Standards & Credentials

Trust is the product. Here's how we protect it.

Everything the network earns, from readers, sponsors, and institutions, rests on these commitments. They are public so anyone can hold us to them.

The four commitments

Our standards.

01 · Editorial standards

Every story is read by a human.

Reporting is published in one of three labeled registers, News, Official, or Perspective, so readers always know what they're reading. Sources are named wherever possible, and every piece carries a byline and a date.

02 · Corrections

Errors get fixed in the open.

Verified errors are corrected promptly, noted on the story itself, and logged. We don't quietly edit. Requests go to any desk editor or through the publication that originated the piece.

03 · Ownership & funding

You can see where every dollar comes from.

The coalition is member-funded: $25 dues, published splits, and a displacement rule that shifts outside revenue toward the mission. Sponsor relationships are public and quarterly revenue statements go to every publisher partner.

04 · Sponsored content

Advertising never wears a press badge.

Sponsored content is labeled, reviewed before it runs, and its authors are never credentialed as press. We do not sell editorial coverage, at any price.

The credential

The TUEPAC press pass.

Issued to verified working journalists on the network: an active byline with a member publication or coalition desk, editor sign-off, renewed annually. It cannot be bought, and writing paid content forfeits it.

Every pass carries a QR code that resolves to a live verification page, so any venue, official, or event can confirm the holder in seconds.

Press · TUEPAC NetworkMEMBER #0212 · THE CHARLOTTE POST · EXP 08/2027
Standing

Memberships & registrations.

Press credential program
Verification standard, public register, QR check
Active
NNPA · the Black Press
National Newspaper Publishers Association
In progress
NC Press Association
State standing & legal resources
In progress
LION Publishers
Independent local news, per-outlet
Planned
ISSN registration
Library of Congress, per publication
Planned
Google & Apple News
Publisher status for network publications
Planned

Statuses illustrative for this prototype.