Unbias the News

Unbias the News creates a space for journalists who experience structural barriers in the field. We are a remote, cross-border newsroom by Hostwriter working towards a more equitable and inclusive world of journalism.

Let’s face it: The current media system is not representative for the audience it serves. Newsrooms in the United States have remained more white and male than other work places, the largest migrant communities in Germany have no representation among editors-in-chief at leading news outlets and Indian media is an upper-caste fortress.

But diversity is not a moral question, it’s a question of quality! We aim to open up the field to emerging voices and local journalists who have not yet had the privilege to publish at big legacy outlets due to structural barriers or discrimination.

Building on our pilot project “Unbias the News. Why diversity matters for journalism,” (Hostwriter/CORRECTIV 2019) we aim to create collaborative journalism across borders that breaks through national media bubbles.

Diversity is not a moral question, it’s about quality: International journalism has been dominated by white, male, Western voices, which makes it challenging to capture the authenticity of experiences, aspirations and concerns of a diverse but networked audience.

We aim to rectify empathy and trust through grounded, multi-perspective, nuanced reporting, creating a new kind of journalism that looks more like the audience it serves.

We seek to actively fight against the perpetuation of racist, sexist and ableist stereotypes and conspiracy theories.

We give or reference historical context for modern-day inequalities.

We take special care in reporting on crime and poverty.

We developed an inclusive workplace policy to enable collaboration with a wide range of contributors.

Words matter: We take care to use language that does not unnecessarily exclude groups or further essentialism on the basis of race, gender, class, religion, nationality, caste or ability. We own and investigate our own bias.

We investigate the full range of views, but are explicit about our anti-racist, feminist, pro-democracy bias.

We periodically review our publication for bias and publish our findings annually on this website.

We provide in-depth editing assistance to welcome reporting from people who speak English as a second or third language.

We consider newsroom diversity a prerequisite for accurate reporting.

We make efforts to accommodate journalists working with limited internet access and provide access to specific skills training and software where appropriate.

While the newsroom operates remotely and internationally, Hostwriter is bound to the German Press Code as a Berlin-based non-profit organization. This includes the following commitment:

We respect human dignity and are committed to democracy and the rule of law.

Our research and publications follow the principles of transparency, accuracy and fairness.

We only publish information on individuals if it serves a public interest as defined by international press law.

We deal openly with our own errors and correct them promptly and openly at our website. We publish corrections if published information subsequently proves to be incorrect.

We name the sources of our information by default, whenever possible. We indicate when sources cannot be disclosed and explain the reasons why disclosure of the sources is not possible in such cases.

We believe in collaboration as a default, so we give credit to everyone who worked on a story, cite direct and indirect sources for the story, including from social media, and link to other media sources when appropriate.

We seek to contact the most pertinent experts rather than the easiest to reach ones (because of shared networks or language) and consider search engine bias in our research.

Focusing on the cross-border relevance of local stories, we encourage and help journalists to work with additional contributors based in different countries to continue the story, when pertinent, across borders or boundaries.

We are open to story ideas submitted by teams. Please see our Freelancer policy for detailed collaboration guidelines. We present people so that they have agency and dignity.

We ask people we interview how they identify and respect their categorization (e.g., we will use neutral “they” or “ze” upon request.)

We ask for permission for photographs, and seek parental or guardian consent for publishing pictures of minors.

We use trauma-sensitive reporting guidelines, respecting a source’s right to be the expert of their own story. We do not present people who have experienced trauma as biased or treat them as hostile witnesses.

We do not offer quote review based on status, but will allow sources to clarify their statements when appropriate.

We respect our sources’ time and limits and do not push them to share information that, in their view, would compromise their safety or well-being.

Our contributors are paid equitably and the same regardless of nationality.

We do not use fixers and give all authors a byline (unless they request anonymity).

We pay a kill fee for stories that do not make it to publication.

The safety and mental health of journalists who work for us is prioritized above and beyond getting a story. If during a story your mental health is affected, please contact your editor. You are not alone.

We work with journalists to get their story additional reach and, when possible, have it published in different languages and markets where it will have the most impact.

We handle complaints from employees and contributors in a transparent manner and according to a Code of Conduct.

We are committed to working towards the latest standards in digital safety and security.

We see online harassment as a form of censorship and are developing an anti-trolling plan accessible by employees and contributors.

Our research and publications follow the principles of transparency, accuracy and fairness.

We respect human dignity and are committed to democracy and the rule of law.

We name the sources of our information by default, whenever possible. We indicate when sources cannot be disclosed and explain the reasons why disclosure of the sources is not possible in such cases.