Hopewell Heritage Headlines is an independent local newsroom covering south-central Ohio. We are not owned by a newspaper chain. These are the rules we work by:
Accuracy first. We check names, dates, charges, and places against the source document before a story runs. If we get something wrong, we fix it and note the fix on the story.
Charges are not convictions. Arrest stories come from public jail and court records. Being booked is not being found guilty, and every arrest story we publish says so.
We name carefully. A person who has been arrested is named, because that is public record. Victims are not named when the law or basic decency says not to, and we do not publish accusations about private people that we cannot verify. If you have a claim about someone, send it to us privately and we will check it. We do not run anonymous gossip.
The other side gets its say. When a story is critical of a person, an office, or a business, we reach out to them for their side and we add it when they answer. Breaking news runs when it happens, and the ask and the update follow. Nobody gets ambushed in print without a chance to respond.
Coverage is never for sale. No one can pay for an article, a headline, or a better story. Businesses can buy ads. Ads are labeled as ads, and advertisers get no say in the news.
Photos people send us. Readers send us pictures every day, and they are a big part of how we cover this area. We do our best to run them right and credit who took them under the photo. If a photo is yours and it runs without your credit, or you want it down, message us and we will credit it or remove it right away when we see your message.
Corrections. Email info@heritageheadlines.com. If you are right, we fix it and note the correction on the story.