Our policies
Editorial independence policy
We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:
Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.
Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.
Donor Transparency Policy
Our intent is for our donors to exert no more influence on our reporting than other members of the community. We do not accept anonymous gifts or those that appear to have strings attached.
We publish on our website the names of all contributors. Whenever we write about a donor who has contributed $5,000 or more, we disclose this in the story, at the earliest possible opportunity. Donors at that level will also be asked to sign a statement affirming our stances.
We believe that everyone in our community should have the ability to be involved in our work. We do not discriminate about sources of support. We strive for a healthy cross-section of support from different generations, those who hold divergent views and from all corners of Richmond. We believe local news is fundamentally non-partisan.
We reserve the right to refuse any donation that we deem a conflict of interest or we believe could detract from our reputation as an independent, trustworthy news source.
As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that operates as a public trust, we do not pay certain taxes. We may receive funds from government programs offered to nonprofits or similar businesses and we will disclose all public funds we may accept in support of our mission. We may submit competitive bids to win contracts for advertising or other services from federal, state or local government agencies.
Acceptance of donations, sponsorships, grants or advertising does not imply any endorsement by The Richmonder of donors’ products, services or opinions.
We strive to report the news accurately. When errors happen, we will correct them as quickly and transparently as possible.
Photo use policy
The Richmonder receives many requests by groups looking to use the photos that accompany our articles. The only photos that we are able to license are taken by Richmonder staff members, and are credited as (Staff member’s name/The Richmonder). We permit free public usage of those photos in limited situations:
Permitted Uses:
- Educational and Informational Use: You may use our photos on websites, blogs, presentations, social media and printed materials for educational or general informational purposes.
- Non-Commercial Use: Our photos may be used for non-commercial projects, including nonprofit newsletters, research papers and school projects.
Prohibited Uses:
- Commercial Use or Resale: Our photos may not be sold, licensed, or otherwise used for profit without our express written permission.
- Political Campaigns: Our photos may not be used in any political advertisements, campaign materials, or endorsements of candidates or ballot measures.
- Alteration: Images may not be altered in a way that misrepresents the context or subjects.
Required Attribution:
When using our photos, please credit “The Richmonder” and, if applicable, the individual photographer.
Requesting Permission:
If your intended use is outside the permitted scope (e.g., for a book, film, or commercial product), or you have other questions, please contact us at news@richmonder.org.
The Richmonder is unable to share photos that have not been published on our website.
By using our photos, you agree to comply with this policy.
Artificial Intelligence Policy
Last updated: September 14, 2026
Generative artificial intelligence is the use of large language models to create something new, such as text, images, graphics and interactive media. These terms will be referenced throughout this policy:
Generative AI: A type of artificial intelligence that creates new content, such as text, images, or media, by interpreting and generating based on input data.
Large language models (LLMs): AI systems trained on vast datasets of text to understand and generate human-like language, and is the information backbone that powers Generative AI.
AI prompt: A specific input or instruction provided to an AI tool to generate a desired output.
Hallucination: The phenomenon where AI generates information or responses that are fabricated, inaccurate, or not grounded in fact.
Training data: The dataset — articles, research papers or social media posts — used to teach an AI model patterns, relationships and knowledge for making predictions or generating content.
Although generative AI has the potential to improve newsgathering, it also has the potential to harm journalists’ credibility and our unique relationship with our audience.
As we proceed, the following five core values will guide our work. These principles apply explicitly to the newsroom and throughout other non-news departments including advertising, events, marketing and development.
Transparency
When we use generative AI in a significant way in our journalism, we will document and describe to our audience the tools with specificity in a way that discloses and educates. This may be a short tagline, a caption or credit, or for something more substantial, like an editor’s note. When appropriate, we will include the prompts that are fed into the model to generate the material.
Accuracy and human oversight
All information generated by AI requires human verification. Everything we publish will live up to our standards of verification. For example, an editor will review prompts, and any other inputs used to generate substantial content, including data analysis, in addition to the editing process in place for all of our content.
Privacy and security
Our relationship with our audience is rooted in trust and respect. To that end, we will protect our audience’s data in accordance with our newsroom’s privacy policies. We will never enter sensitive or identifying information about our audience members, sources or our own staff into any generative AI tools.
As technology advances and opportunities to customize content for our audience arise, we will be explicit about how your data is collected — in accordance with our organization’s privacy policy — and how it was used to personalize your experience. We will disclose any editorial content that has been created and distributed based on that personalization.
Accountability
We take responsibility for all content generated or informed by AI tools. Any errors or inaccuracies resulting from the use of these tools will be transparently addressed and corrected. We will regularly audit feedback forms and incorporate audience feedback into policy updates. Violations of this policy will require retraining and possible disciplinary action.
Exploration
With the previous principles as our foundation, we will embrace exploration and experimentation. We will strive to invest in newsroom training so every staff member is knowledgeable about the responsible and ethical use of generative AI tools.
Logistics:
The point person/team on generative AI in our newsroom is the lead editor (currently Michael Phillips).
This person will:
- Write clear guidance about how we will or will not use AI in content generation.
- Prepare an AI policy for board approval, and ensure that it is both internally available and where appropriate, publicly available (with our other standards and ethics guidelines).
- Seek input from our audience, through surveys, focus groups and other feedback mechanisms.
- Manage all disclosures about partnerships, grant funding or licensing from AI companies.
- Understand our privacy policies and explain how they apply to AI and other product development. This includes regularly consulting with editors, lawyers or other privacy experts that influence newsroom policies.
- Innovate ways to communicate with the audience to both educate them and gather data about their needs and concerns.
Editorial use
We will not use generative AI to write news stories.
We allow the use of generative AI to improve efficiency and automate routine tasks. In upholding the five principles of AI use in our organization, we will be mindful that generative AI tools may introduce errors, misinterpret context or suggest phrasing that unintentionally changes meaning, and will review all suggestions critically to ensure accuracy.
Some identified permissible uses, with restrictions, are:
Research
We may use generative AI to research a topic. This includes using chatbots to summarize academic papers and suggest others, surface historical information or data about the topic and suggest story angles. Generative AI tools may be used by fact-checkers to find checkable claims to pursue, or by journalists to sift through social media posts for article topics. A reminder: These tools are prone to factual errors, so all outputs will be verified by researchers, reporters and editors.
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.
Translation
We may use generative AI tools to translate material for article research.
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.
Visuals
AI-generated charts or illustrations must have any data checked by a human editor against the original source material.
Headlines or search engine optimization
Our journalists and editors may use generative AI tools to generate headlines or promotional copy to help our content appear more prominently in search engines. We will always base our headline on our journalism and not other reporting.
Copy editing
Generative AI may be used as a tool to assist with copy editing tasks, such as identifying grammar issues, suggesting style improvements or suggesting sentences to rephrase for clarity. It may not make such changes directly, only offer suggestions for human review.
