is clearly labelled with “Sponsored” or “Brand Content” at the top of the page.
- Affiliate content – articles that include affiliate links, which may earn us a commission on purchases. These are disclosed in accordance with UK advertising regulations. See our Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure for more details.
- Promotional material – any content that is primarily promotional is labelled accordingly. Commercial relationships never influence editorial conclusions.
Article-level transparency
Every article published on readingwire.co.uk includes the following transparency markers where applicable:
- Bylines – the name of the journalist or author who wrote the article.
- Author profile links – links to the author’s biography page on Our Team page, providing professional background and contact details.
- Publication date – the date on which the article was first published.
- Last-updated date – the date of the most recent substantive update or correction.
- Editor/reviewer labels – for sensitive stories, the name of the reviewing editor or Standards lead is noted.
- Source references – we link to or cite original sources, documents, reports and data wherever possible. Further detail is available on our Sources & Standards page.
- Disclosures – we disclose any press access, review copies, event attendance, travel or commercial relationships that may be relevant to the content.
- Correction notes – any corrections or clarifications are appended to the article itself and linked to our Corrections Policy.
Independence
readingwire.co.uk is owned by Prism House Media Ltd. Our editorial decisions are made independently of our commercial partners, advertisers and sponsors. We maintain a strict separation between editorial and commercial operations. For full details of our ownership and how we are funded, see Ownership & Funding. For how advertising and affiliate relationships work, see Advertising & Affiliate Disclosure.
Use of AI and automation
We use digital tools, including artificial intelligence, to assist with research, formatting, editing, translation, metadata generation, headline suggestions, summaries and transcription. All editorial content published on readingwire.co.uk is reviewed by a human editor before publication. AI is never used to fabricate quotes, sources, interviews, bylines, author experience or expert profiles. Any AI-assisted content is disclosed in accordance with our AI & Automation Policy.
Attribution and named writers
We require all editorial content to be attributed to a named writer or editor. This includes news reporting, features, analysis and opinion. Anonymous or pseudonymous writing is not permitted unless agreed in exceptional circumstances for safety or legal reasons, and such cases are clearly explained to readers. You can view the full list of our editorial team and their roles on our Our Team page.
Complaints route
If you believe we have published an error, breached our editorial standards, or have any other concern about our content, you can raise a complaint. We take all complaints seriously and investigate them promptly. Please see our Complaints Procedure for how to submit a complaint and what to expect from our response.
This policy is reviewed regularly and updated as needed. If you have any questions about our editorial standards, please contact our Editor-in-Chief Jonathan Whitfield at jonathan.whitfield@readingwire.co.uk.