Gwadar e Tawar
Gwadar e Tawar aims to fill the gap in local news media in Balochi language. Its focus is on giving coverage to the youth and women in particular. It also covers literature, art and social issues in Balochistan. This editorial policy for Gwadar e Tawar will act as a guideline for the editorial team while reporting, editing and publishing content on all its digital platforms. Cont
ent
This section of the policy will focus on the content covered by Gwadar e Tawar. News reporting
Gwadar e Tawar relies on its three-member editorial team, 10 stringers and its networks in the journalism community to obtain news from different parts of Balochistan. In case of a story reported by a member of the team, a byline will be provided only if it is an exclusive article reported on by a team member. When a reporter’s name is not given, the byline will say “Gwadar e Tawar”. In case of news curated from another news outlet, a link would always be provided to the original article along with mentioning the name of the organization where the original article appeared. All videos produced by Gwadar e Tawar will contain a watermark of the Gwadar e Tawar logo to prevent plagiarism and unfair distribution. Verification and fact-checking
The editorial team at Gwadar e Tawar has primary responsibility to ensure that their reporting, writing and social media shares are accurate and verified by the relevant authorities. The information provided by one source will be verified by at least one other source. Where this is not possible, Gwadar e Tawar will rely on its journalists’ network to verify the content of the news. All information will be verified by the relevant government or professional bodies, where required. In cases where a source has established genuine grounds to withhold name, they will be identified by their designation or their location. The reason why the name was withheld will also be mentioned clearly. Topics
Gwadar e Tawar will focus on giving coverage to the youth and women in particular. It will also cover literature, art and social issues in Balochistan. It will not cover any breaking news, political news or any story related to the ongoing militant insurgency in the region. Opinion/Analysis
Gwadar e Tawar is committed towards broadening the scope of Baloch journalism and giving voice to Baloch experts and analysts. Many graduate students contribute in-depth stories about geographical discoveries and unique phenomenon in the region. When an article is not a news item, the website will carry the label that will mark it as such. For articles contributed by external writers, the label would say ‘opinion’ or ‘analysis’ whichever is applicable. The same procedures will be followed when articles marked ‘opinion’ or ‘analysis’ are shared on social media. Style guide
Gwadar e Tawar is the first Balochi language digital news organisation. It also publishes a small portion of its content in the English language. Gwadar e Tawar uses the Persian script for all its stories. A glossary of Balochi words that frequently come up in the news will be used to ease the writing and editing process. Ethics
All staff members of Gwadar e Tawar will abide by the following codes of practice, which have been adapted from the Press Council of Ireland. All members of the team must commit to the highest professional and ethical standards as detailed below. Accuracy
In reporting news and information, Gwadar a Tawar shall strive at all times for truth and accuracy. When a significant inaccuracy, misleading statement or distorted report or picture has been published, it shall be corrected promptly and with due prominence. When appropriate, a retraction, apology, clarification, explanation or response shall be published promptly and with due prominence. Distinguishing Fact and Comment
Comment, conjecture, rumour and unconfirmed reports shall not be reported as if they are fact. Readers are entitled to expect that the content of Gwadar e Tawar reflects the best judgment of editors and writers and has not been inappropriately influenced by undisclosed interests. Wherever relevant, any significant financial interest of an organization should be disclosed. Writers should disclose significant potential conflicts of interest to their editors. Fair Procedures and Honesty
Gwadar e Tawar will strive at all times for fair procedures and honesty in the procuring and publishing of news and information. It will not obtain information, photographs or other material through misrepresentation or subterfuge, unless justified by the public interest. Journalists and photographers must not obtain, or seek to obtain, information and photographs through harassment, unless their actions are justified in the public interest. Respect for Rights
Gwadar e Tawar shall not knowingly publish matter based on malicious misrepresentation or unfounded accusations, and must take reasonable care in checking facts before publication. Privacy
The private and family life, home and correspondence of everyone must be respected. Readers are entitled to have news and comment presented with respect for the privacy and sensibilities of individuals. However, the right to privacy should not prevent publication of matters of public record or in the public interest. Sympathy and discretion must be shown at all times in seeking information in situations of personal grief or shock. In publishing such information, the feelings of grieving families should be taken into account. Public persons are entitled to privacy. However, where people hold public office, deal with public affairs, follow a public career, or have sought or obtained publicity for their activities, publication of relevant details of their private life and circumstances may be justifiable where the information revealed relates to the validity of the their conduct, the credibility of their public statements, the value of their publicly expressed views or is otherwise in the public interest. Taking photographs of individuals in private places without their consent is not acceptable, unless justified by the public interest. Prejudice
