How we report, and the lines we won't cross

People ask us, fairly, how a group known for confronting offenders can also be a newsroom people trust. Here is how we work.

We do the frontline work, and we report, but we keep the two apart. What we choose to publish is a separate decision, made later, to a different standard.

As a rule we do not name anyone before they are charged. Before a charge, an accusation can wreck an innocent life and collapse a real case, so we hold back unless there is a strong public interest and we can confirm the facts, such as a named suspect in a murder or other serious crime, or a confirmed arrest.

We hold footage back until there is a conviction. When we do publish it, we censor what needs censoring, and we only run it when it teaches people something real. We are not in it for a show.

We report from the public court record, after a case has concluded, and we check what we write against that record. If we get something significantly wrong, we correct it promptly and with the same prominence as the original, and we keep both on the record.

We are working towards registration with IMPRESS so these are not just our promises but a standard you can hold us to, with a complaints process that goes beyond us if you are not satisfied.