Editorial values

Since its first edition in September 2020, Eastsider News has sought to provide a platform for its local communities to share stories, news and discussions of topics that affect the lives of people who live and work in our region.

Eastsider News is a free, digital newspaper that relies upon content generated by its local communities. It does not employ professional journalists but regularly calls on its supporters to contribute news items, stories and other material. We ask that contributions reflect the diverse nature of our local population, report on matters that affect the lives of that community and are timely, well written and interesting.

Much of the material we publish is informative and descriptive, reporting on events and activities of individuals and organisations. Some, however is more opinionated and argumentative. We consider such material part of our remit to ensure that our institutions and decision makers are transparent, open to scrutiny and remain accountable to their community. We expect, however, that the discussion remains factually based, respectful and inclusive, and should not degenerate into name calling and inflammatory language.

Eastsider News is committed to a set of editorial values that will determine the nature and format of the material we publish. We ask our contributors to take note of these values and to incorporate them into their output.

Eastsider News is community-based and not-for-profit. It seeks to facilitate democratic, community level dialogue and debate that is respectful, inclusive, impartial and based on the honest, fair and accurate assessment of facts. It seeks to share accurate and reliable information and knowledge, and to provide good quality input into public decision making. It respects the privacy of individuals.

It is our goal to publish content that reflects the views of the local community in a fair, unbiased and non-political manner. We do not endorse any particular political party, candidate or agenda.

Language that is provocative, misleading or pejorative will not be accepted. All assertions and claims should be evidence based, verifiable and capable of being supported by independent and valid references.

We will consider material that expresses an alternative point of view as this can reflect the diversity of views in our community, and may have the benefit of leading to constructive criticism and exchange of views. We stress, however, that the opinions expressed within any article are solely those of the individual author and do not reflect the opinions and beliefs of the Editors, Independent Community News Group Incorporated, or any other organisation.

We provide the opportunity, within reasonable limits, for members of our community to express their opinions within Eastsider News either in the form of a letter to the editor or as an ‘op-ed’.  We also encourage our readers to respond to the opinions expressed in these contributions. We insist, however, that your response be polite, well argued, based on fact and that all claims be supported by valid references. Provocative and pejorative language and assertions are no substitute for clear, logical discussion based on clearly enunciated concepts and verifiable fact.