Ethics:
The principles, policies and ethics that MMG stands by for our audience.
The following code of ethics reflects a commitment to the principles that define the adapting nature of journalism. In an era of rapid digital evolution, MMG members must demand a careful balance between amplifying audience voices and upholding ethical standards. Ethical media requires dedication to empathy and inclusion. Journalists should serve the public interest while maintaining integrity. This code outlines the fundamental practices to maintain that integrity.
Pursuit of Truth and Fair Reporting: Reporters must seek and report the truth in a way that holds all parties accountable, while ensuring fairness and absence of bias. Efforts should aim to benefit the public, particularly vulnerable communities.
Empathetic and Inclusive Reporting: Reporters must prioritize creating a comfortable, trusting environment for sources, respecting their identities, dialects, and perspectives. Language and quotes should be preserved authentically while ensuring clarity.
Radical Transparency and Accessibility: Newsrooms will operate transparently to build public trust. News content should be easily accessible to all, without paywalls, and presented in simple, concise formats.
Respect for Privacy and Consent: Imagery and content may not be misleading or exploitative. Anonymity will only be granted when necessary to protect vulnerable individuals, particularly minors and victims.
Independence and Integrity: Journalistic endeavors must remain free from influence by business interests, political affiliations, or conflicts of interest. Any potential biases must be disclosed. Non-objective coverage must be clearly labeled.
Accountability and Adaptability: Corrections and updates must be issued with explanations for changes to maintain integrity. Policies, especially regarding AI and controversial topics, must be regularly reviewed and updated.
Open-Mindedness: Reporters must approach all subjects fairly, avoiding selective quoting or framing that favors one side over another.
Integrity in Competition: Journalistic integrity should not be compromised for speed, competition, or secrecy. The public’s right to information must take precedence.
For any questions about Ethical standards and guidelines, please reach out to Archana Pisupati, Jeremy Garza or Carly Heltzel.
This policy was created in July of 2025. It was inspired by the guidelines published by the Poynter Institute and NeimanLabs.
Interview Policy:
MMG does not condone misleading sources or concealing being a reporter. Sources must give their consent to reporters to be quoted and/or recorded for publication. All reporters must identify themselves as a representative of MMG or Mustang News. MMG is not required to honor requests for statements to be off the record after they have been made, nor rescind publication of quotes or naming sources.
- Anonymous Sources: MMG reserves the right to offer anonymity to any sources it deems fit. MMG will only offer anonymity if the information cannot be obtained from any other source, the information is vital to the report, the information is not an opinion and/or the source will face severe harm if their identity is revealed. Reporters must get permission from the sitting Editor-in-Chief to cite anonymous sources. If a source is granted anonymity, MMG will not reveal the identity to law enforcement.
Corrections and Transparency:
MMG strives to publish news both quickly and accurately. If a correction is requested, MMG editors are responsible for replying to a request for correction, evaluating the validity of the request, and finally applying the correction. MMG editors add a “Correction” note at the bottom of an article in italics, explaining the reasoning when any correction is issued.
Equitable Reporting:
MMG representatives have an obligation to accurately and fairly report stories. Reporters must attempt to make contact with every side of a story before publishing. If a subject does not respond, is unreachable or unwilling to give comment, the reporter must state that in the story. Best practice is seeking out two or more interviews from different perspectives on the topic.
- Crime Reporting: In the course of its coverage, MMG may report on ongoing criminal investigations. MMG does not name police suspects in an investigation unless they have been formally charged with the crime. MMG never names law enforcement suspects under the age of 18. MMG only publishes descriptions of suspects if they are detailed, not solely race or gender-based, and if the suspect poses a serious and ongoing threat to the community.
- Community Deaths: MMG does not report on community deaths as breaking news. In the event that a member of the campus or greater San Luis Obispo community dies, MMG responds by writing an obituary and honoring the deceased as well as their friends and family.
- Compensation: MMG strives for a balanced and transparent newsroom. In order to achieve this goal, no reporter may accept any form of payment from the subject of a story.
- Conflict of Interest and Unbiased Journalism: Reporters may not report on any organization they are employed by or are a member of. Reporters will be removed from stories if an editor deems there to be a conflict of interest.
Photos and Design:
MMG credits all courtesy photos to their proper owner and all original content. For content created by staff, MMG reserves the right to take photos in public places and does not require consent from photo subjects.
Videography:
MMG videography in public spaces is protected by the First Amendment. This includes video of speeches, protests, or any other events hosted or taking place on public property. MMG reporters are encouraged to request interviews when in-person covering events, in which case people are allowed to deny being on-camera. However, we ask the public not to cover, move, or otherwise physically touch our reporters cameras.
With many campus events, Mustang News is the first – or only – media outlet to provide quick and accurate coverage of breaking news. It is vital that our reporters are able to access spaces without being harmed.
- Using outside video/content: In the instance that MMG uses content from community members, social media, or other media outlets, we will request permission and credit the source upon publication.
