Editorial Standards

The Rabbit Hole covers Slidell, St. Tammany Parish, southeast Louisiana and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. These are the standards we hold ourselves to when we report, write and publish.

Accuracy comes first

We aim to verify facts before we publish them. Accuracy matters more than speed, more than clicks and more than being first. In fast-moving breaking news we may publish with limited confirmed information and then update the story as more is verified. When we update a story, we say so.

Sourcing and attribution

We attribute significant claims to a named person, agency, court record, public document or report. We write our own stories in our own words and do not copy other outlets. We do not invent quotes, names, statistics or details.

Crime and court coverage

We are careful to separate allegations, arrests, charges and convictions. An arrest or a charge is not a finding of guilt, and everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty in court. When a case moves forward or ends, we aim to report that too.

News, opinion and sponsored content

News stories are reported straight. Opinion and commentary are labeled as opinion. Sponsored or paid content is labeled as sponsored. Advertisers and sponsors do not decide what we cover or what we say.

Photos and images

When we can, we use real photos of the actual subject from official, agency, court or press sources. When no real image is available, we may use a graphic or illustration. We do not use images that falsely appear to document a real crime, arrest, crash or disaster, and we do not alter news photos in ways that mislead.

Corrections

If we get something wrong, we want to fix it. See our Corrections and Feedback page to learn how to report an error.

Who we are

Learn more about The Rabbit Hole and meet the people behind the reporting in our Staff Directory. You can reach us any time through our Contact page.