Gwadar e Tawar will not publish material intended or likely to cause grave offence or stir up hatred against an individual or group on the basis of their race, religion, nationality, colour, ethnic origin, membership of the travelling community, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, disability, illness or age. Children
Gwadar e Tawar will take particular care in seeking and presenting information or comment about a child under the age of 18. It will have regard for the vulnerability of children, and in all dealings with children should bear in mind the age of the child, whether parental or other adult consent has been obtained for such dealings, the sensitivity of the subject-matter, and what circumstances if any make the story one of public interest. The fame, notoriety or position of a parent or guardian must not be used as sole justification for publishing details of a child’s private life. Victims of su***de and sexual assault
In the reporting of su***de, excessive detail of the means of su***de and the name of the victim should be avoided. In the reporting of sexual assault, the name of the survivor should be avoided unless explicitly requested by the family. Care must be taken that the reporting does not discriminate, place blame or otherwise harm the reputation of the survivor. Corrections
If any fact or report published by Gwadar e Tawar is being contested, the following procedures will be followed:
The facts being contested will be confirmed with the reporter/editor who filed/curated the story. If a mistake has been found, a clarification will be issued promptly. On the website, the article that contains a mistake will be updated with the accurate details. At the end of the article, there will be a special note that will say: “An earlier version of this article stated …. This was incorrect and the mistake has been fixed. We regret the error.”
On social media, the post that contains a mistake will be updated with the accurate details. On top of the edited post, there will be a note saying: “An earlier version of this post stated … This was incorrect and the mistake has been fixed. We regret the error.”
Conflict of interest
Gwadar e Tawar is committed to avoid conflicts of interest wherever and whenever possible. No team member of Gwadar e Tawar shall accept gifts from news sources. This includes free trips, preferential treatment or any other favour that resembles quid pro quo. The organisation does not accept any political, religious or foreign funding. Gwadar e Tawar does not pay any honoraria to guest contributors. In case a news subject is related to a member of the Gwadar e Tawar team, all efforts will be made to assign the news to another member of the team. In case this is not possible, another member of the team will review the article/video before it is published to ensure that it does not give undue favours to one entity. Comments moderation
Gwadar a Tawar aims to engage with its vibrant online community by allowing comments and feedback from its readers. However, these comments must respect the work done by the news team, as well as respect community and traditional guidelines. Gwadar e Tawar will adopt the following comments moderation guidelines, adopted from the World Editors’ Forum and Dawn.com, will be followed for comments made by readers both on the website and social media:
Comments that are offensive or abusive, ones that include racism, sectarianism, sexism and hate speech, will be removed by the admin. Any comment or link that contains something illegal or threatens violence against someone will be removed by the admin. Any comment that contains swear words will be removed by the admin. Comments that include quotations from religious texts will be deleted by the admin as they could be misquoted or misconstrued out of context. Recommendations for improvement
This section contains a set of recommendations to improve the editorial content and outlook of Gwadar e Tawar’s digital presence. In the ‘About Us’ section, it may be helpful to include an Urdu and an English translation of the content. It would help Gwadar e Tawar reach out to speakers of other languages and gain visibility. This applies to the ‘About’ section on the page as well. Using high quality images on the website, especially those appearing on the homepage banner will vastly improve the look of the website. In the ‘Contact Us’ section, it may be helpful to include the names and short bios of the team behind Gwadar e Tawar. This will help readers know who is behind the project and help them trust the work being done by the team. However, if there are security concerns, it may be sufficient to just include the email addresses of individual team members so readers can know who to get in touch with in case of story tips, corrections, etc. For social media posts, it will be helpful if there is a consistent template to ensure uniformity and create a brand image. Avoid using a photo collage and use one high quality photo instead. For videos, it will be helpful to follow a consistent style of editing. This means that the logo, titles, subtitles, end credits, etc, will appear at the same spot in every video.
