City News Bristol

Ethics policy

Last updated 1 November 2026

Independence

What City News Bristol covers, and how, is decided on news value and relevance to Bristol business. Advertisers, full profile companies and other businesses cannot influence whether a story is published or what it says.

Coverage is earned, not bought

Commercial arrangements, including full profiles, are kept separate from editorial decisions and are always labelled. A full profile does not mean a company will be covered, and no company can pay to be left out of a story.

Conflicts of interest

Where anyone on our team has a personal or business connection to a story, they take no part in reporting or approving it, and another editor handles it. Where a connection is relevant to readers, the story says so.

Quotes and sources

Quotes are reproduced as given and attributed to the person or organisation that made them. We use anonymous sources rarely, only when the information matters to readers and cannot be obtained another way, and we protect sources where we have agreed to.

Fairness

Where a story contains criticism of a person or company, we ask them for a response before publication and say if they did not reply. We report setbacks, closures and job losses as well as growth.

Breadth

We aim to reflect the whole of Bristol business: every sector, every part of the city and companies of every size, from startups to established firms.

Complaints

If you think we have fallen short of this policy, email bristol@city-news.uk. We will reply within five working days.