Ethics and Policies - Modern Farmer

Ethics and Policies

 

Editorial Independence Policy

We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News. 

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but we maintain editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

Donor and Financial Transparency Policy

We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.

Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions. We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics and special projects. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from standard government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses.

Our news judgments are made independently—not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.

We make public all revenue sources and donors who give $5,000 or more per year. We avoid accepting charitable donations from anonymous sources, government entities, political parties, elected officials or candidates seeking public office. We will not accept donations from sources who, deemed by our board of directors, present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.

Modern Farmer was initially established in 2013 as a for-profit print publication owned by Canadian financier and philanthropist Frank Giustra. In 2022, Modern Farmer’s journalistic assets were transferred to Acceso Impact, a US 501(c)(3) not-for-profit organization. Acceso Impact provides fiscal sponsorship and operational support to Modern Farmer.

We have been supported in our first year by a generous donation from Food Intelligence, a British Columbia-based charitable entity with a mandate to support non-profit initiatives that enhance awareness and education about key issues related to food and agriculture.

Corrections Policy

Modern Farmer strives for accuracy in its reporting. If we publish an error, we commit to correcting or clarifying it in a timely and transparent manner. A Modern Farmer editor will issue the correction following these guidelines:

  • When a story contains a significant mistake or an error, the correction should appear in italics atop the original story, with the preface “For the record:”. The correction must be written in a way that makes clear the error that is being corrected.
  • When a story contains a minor factual error, the correction may appear at the bottom of the story, again in italics and with the preface “Correction:”.
  • When a story contains a word misspelling or other typo that does not otherwise affect the accuracy of the story, editors may make those fixes. These do not require an italicized correction notice, except in the cases of proper nouns. 

If we know of other publications that have republished our story, we will contact those outlets directly to communicate the correction.