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Bergen TV adopts the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent. These are the practices we use to meet it.
Our practices
- Primary records first. We verify what we report against primary sources: records obtained through New Jersey’s Open Public Records Act (OPRA), meeting agendas, minutes and video, court filings, ordinances, contracts and budgets.
- Show our work. Our stories list the records behind them, so readers can check them.
- Right to respond. We ask anyone named or criticized in a story for comment before we publish, and we include their response. If they don’t respond, we say so. Responses that arrive after publication are added as updates.
- Charges are not convictions. We describe criminal charges as allegations, not facts. Everyone charged is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court, and we update stories when cases are resolved.
- Headlines state what we found. Our headlines report what the records show, not hype or speculation.
- Credit. We credit and link other outlets’ earlier reporting, and we label a story “Exclusive” only when we were genuinely first.
- No payment for coverage. We do not take money or favors in exchange for coverage, and we do not publish press releases as news.
- Paid content is labeled. We do not publish paid or sponsored content without a clear label. Advertising is kept separate from news decisions.
- Public meeting video. When we use a town’s or agency’s meeting video, we credit the source.
- Sources and tipsters. We do not publish a tipster’s identity without consent. Anonymous claims are not published unless confirmed by records or on-the-record sources.
How we use AI tools
Bergen TV uses AI tools to help research stories, review public records, transcribe recordings of public meetings and draft articles. These tools let a small newsroom cover more of Bergen County’s 70 towns. They do not replace editorial judgment. Stories are checked against primary sources before publication, and everything we publish is the editorial responsibility of the publisher, Julio Reynoso. AI tools can make mistakes. If you find one in our work, tell us and we will correct it under our Corrections Policy.
Mistakes
When we get something wrong, we correct it openly under our Corrections Policy. Report errors to info@bergentv.com.
