grough is an independent website which strives to bring its readers and users information, news and views about the outdoor world and those who enjoy it, work in it and own and influence it.
We aim for accuracy in all our reporting and comment which is free from outside coercion.
grough’s staff are expected to follow the Code of Conduct (below) of the National Union of Journalists, the trade union representing news media workers in the United Kingdom and in the Republic of Ireland.
National Union of Journalists’ Code of Conduct
A journalist
- At all times upholds and defends the principle of media freedom, the right of freedom of expression and the right of the public to be informed
- Strives to ensure that information disseminated is honestly conveyed, accurate and fair
- Does her/his utmost to correct harmful inaccuracies
- Differentiates between fact and opinion
- Obtains material by honest, straightforward and open means, with the exception of investigations that are both overwhelmingly in the public interest and which involve evidence that cannot be obtained by straightforward means
- Does nothing to intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless justified by overriding consideration of the public interest
- Protects the identity of sources who supply information in confidence and material gathered in the course of her/his work
- Resists threats or any other inducements to influence, distort or suppress information and takes no unfair personal advantage of information gained in the course of her/his duties before the information is public knowledge
- Produces no material likely to lead to hatred or discrimination on the grounds of a person’s age, gender, race, colour, creed, legal status, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation
- Does not by way of statement, voice or appearance endorse by advertisement any commercial product or service save for the promotion of her/his own work or of the medium by which she/he is employed
- A journalist shall normally seek the consent of an appropriate adult when interviewing or photographing a child for a story about her/his welfare
- Avoids plagiarism.
If you have reason to believe that grough has carried inaccurate information, please contact us at editor@grough.co.uk. If we are satisfied that there is an instance of inaccuracy, we will correct this by: amending the original story/article or; adding a note in the page’s comment box. In the case of a serious, damaging inaccuracy, we may remove the story/article entirely from the website.
grough’s forums and message boards, and the comment boxes at the foot of our pages, include the views of members of the public and readers and are not necessarily the views of grough or its staff. These are not pre-moderated. They are intended as a means of exchanging views and opinions and, by their nature, will not be bound by the ethical policy to which our staff work. Please be aware, therefore, that the standards of accuracy, fairness, and separation of fact and comment may not pertain in these sections of our sites. However, contributors to these sections are expected to conform to our terms and conditions. If you think a contribution in either the comments or forums section contravenes these, please let us know at editor@grough.co.uk and we will investigate.
The nature of the subject matter covered by grough determines that there are periods of time when our writers and staff are ‘in the field’ for protracted lengths of time. During such times, we may not be able to respond to complaints or requests for corrections immediately. Please be patient if you do not receive an immediate acknowledgement. There will also be times when technological problems mean we are unable to reply promptly, for instance where there is a break in service of our email server. We aim to acknowledge communications quickly, so if you do not hear from us, please be patient: there is probably a good reason – we may be miles from communication on an assignment!
We do not normally pay for stories and/or pictures, except from bone fide freelance contributors. Where we have received goods or services from individuals, organisations or companies, we will make this clear in our reports.
We do not aim to grab copyright of contributors to our pages. We ask only for a licence to reproduce them on our online services and other publications. We will carry a credit to authors of text, images (including photographs) and designs where we know the authors. If you believe we have mistakenly used copyrighted material in any of our services, please let us know and we will attempt to remedy this.
We welcome news releases from organisations, companies or any member of the public. We do not guarantee publication in any form and we reserve the right to amend, rewrite or curtail any such communications, except under our paid-for guaranteed press release service, which will be identified as sponsored content. Please send news releases to editor@grough.co.uk.
You may contact us by post at: grough Limited, 2 Spring Wells, Oakworth, Keighley, West Yorkshire BD22 0QZ, United Kingdom.
grough Limited is registered in England. Company number 6881144
