Editorial Independence
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. 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.
Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN’s Membership Standards.
Donor Transparency
We are committed to transparency in every aspect of funding our organization.
Accepting financial support does not mean we endorse donors or their products, services or opinions.
We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals, organizations and foundations to help with our general operations, coverage of specific topics, and special projects. Our news judgments are made independently – not based on or influenced by donors. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
We will make public all donors who give $5,000.00 or more per year. As a nonprofit, we will accept donations from anonymous sources only under certain conditions (see our Editorial Independence Policy), and we will not accept donations from government entities or political parties. We will not accept donations from sources who present a conflict of interest with our work or compromise our independence.
Current donors ($5,000 or more)
Bader Philanthropies
Greater Washington Community Foundation
Marquette University
Northwestern Mutual Foundation
Public Policy Forum
Zilber Family Foundation
Advertising Acceptability
The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service reserves the right to accept or decline any advertisement or sponsorship it is offered.
The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service will decline to accept advertising that it knows or believes to be misleading, inaccurate, fraudulent or illegal, or that fails to comply, in the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s sole discretion, with its standards of decency, taste or dignity. Advertising for industries that are not accepted include, but are not limited to, the following:
- For-profit colleges
- Stand-alone check-cashing businesses
- Predatory lenders
- Alcohol and tobacco marketers
- Student loan or bankruptcy recovery companies
- Sex-related businesses such as gentlemen’s clubs
- Pornography
The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service, like all quality publishers of original journalism, maintains a clear separation between news and advertising content. Advertising that attempts to blur this distinction in a manner that, in the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service’s sole judgment, confuses readers will be rejected.
Conflicts of Interest
We will make every effort to ensure that our news coverage and the operation of the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS) as an entity will be free of conflicts of interest. All NNS editorial staff, including employees, independent contractors, freelancers and interns, are obliged to report to the editor any potential conflicts of interest they may have when they report or write stories. In the event of a conflict or potential conflict, the editor shall decide whether to remove an individual from an assignment, and whether to publicly note areas of potential conflict.
Everyone involved with NNS owes a duty to the news organization to advance its legitimate interests, to be faithful to its nonprofit mission and to act in ways that are consistent with the central goals of the organization and its nonprofit status.
No one involved with NNS shall personally accept gifts or favors that could compromise NNS’s ability to fairly report a story.
Privacy
The Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service does not record personal information about its users, other than names and contact information. Users may submit personal information through our site to third parties, such as PayPal, who are responsible for storing and securing such information.
We will not release your name or contact information to anyone outside the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service (NNS) without your consent, unless we are under a legal order to do so, or there is an emergency involving danger to a person or property.
Keep in mind that any information you share in public areas, such as the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service comments area, becomes public and therefore this Privacy Policy does not apply to any information you choose to make public. We encourage visitors to the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service to be cautious about what you disclose and not to post any information that you expect to keep private.
Any staff member who violates our privacy and security policies is subject to disciplinary action.
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Disclaimers and Limitations of Liability
Although we take reasonable steps to prevent the introduction of viruses, worms, or other destructive materials and programs to our site, we do not guarantee or warrant that our site or materials that may be downloaded from our site are free from such destructive features. We are not liable for any damages or harm attributable to such features. We are not liable for any claim, loss or injury based on errors, omissions, interruptions or other inaccuracies in our site, nor for any claim, loss or injury that results from your use of this site or your breach of any provision of this agreement.