Policies

Editorial independence

Oakland Voices subscribes to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News, of which we are a member.

Oakland Voices retains full authority over its editorial content. Donors, advertisers, sponsors and organizational partners do not determine which stories we pursue, whom we interview, what we report or when we publish.

Acceptance of financial support does not constitute an endorsement of a donor or its products, services, positions, or activities.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations to support our journalism, education programs and operations. Our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of financial support. We do not give supporters the right to assign, preview, approve or edit our editorial content.

Oakland Voices may accept funding to support coverage of a particular topic or community need. In those cases, Oakland Voices retains editorial control over the reporting, editing, and publication. Funders do not receive the right to review or influence coverage before publication.

Oakland Voices is a program of the Robert C. Maynard Institute for Journalism Education. The Maynard Institute provides organizational and fiduciary oversight. Editorial decisions about Oakland Voices coverage are made by Oakland Voices journalists and editors.

Donor transparency and gift acceptance

Oakland Voices is committed to transparency about the funding of our journalism.

We publicly disclose donors and institutional supporters that provide $1,000 or more during a calendar year, including the amount or funding range and, when applicable, the general purpose and period of the grant.

Oakland Voices and the Maynard Institute may decline financial support that:

presents an actual or apparent conflict of interest;
threatens Oakland Voices’ editorial independence;
requires editorial review or favorable coverage;
creates obligations inconsistent with our mission; or
could reasonably undermine public trust in our journalism.

We may accept anonymous contributions for general support only when appropriate safeguards ensure that the donor cannot direct or influence the use of the funds or Oakland Voices’ editorial decisions.

Oakland Voices does not accept contributions from political candidates or active candidate committees. Any additional restrictions are administered in accordance with the Maynard Institute’s gift-acceptance practices and applicable nonprofit law.

Advertising and sponsorship

Oakland Voices accepts advertising, underwriting, and sponsorships to help sustain our community journalism and educational programs.

Payment does not guarantee news coverage, favorable treatment, or access to Oakland Voices contributors or sources. Advertising and sponsorship decisions do not determine which subjects Oakland Voices covers or how we report them.

Advertisements, paid promotions, and sponsorship acknowledgments will be clearly identified and visually distinguishable from independently produced editorial content.

Oakland Voices reserves the right to reject or remove advertising or sponsorships that:

contain false, misleading or discriminatory claims;
promote unlawful products or activities;
conflict substantially with our mission or audience’s safety;
imitate editorial content without clear labeling; or
could reasonably compromise trust in our editorial independence.

Oakland Voices may report on organizations that advertise with, sponsor, or donate to us. Financial support does not shield a supporter from scrutiny. When a financial relationship is directly relevant to a story, we will disclose it to readers.

Revenue and editorial responsibilities

Because Oakland Voices is a small newsroom, its director and other senior representatives may participate in fundraising, advertising, and partnership development while also holding editorial responsibilities.

We manage this overlap by maintaining clear standards:

Revenue discussions do not include promises of favorable or guaranteed coverage.
Funders and advertisers cannot assign or edit journalism.
Contributors are not required to solicit donations or advertisers.
Relevant financial relationships are disclosed when they may affect—or reasonably appear to affect—a story.
Oakland Voices may reassign or seek outside editorial review of a story when a conflict cannot be adequately managed.

Contributor relationships and conflicts of interest

Oakland Voices contributors often report within communities where they live, work, learn, organize, worship, or maintain personal relationships. This proximity can provide valuable knowledge, trust, and accountability. It can also create actual or perceived conflicts of interest.

Contributors must disclose relevant financial, political, organizational, family, or personal relationships to their editor before accepting or pursuing an assignment.

Depending on the circumstances, Oakland Voices may:

disclose the relationship to readers;
add independent reporting or editorial review;
limit the contributor’s role;
reassign the story; or
decide not to publish the work.

Oakland Voices views community connections and proximity as a strength, opposed to the practice of parachuting into communities and extractive journalism. Community membership or lived experience alone should not disqualify someone from reporting on an issue. We evaluate whether a relationship prevents the contributor from reporting fairly, independently, and transparently.

Diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging

Oakland Voices believes communities are better served when the people producing journalism reflect the experiences, identities, and neighborhoods of the people affected by it.

We are committed to expanding participation in journalism among people and communities that have historically been excluded, stereotyped, or underrepresented in newsrooms and news coverage. This includes Black, Latino, Asian American and Pacific Islander, Indigenous, and other people of color; people with lower incomes; people with disabilities; immigrants; LGBTQ+ people; people experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity; incarcerated or formerly incarcerated people; and residents of neighborhoods that receive insufficient sustained reporting.

We apply this commitment across our:

community programs, Community Journalism Academy recruitment and curriculum;
staff, intern and contributor opportunities;
story selection and editorial priorities;
sourcing and community engagement;
photography and multimedia representation;
editing and coaching relationships; and
partnerships with Oakland organizations.

Equity does not mean avoiding scrutiny or withholding uncomfortable facts. It means reporting rigorously, examining power, questioning inherited assumptions, providing necessary context, and treating people as more than problems, stereotypes, or symbols.

Oakland Voices is a program of the Maynard Institute, whose mission includes dismantling systemic racism in news and building institutions of belonging. Our work is informed by the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines® framework and by our responsibility to the Oakland communities we serve.

Artificial intelligence and emerging technology

Oakland Voices is committed to journalism grounded in original reporting, human judgment and the lived experiences of Oakland communities.

We may use artificial intelligence tools for limited support tasks such as transcription, grammar and readability review, headline brainstorming, search optimization, document organization and early-stage research. AI does not replace reporting, sourcing, verification or editorial judgment.

Information produced by an AI system is not considered a verified source. Journalists and editors must check facts, quotations, names, calculations, translations and other material against original and authoritative sources before publication.

Oakland Voices does not publish fully AI-generated news stories. We do not use AI to fabricate quotations, sources, scenes, events, documents, photographs, audio or video. AI does not receive a byline, and a human journalist and editor remain accountable for everything we publish.

We do not use generative AI to create or alter documentary news photographs, video or audio in ways that misrepresent reality. Any synthetic illustration, reconstruction or other materially AI-generated media that Oakland Voices publishes will be clearly labeled.

Contributors must disclose meaningful uses of generative AI to their editor. Oakland Voices will disclose AI use to readers when it materially contributes to published text, translation, analysis, data findings, interactive tools, images, audio or video—or when understanding the technology’s role is important to evaluating the work.

We do not enter confidential source information, sensitive personal data or unpublished material into external AI systems without authorization and appropriate safeguards.

AI systems can reproduce errors, stereotypes and structural biases. We evaluate AI-assisted work using the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics, the Maynard Institute’s Fault Lines® framework and Oakland Voices’ F.A.C.T.S. framework.

Our journalists, contributors and editors—not technology vendors—are responsible for the accuracy, fairness and integrity of Oakland Voices journalism.

Corrections and editorial updates

Oakland Voices is committed to accuracy, fairness and transparency. When we make a material factual error, we correct it and clearly explain what changed.

We may fix typographical, formatting and other minor errors that do not alter a story’s meaning without adding a note. Material corrections, clarifications and significant updates are labeled so readers can understand what changed and why.

We also review requests to update, anonymize, or remove published information when continued publication may cause disproportionate harm. These decisions are made case by case and consider accuracy, public interest, safety, privacy, and the permanence of online publication.

Read our full Corrections and Editorial Updates Policy

Think we got something wrong? Submit a correction request.

Community contributors and editorial standards

Oakland Voices welcomes contributors with professional journalism experience as well as residents who are developing their reporting and storytelling skills.

All news contributors are expected to follow Oakland Voices’ standards for accuracy, attribution, fairness, verification, disclosure, and correction. Lived experience and community knowledge can inform reporting, but they do not replace verification.

Opinion, personal essays, and organizational submissions will be clearly distinguished from independently reported news. Advocacy or organizational affiliation does not automatically prevent publication, but relevant connections must be disclosed to editors and, when appropriate, to readers.

Please review our full Community Voices guidelines.