Social Media:
Social media is integral to our newsroom’s content production. Since we have a primarily young audience, we are dedicated to connecting to students through our social media platforms. With a lot of content distribution on social platforms, we are just as cognizant of the impacts of personal beliefs and comments shared by our staff members.
In legacy newsrooms, reporters and editors can promote their work, provide real-time updates and engage with readers while experimenting with new forms of storytelling. At Mustang Media Group, we want to build trust with our audience, and above all, face-to-face interactions pioneer trust-building efforts.
But social media use can also present potential risk for MMG. If our journalists are engaging in active discourse or displaying bias, that can threaten the credibility of the entire newsroom.
This comprehensive guide provides insight on our recommendations as organization members and future professional journalists to maintain integrity and an unbiased profile.
• In social media posts, our journalists must not express partisan opinions, promote political views, endorse candidates, make offensive comments or do anything else that undercuts The Times’s journalistic reputation.
• Our journalists should be especially mindful of appearing to take sides on issues that The Times is seeking to cover objectively.
• These guidelines apply to everyone in every department of the newsroom, including those not involved in coverage of government and politics.
This policy was adapted from The New York Times editorial social media policy.
Artificial Intelligence:
Introduction: Mustang Media Group has developed working AI policies, defining AI as any large language model, to ease the minds of our viewers and give our staff clear guidelines.
As the technology continues to evolve, Mustang Media Group will strive to balance innovation and responsible use. This document, like our other policies, will be updated as needed.
Transparency: Mustang Media Group will be upfront and honest about our use of generative AI in the newsroom. Below, we have listed guidelines for ways in which we will and will not use generative AI to produce or present content. When we stray from these guidelines or use AI in a new way, a disclaimer will be included alongside the story.
Accuracy and Oversight: Generative AI often creates responses that are fabricated, inaccurate, or not grounded in fact, also known as hallucinations. Mustang Media Group will not sacrifice accuracy for speed or ease. When using generative AI, a human staff member will always closely ensure accuracy.
Privacy and Security: We respect our external and internal communities. We will not jeopardize security by entering any sensitive information of our audiences or staff into large language models.
Accountability: As with anything published under our name, Mustang Media Group takes full responsibility for anything published using generative AI. We are open to feedback and criticism with open arms.
Innovation: With all that being said, we are a college media organization. Mustang Media Group will continue to explore AI and prepare our staff for a future career in or around the media.
Use Guidelines
Specific Uses: Mustang Media Group staff may use generative AI for
- Research: We may use generative AI to research a topic, summarize academic papers, or suggest story angles. Using AI as a resource in this way will be merely a starting point, and all factual statements will be verified by a human.
- Transcription: We may use generative AI to transcribe interviews and make our reporting more efficient. Our journalists will review transcriptions and cross-check with recordings for any material to be used in articles or other content.
- Searching and Assembling Data: We may use AI to search for information, mine public databases or assemble and calculate statistics that would be useful to our reporting and in the service of our audience. Any data analysis and writing of code used on the website will be checked by an editor with relevant data skills.
- Headlines and Search Engine Optimization: Our journalists and editors may use generative AI tools to generate headlines or other supplemental content to help our content appear more prominently in search engines. We will put enough facts into the prompt that the headline is based on our journalism and not other reporting.
- Copyediting: Generative AI may be used as a tool to assist with copyediting tasks, such as identifying grammar issues, suggesting style improvements or rephrasing sentences for clarity.
- Social Media Content: Generative AI tools can be used to summarize articles to create social media posts. Audience teams will do regular content audits to ensure social copy and posts meet ethical guidelines, including those around biases.
Uses Not Permitted: Mustang Media Group will not use generative AI for
- Translation: To ensure utmost accuracy and cultural awareness, translated content will not be created using generative AI. Mustang Media Group is constantly working to improve our Spanish language content and to create a robust Spanish speaking reporters network.
- Story Generation: As of now, Mustang Media Group requires all reporters to create stories in their own words, including written, audio and video. To avoid possible plagiarism, ensure original reporting, and provide proper attribution, entire stories will not be produced using generative AI. Reporters suspected of using AI to write stories submitted for edits will be reprimanded.
- Entire Visuals: Our visuals teams (including graphics and photo) will not use AI to create entire graphics or manipulate real people or events. When creating graphics, some portions of the graphic may be produced using generative AI, but the composite graphic will be created by a human.
Environmental Impact
Mustang Media Group acknowledges the energy demands associated with training and deploying large-scale AI systems. As part of our commitment to sustainable journalism, we recognize that responsible AI use includes minimizing our environmental footprint.
We commit to:
- Prioritizing efficient tools
- Advocating transparency from vendors and AI companies
For any questions about AI use and guidelines, please reach out to Archana Pisupati, Jeremy Garza or Leila Touati.
This policy was created in July of 2025. It was inspired by the guidelines published by the Poynter Institute and NeimanLabs.
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion:
MMG is committed as a student news organization to raise awareness of and actively support marginalized communities across social identities including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity, ability, religion/spirituality, nationality and socioeconomic status. MMG is also committed to addressing diverse issues in our newsroom, in our coverage and in our community.