Editorial Independence Policy

Appleseed News adheres to the standards of editorial independence established by the Institute for Nonprofit News (INN). These standards guide our commitment to producing fair, accurate, and nonpartisan journalism for the communities we serve.

Editorial Control and Independence

Appleseed News retains full and final authority over all editorial content. This independence is essential to protecting the integrity, credibility, and mission of our newsroom. All decisions regarding news coverage are made by our editorial staff, and are insulated from any external influence, including donors, sponsors, and business partners.

We maintain a strict firewall between revenue sources and editorial decision-making. Acceptance of financial support—whether through gifts, grants, sponsorships, advertising, or other contributions—does not constitute endorsement of any donor, their products, services, political positions, or viewpoints.

Funding and News Judgment

We welcome financial support from individuals, foundations, and organizations for the general support of our work. However, our news judgments are made independently and never on the basis of donor interests or preferences.

Appleseed News may accept funding designated to expand reporting in certain broad topic areas (such as public safety, local government, education, the environment, or community issues). Even when coverage areas are supported in this way, editorial decisions—including story selection, reporting, editing, and final publication—remain solely under the control of our editorial staff.

We do not grant donors, sponsors, or funders any right to review, approve, edit, influence, or suppress editorial content. We do not allow funders to shape or pre-determine our reporting.

Transparency and Donor Disclosure

Appleseed News is committed to transparency regarding financial support. We publicly disclose all donors who contribute a total of $5,000 or more in a calendar year.

We may accept anonymous donations for general support only, and only when sufficient safeguards are in place to ensure that such contributions do not influence editorial decisions and remain compliant with INN’s Membership Standards.