OUR MISSION

Our primary goal is to deliver the most comprehensive and exclusive coverage of local business news and information to our readers. At the same time, we are committed to creating high-impact products—across print, digital, and customized solutions—that drive results for our advertising partners and support their unique objectives.

OUR OWNERSHIP

Pacific Publishing Group, Inc., doing business as The Business Journal
1315 Van Ness Ave., Ste. 200
Fresno, CA 93721-1729.

ETHICS / CORRECTION POLICY

The Business Journal’s ethics policy is adapted from the Society of Professional Journalists: 

Purpose and scope

The Business Journal exists to serve readers in Fresno, Kings, Madera and Tulare counties with accurate, fair and independent business news. This policy applies to all editorial staff, freelancers and contributors, and covers all platforms: print, web, email newsletters, social media, broadcast partnerships and events.

This policy is adapted from the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics and organized around its four principles: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent. It is a guide, not an exhaustive rulebook. When a situation is not covered here, staff should consult the managing editor before proceeding.

Seek truth and report it

Business Journal staff will:

• Verify information before publishing it, using original sources and documents whenever possible. Neither deadline pressure nor platform excuses inaccuracy.
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• Provide context and take care not to oversimplify or overstate when writing, promoting or summarizing a story, including in headlines, social posts and newsletter copy.
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• Update and correct information throughout the life of a story, in print and online.
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• Identify sources clearly so readers can judge their reliability and motives. Reserve anonymity for sources who face genuine risk of harm or retribution and whose information cannot be obtained elsewhere, and explain to readers why anonymity was granted. Anonymity requires managing editor approval.
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• Give subjects of critical coverage a genuine opportunity to respond before publication.
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• Avoid undercover or surreptitious reporting methods unless open methods cannot yield information vital to the public, and only with managing editor approval.
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• Hold those with power accountable, including government agencies, major employers and institutions in our coverage area, and seek to ensure the public’s business is conducted in the open.
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• Seek out voices we seldom hear, including small-business owners, workers and communities across all four counties, not only the largest or most visible companies.
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• Clearly label commentary, analysis and opinion, and never distort facts, data or images. Charts and graphics will accurately represent underlying data.
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• Never plagiarize. Always attribute reporting, data and images to their sources.
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Minimize harm

Business Journal staff will:

• Treat sources, subjects, colleagues and readers as people deserving of respect. Pursuit of news is not a license for arrogance or intrusiveness.
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• Recognize that legal access to information is not by itself ethical justification to publish it.
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• Weigh the consequences of publishing personal or financial information, recognizing that private individuals and small-business owners have a greater right to control information about themselves than public figures and public companies.
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• Use heightened care when covering business failures, layoffs, bankruptcies and litigation, which affect real livelihoods, without shying away from newsworthy facts.
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• Consider the long-term reach and permanence of digital publication, and provide updated and more complete information as appropriate.
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• Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know, and consider the implications of naming suspects before charges are filed.
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Act independently

The highest obligation of The Business Journal is to serve readers, not advertisers, sponsors, sources or owners. Staff will:

• Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived, and disclose unavoidable conflicts to the managing editor and, when relevant, to readers.
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• Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment from sources, advertisers or subjects of coverage. Items of nominal value (routine meeting refreshments, review materials) may be accepted; when in doubt, ask.
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• Not pay for access to news, and be wary of sources offering information in exchange for favors or coverage.
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• Avoid political activity, board service or outside work that compromises, or appears to compromise, editorial integrity. Staff will disclose outside affiliations to the managing editor.
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• Resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage. Advertisers, event sponsors and Book of Lists participants receive no favored treatment in news coverage and no protection from unfavorable coverage.
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Financial conflicts of interest

Because The Business Journal covers companies, markets and deals, financial conflicts require specific rules. Editorial staff will:

• Not report on companies in which they or immediate family members hold a direct financial interest, other than broad holdings such as diversified mutual funds or index funds.
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• Not trade on nonpublic information learned through reporting.
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• Disclose to the managing editor any financial relationship that could intersect with an assignment, so it can be reassigned if needed.
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Advertising, sponsored content and events

The Business Journal maintains a clear line between editorial content and revenue operations. Staff will:

• Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the line. Sponsored and paid content will be prominently and consistently labeled across print, web and email.
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• Keep editorial decisions independent of the advertising department. Sales staff do not assign, review or influence news coverage.
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• Apply news judgment, not sponsorship status, to coverage of awards programs, special editions and events such as the Family Owned Business Awards. Honoree selection criteria will be transparent, and editorial profiles of honorees will be reported and edited to the same standards as any other story.
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• Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not, including press releases and contributed columns.
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Sources and community relationships

The Business Journal operates in a market where sources, advertisers, event partners and community leaders often overlap. Staff will:

• Maintain professional boundaries with regular sources and disclose personal relationships that could affect coverage.
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• Be cautious when making promises to sources, and keep the promises they make.
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• Consider sources’ motives, particularly when information could advantage one business over a competitor.
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Artificial intelligence

Staff use of artificial intelligence tools is governed by The Business Journal’s separate AI policy. In all cases, staff remain fully responsible for the accuracy, fairness and originality of published work, and AI tools will not be used to fabricate sources, quotes, images or events.

Corrections

The Business Journal will acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Staff will:

• Correct errors of fact online as soon as they are verified, with a note explaining what was changed.
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• Publish print corrections in a consistent, findable location in the next available issue.
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• Respond quickly to reader questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness, and explain corrections and clarifications carefully.
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Accountability and transparency

Business Journal staff will:

• Explain ethical choices and editorial processes to readers when warranted, and encourage civil dialogue about coverage.
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• Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within this organization, without fear of retaliation.
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• Abide by the same high standards we expect of the people and institutions we cover.
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Questions about this policy, potential conflicts or ethical gray areas should be raised with the managing editor before publication, not after. Violations of this policy may result in discipline up to and including termination.

This policy draws on the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics (spj.org/ethics), which SPJ encourages news organizations to adapt. It is a statement of principles, not a legally enforceable code.