Essentials Magazine Australia Editorial Guidelines
Essentials Magazine Australia Pty Ltd, creates print and digital publications and written works produced by its journalists, writers, contributors and editors, and adheres to the rules and instructions outlined by the Australian Press Council.
The Australian Press Council specifically set out a statement of principles that Essentials Magazine Australia follows, including its terms of standards of practice, see:
https://www.presscouncil.org.au/standards-of-practice/
Further to this, Essentials Magazine Australia’s journalists, writers, contributors and editors are required to read and understand and work within an editorial framework that follows the statement of principles as set out by the Australian Press Council. The statement of principles can be found here: https://www.presscouncil.org.au/statements-of-principles/
The Principles and the other Standards of Practice that Essentials Magazine Australia follows include:
Accuracy and clarity:
To ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading, and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.
To provide a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.
Fairness and balance:
To ensure that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.
To ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply if that is reasonably necessary to address a possible breach of general principles.
Privacy and avoidance of harm:
To avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
To avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
Integrity and transparency:
To avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.
To ensure that conflicts of interests are avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence published material.
Non Publishing of Defamatory Content
Editorial content that is, or may be considered to be defamatory, is simply not accepted and is not published within any of Essentials Magazine Australia publications.
Writers and journalists are advised to not write any defamatory content that is, or may be considered defamatory in nature.
Medical and Nutritional Claims
Essentials Magazine Australia does not publish medical or nutritional claims.
If medical or nutritional claims are stated in editorial works, these claims are removed from the content; or the article in question is not published.
Fact checking:
Editorial content published within Essentials Magazine Australia and its associated print and digital publications are fact checked via a three-stage editorial process to ensure the content follows the statement of principles and other content guidelines as set out above. The three-stage process includes:
- Editor fact checking and review
- Sub-editor fact checking and review
- Proofreader fact checking and review
In each step, communication from editors and proof readers is carefully considered, and corrections, where advised, are made prior to publishing. This includes careful review of content that may have been supplied to writers by a third-party source.
Conflict of Interest
It is in the best interests of Essentials Magazine Australia and staff of Essentials Magazine Australia that real and perceived conflicts of interests be eliminated. Staff should be alert to real and perceived conflict of interest and take all reasonable steps to ameliorate same.
1. Staff should not use their position to obtain private benefit for themselves or others.
2. Staff should not be influenced by family or other personal relationships in fulfilling their editorial responsibilities.
3. Staff should be alert to conflicts of interest that may arise and declare to the Editor any real or perceived conflict of interest that arises or is foreseen.
4. Staff involved in a story who believe they have an interest that could be seen to influence their views on the issue at hand should acknowledge that interest during preparation and at publication of the story.
5. Staff have the right to join any community or political organisation or activity but should be aware that such participation may create, or be seen to create, a conflict of interest and reflect on the credibility of Essentials Magazine Australia and the staff member. However, staff participation in protests and demonstrations, or in decision making or fund raising capacities in organisations that do or could generate news, should be declared where their involvement could be an issue.
6. Staff in doubt as to whether a conflict exists should consult the Editor.
7. Essentials Magazine Australia and its staff will not allow any payment, gift or other advantage to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence. Any attempts to induce favoured editorial treatment through the offer of gifts or favours should be reported to the Editor. Where relevant, Essentials Magazine Australia will disclose these payments, gifts or other advantages.
8. Only the Editor can accept offers of free or subsidised travel, accommodation or other benefits on behalf of Essentials Magazine Australia. Acceptance of any such offer is conditional on Essentials Magazine Australia being free to assign and report or not report any resulting story as it sees fit. Any such story so generated should carry an acknowledgement of the free or subsidised benefits.
9. Essentials Magazine Australia will ensure that stories that specifically relate to an advertiser should, where possible, not be published on the same page as that advertiser’s advertisement.
Plagiarism
1. Staff must not reproduce other people’s material without attribution.
2. The source of published material obtained from another organisation should be acknowledged.
3. Bylines should be carried only on material that is substantially the work of the bylined journalist.
System of accountability and accreditation for contributors and journalists
To be accredited by Essentials Magazine Australia:
Contributors and journalists must agree in writing to construct editorials that comply with Essentials Magazine Australia’s Editorial Guidlines, the Australian Press Council statement of principles and privacy standards and non-defamatory rules.
Contributors and journalists with a formal resume, outlining education, trainee or cadetships and/or list of publications that they have worked under, including names of publishing editors and sample of works are all considerations that support the hiring of professional staff.
Essentials Magazine Australia follows the Statement of Privacy Principals as set out by the Australian Press Council.
Essentials Magazine Australia follows and adheres to the statement of privacy principals, as set out by the Australian Press Council, found here:
https://www.presscouncil.org.au/uploads/52321/ufiles/Statement_of_Privacy_Principles_Dec_2015.pdf
The Statement of Privacy Principles covers the following areas:
- Collection of personal information
- Use and disclosure of personal information
- Quality of personal information
- Security of personal information
- Anonymity of sources
- Correction, fairness and balance
- Sensitive personal information
iOS and Android App General User Privacy Policy
Essentials Magazine Australia publishes an additional iOS and Android App General User Privacy Policy and Collection of Data document.
The document can be found at:
https://www.essentialsmagazine.com.au/privacy-policy/
Essentials Magazine Australia Complains Handling Policy
Essentials Magazine Australia Pty Ltd considers reader complains seriously. It has a policy of dealing with complains in a helpful way to assist readers. The document including instructions on how to make a complaint can be found here: