Staff Manual

Here is the Tide’s Conflict of Interest Policy:

Writers and editors should not cover clubs/organizations they are a part of. Members of these groups can share article ideas relating to their groups and/or share interview contacts, however.

For protests and activism campaigns, staff members involved should not cover the event. The only exception is for opinions writers, who must demonstrate that they are only communicating their own opinions and disclose that they participated in the event.

Family members, friends, and current teachers/counselors should never be the first choice of interviewee. However, excluding family, these groups can be interviewed in specific cases. Ex: Team captain of state championship winning team is your friend.

Writers can only write about topics they may have biases towards/affiliations with if they are a part of opinions (or social justice to an extent), and should clearly state their connection in the article.
On social media, if a writer posts something that takes a stance on an issue, they cannot write about it. All staff members should be careful of what they share on social media and how that impacts The Tide’s and the writer’s credibility.

For more information on Tide guidelines, here is a link to our staff manual.