Editorial Standards
Mission
American Courant publishes daily news and analysis on politics, business, world affairs, opinion, and culture. We write for a general American audience and aim to be straightforward, accurate, and worth reading.
Bylines and authorship
Every article carries a byline. Bylines are real people, employed or contracted by American Courant, who are responsible for the article's facts and framing. We disclose institutional affiliations or potential conflicts of interest within an article when they are relevant to the subject of the piece.
Sources
We rely on:
- Direct reporting and interviews where possible.
- Public records, government filings, and academic research.
- Other reputable news organizations, with attribution.
We avoid anonymous sources unless safety, retaliation risk, or material information is at stake — and even then we describe the source's position and motivation as fully as the situation allows.
Fact-checking
Original reporting passes through a second editor before publication. Wire stories and syndicated content are checked at the source. When we update an article after publication for a non-trivial factual reason, we note the update at the top of the article and describe what changed.
Corrections policy
If we get something wrong, we want to know. Email tips and corrections to editor@americancourant.com.
For factual errors, we:
- Update the article with the correct information.
- Add a clearly labeled correction notice at the top of the article.
- Note the date and nature of the correction.
We do not silently re-write articles. The published record stands; corrections are visible.
Opinion vs. reporting
Articles in the Opinion section reflect the author's view. They are argued, not impartial. Articles in news sections aim for the standard journalistic balance between fact and necessary context. We try to label clearly which is which.
Advertising and editorial independence
Advertising on this site is sold via Google AdSense, which uses automated placement. American Courant does not have influence over which specific ads are shown alongside which articles. We do not let advertisers review or pre-approve editorial coverage. We do not publish sponsored content disguised as editorial. If we ever publish sponsored content, it will be clearly labeled as such.
AI use
We use software tools — including AI-assisted research and copy editing — as part of our newsroom workflow. We do not publish articles that are wholly machine-written. A human editor is responsible for every published byline.
We do not consent to our published content being used to train
commercial AI models. Our robots.txt reflects this.
What we will not publish
- Misinformation we know to be false.
- Personal information of private individuals (addresses, phone numbers, financial details) without a strong public-interest reason.
- Material that incites violence or directly harasses individuals.
- Material we cannot legally publish (defamation, classified information, content that infringes copyright).
Reader feedback
We read every email tip, correction, and letter to the editor. We may publish letters with the writer's permission, edited for length and clarity.