The Wenatchee World covers news that matters to the readers of North Central Washington.
We strive to be ethical and transparent in our reporting process and correct mistakes if they happen.
Our staff of writers, photographers and editors live in the communities they serve. While gathering the news, they follow the Society of Professional Journalists’ code of ethics: (https://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp)
Seek the truth and report it
Minimize harm
Act independently.
This frequently-asked-questions page is meant to be a living document. If you have other questions please reach out: newsroom@wenatcheeworld.com
Common questions about journalism:
How do you decide what stories to cover?
Each of our reporters covers a specific topic or industry, called a beat. Most of their story ideas come from the relationships they build with people who work in those industries. They’re also sent story ideas in press releases and through reader suggestions.
We determine a story’s merit by gauging whether it will be interesting, impactful and important to readers. Broadly, an idea’s “newsworthiness” is measured using the following principles:
- Timing — Is the idea new? Something that just happened yesterday is generally more relevant than something that happened a year ago.
- Significance — Is the idea going to make a big impact on society or affect a lot of people? A company looking to hire 100 people is generally more newsworthy than a company looking to hire five people.
- Proximity — Does the idea affect the people we cover? This principle varies depending on the size and location of each newspaper or publication. The Wenatchee World covers North Central Washington state, so we value story ideas that affect that area more than a statewide or national issue.
- Prominence — Who does the idea affect? Well-known people or people with influence tend to be more newsworthy. A mayor caught shoplifting is a more important story than an everyday citizen caught shoplifting.
- Human interest — This is the “x factor” of a story. People, organizations or businesses who are doing something interesting or out of the ordinary can also be newsworthy.
Are your journalists paid by sources?
We pay our journalists with revenue from advertisements and reader subscriptions. Our sources don’t pay us to write what they want and we don’t pay them to participate in our stories.
How do I know your stories are true?
We value accuracy above all else. Our reporting staff speak to real people directly involved with the topics we cover. We verify that information with data available on trusted websites, archives or through public records requests.
The information in our stories is attributed to the people or the place we found it. That’s usually indicated at the end of a sentence with a phrase like “she said” or “according to the report”.
Our reporters seek to present each story in a balanced way that’s representative of the issue we’re covering.
We also strive to make our photos and videos representative of the situation where they were taken. Unless it’s a posed portrait, they’re always candid, not staged.
But our journalists are also people and mistakes do occasionally happen. If something is found to be inaccurate after it’s published, we correct the mistake and let readers know.
What’s the difference between an opinion and a news story?
It can often be difficult to differentiate an opinion piece from a news article. In general, an opinion piece is reflective of the author’s personal viewpoint. A news article presents information from third-party sources in an unbiased way.
At The Wenatchee World, we separate opinion pieces into their own page in the newspaper and their own section on the website. Opinion pieces often have the word “opinion” or the author’s name in the headline.
Have a question or concern? Contact Managing Editor Russ Hemphill at (509) 665-1161 or hemphill@wenatcheeworld.com.
If you believe something on the website or in the newspaper is incorrect, please call us at (509) 665-1161 or email newsroom@wenatcheeworld.com.