Editorial Policy

The Monument Independent reports facts independently. We answer to our readers — not to owners, advertisers, or political parties. This policy sets out the standards we hold ourselves to, so you can judge our work by them and hold us to account when we fall short.

Our Mission and Independence

The Monument Independent exists to give Monument, Palmer Lake, Woodmoor, and the wider Tri-Lakes steady, professional coverage of the decisions that shape the community. Our loyalty is to readers and to the public interest. We are not owned by a national chain or a private-equity fund, and we are not aligned with any political party. We cover issues, not agendas, and we follow the facts wherever they lead — including when they are inconvenient to people we otherwise admire.

Ownership and Funding

The Monument Independent is published by Monument Independent LLC, a Colorado limited liability company, and is locally owned. We are reader-supported: our journalism is free to read, funded by voluntary reader contributions and by clearly labeled local advertising. Because we are a limited liability company rather than a nonprofit, reader contributions are not tax-deductible.

There is a firm wall between our business operations and our newsroom. Advertisers and contributors have no say in what we cover or how we cover it. No one can buy a story, an omission, or favorable treatment. Where an owner, advertiser, or partner has a stake in something we report on, we disclose that relationship in the story.

How We Report

We build our reporting from primary sources: meeting minutes and recordings, staff reports, budgets, recorded votes, court filings, and public records obtained directly or through open-records requests. We verify information before we publish it, and we do not report as fact anything we have not been able to confirm.

We show our work. Reported features end with a “Sources & further reading” section that lists the documents and coverage behind the story, so readers can check the record themselves. When we present data or analysis, we disclose our method and our assumptions, and we flag the limits of what the numbers can show — for example, the difference between registration and turnout, or the caveats around any survey or projection.

Sourcing and Attribution

We prefer named, on-the-record sources and documents that readers can evaluate for themselves. We identify our sources as fully as we can, and we describe how we know what we report. We give people and institutions we write about a fair opportunity to respond, and we include their response or note that they declined or did not reply.

Anonymous Sources

We grant anonymity only sparingly, and only when the information is of clear public importance, cannot reasonably be obtained another way, and the source would face a genuine risk — such as retaliation — by being named. Anonymity is a promise about identity, not a license to make unverified claims: we corroborate what an unnamed source tells us, and we do not let anonymous sources make personal attacks. The editor must approve the use of an anonymous source, and we tell readers as much as we can about why a source was granted anonymity and what vantage point they have.

Accuracy, Corrections, and Updates

We work hard to get things right, and when we get something wrong we fix it promptly and openly. A substantive error is corrected with a note on the story explaining what was wrong and when it was fixed; smaller matters are handled as clarifications. When a developing story changes, we update it and, where the change is material, we date and describe the update.

As a rule we do not unpublish accurate journalism; the public record should not disappear because it is uncomfortable. In rare cases — a legal requirement, a safety risk, or a serious factual failure — we may amend or remove content, and we explain what we did. To request a correction, email [email protected] or use our Corrections page.

Independence and Conflicts of Interest

We never accept payment for news coverage, and we do not trade coverage for advertising, access, or favors. Our journalists avoid financial, personal, or political entanglements that could compromise their work, or the appearance of it. Where a conflict is unavoidable in a small community — a reporter lives in an affected neighborhood, knows a subject, or has a stake in an outcome — we disclose it and, where appropriate, reassign the story. We do not accept gifts, favors, or special treatment that could influence, or appear to influence, our reporting.

Opinion, Analysis, and Editorials

We keep a clear line between news and opinion, and we label our work so readers always know which they are reading. News reporting is even-handed and does not advocate. Analysis interprets the facts and is labeled as analysis, with its reasoning and method shown. Editorials and opinion pieces argue a point of view; those that represent the institution appear in Opinion and are identified as the view of The Monument Independent, while signed columns reflect their authors.

Letters to the Editor and Community Submissions

We welcome letters to the editor and run them in Opinion. Letters reflect the views of their authors, not The Monument Independent. We verify authorship, publish the writer’s name and town, and may edit letters for length, clarity, accuracy, and civility; we do not publish letters that are libelous, or that make claims of fact we cannot substantiate. To submit a letter, email [email protected]. We also accept news tips and community event listings through our Submit and Contact & News Tips pages.

Political and Election Coverage

We cover local government, campaigns, and ballot measures on the merits, focusing on records, positions, and consequences for the community rather than on party or personality. We seek to treat candidates and competing viewpoints fairly and to give readers what they need to make up their own minds. We apply the same scrutiny regardless of a person’s party or where they stand on an issue.

Endorsements

The Monument Independent does not endorse candidates for office. As an independent, nonpartisan newsroom, we would rather equip readers to reach their own conclusions than tell them how to vote. If this ever changes, any endorsement would run clearly labeled in Opinion, would be kept entirely separate from our news coverage, and would disclose our reasoning.

Fairness and Minimizing Harm

We treat the people we cover as human beings deserving of respect. We give those we criticize or accuse of wrongdoing a genuine chance to respond before we publish. We recognize that private individuals have a greater claim to privacy than public officials and people who seek public influence, and we weigh the public’s need to know against the potential for harm. We take particular care with minors, victims of crime or tragedy, and people in vulnerable circumstances, and we do not publish unverified rumor.

Bylines and Authorship

Reporting is bylined so readers know who did the work. Community and institutional coverage may run under a Staff byline; analysis and signed opinion carry a named byline. Guest contributors and letter writers are identified by name and, where relevant, town. We do not publish anonymous articles by our own newsroom, and we do not use fictitious bylines.

Photography and Images

Our photographs and graphics represent real events accurately. We caption and credit images, distinguishing our own work from photos provided by others (for example, government or handout images). We may correct exposure, color, and cropping, but we do not alter the content of a news photograph in any way that misleads. Charts, maps, and other graphics we produce carry our mark so that, when they are shared or screenshotted, they trace back to us.

Use of AI and Technology

We may use software tools, including artificial-intelligence tools, to help with tasks such as research, transcription, data processing, and preparing graphics. A human editor is responsible for everything we publish. We verify facts independently of any tool, and we do not publish AI-generated text or imagery as though it were independently reported fact or a real photograph. AI is an aid to our work, never a substitute for reporting, judgment, or verification, and where an AI tool plays a material role in a story we tell readers.

Plagiarism and Original Work

We do not plagiarize. When we build on the work of other outlets — including our neighbors at Our Community News, whose long service to the Tri-Lakes we value — we credit them and, where possible, link to the original. We use others’ words and material only with attribution and within the bounds of fair use, and we distinguish our own original reporting from information gathered elsewhere.

Headline and House Style

Article headlines are written in title case: we capitalize the principal words and lowercase short articles, conjunctions, and short prepositions except as the first or last word. Proper nouns and official names are kept as written. Our editorial voice aims for clarity and precision over sensationalism; we do not use clickbait headlines, and our headlines reflect the substance of the story.

Accountability and Contact

Holding others to account means being accountable ourselves. We welcome questions, feedback, and challenges to our reporting, and we will explain our decisions. These standards are consistent with the principles of the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics. We review this policy from time to time and will note material changes.

The Monument Independent is published by Monument Independent LLC, a Colorado limited liability company.