Independent news and views for the Meon Valley including Droxford, Soberton, Meonstoke, Corhampton, Exton, Warnford, West Meon, East Meon, Swanmore, Waltham Chase, Bishop’s Waltham, Denmead, Hambledon and Wickham.
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Editor: Steve Clark steve.clark@meonvalleytimes.co.uk
Content editor: Paul Hindson paul.hindson@meonvalleytimes.co.uk
Sports editor: Pete Jones pete.jones@meonvalleytimes.co.uk
Submitting an article
How we operate
In addition to our own news reporting, we receive media information from the police and other public bodies. We may use images supplied by the police – such as appeals for missing persons – which may later be removed at the request of the police.
Although we are not formally linked to the Independent Press Standards Organisation we aim to follow the Editors’ Code of Practice https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/
We go further than the code requires in some areas:
We will not name victims of crime or accidents until information is provided to us by the police. Other media – including the BBC – will occasionally name victims of crime or accidents ahead of formal notification. We insist that people who choose to comment on our posts refrain from using names or speculating on the identities of victims of crime or accidents. We will remove such names if we see them in comments or if names in comments are reported to us.
We will not use close-up photographs of accidents that may show injured people and will not use material issued by police if it is considered by us to be too close-up.
We will strive not to identify vehicles involved in accidents until a time when next of kin are likely to have been informed.
We will remove comments that we deem to be abusive to other users or that we judge to be harassment or that contain inappropriate language. We may also ban users who post such comments from our social media pages.
Supporting Our Work
It takes time to write and check articles, research stories and take photographs. We would welcome donations to help widen our news-gathering capabilities, including helping to support the employment of a trainee reporter. You can donate here https://gofund.me/support-meon-valley-newsgathering-2unfsrg?pc=tw_cr_n or you can contact us by email by clicking here
If you spot anything that needs correcting, please email us by clicking here or contact us on social media with a summary of the issue.
Complaints
We can look into complaints about items we have published which are in within or control. We adhere to the IPSO Editors’ Code of Practice https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/
We can only deal with your complaint if you are:
– personally and directly affected by an alleged breach of the Code
– a representative group affected by an alleged breach of the Code, where there is a public interest in your complaint
– a third party seeking to ensure the accuracy of published information
Fact-checking
We aim to be precise with their words, headlines, and URLs. Our team understands that words have power and act responsibly. In doing so, our reporters must verify the information they gather. This includes identifying information such as names and positions, but also includes factual statements and accounts. Reporters conduct their own fact-checking using their own judgment guided by our ethics policy. We will use fact-checkers in certain circumstances we deem it warranted.
Making a complaint
You can email us by clicking here
We will aim to acknowledge your complaint by e-mail within seven working days and will aim to respond to your complaint with a final decision within 21 working days. If we uphold your complaint, we will tell you the remedial actions we have taken.
