Editorial Standards and Practices

Rocky Mountain PBS partnered with the Trust Project to complete its 8 Trust Indicators® and achieve the Trust Mark logo of integrity by publishing a thorough description of strengthened policies and standards.

Mission

Rocky Mountain Public Media exists to strengthen the civic fabric of Colorado through public media. We have a vision of a Colorado where everyone feels seen and heard.

These are our organization’s core values:

Building cultural bridges
We believe in celebrating other cultures and traditions different from our own to have cross-cultural communication.

Culture is something everybody has
We recognize that everybody views the world from their own cultural lens that may differ depending on one’s culture.

Actively engage multiple perspectives
We believe in the importance of bringing all perspectives to the table.

Co-responsibility
We believe in moving past self-interests and embracing community-building.

Head, Heart, Hands, Healing
We approach everything with our heads, hands and heart to help heal.

The Rocky Mountain PBS journalism team consists of reporters based in Denver, Fort Collins, Colorado Springs, Fruita and Durango. Our coverage — a combination of daily, multimedia journalism and long-form documentaries — includes arts and culture, science and the environment, history, education, outdoor recreation and more.

Meet our team

Our journalism team has full authority over all journalistic decisions.

Journalism Leadership Team

Gabriela Resto-Montero, Journalism Director, gabrielarestomontero@rmpbs.org
Alexis Kikoen, Executive Producer, alexiskikoen@rmpbs.org
Kyle Cooke, News Editor, kylecooke@rmpbs.org

Rocky Mountain Public Media Senior Leadership Team

Amanda Mountain, President & CEO, amandamountain@rmpbs.org

Karla Hanlon, Chief Operating Officer, karlahanlon@rmpbs.org

Nikki Jones, Chief Digital Officer, nikkijones@rmpbs.org

Kirby Witten-Smith, Chief Revenue Officer, kirbywitten-smith@rmpbs.org

You can visit our full staff page here.

If you would like to get in touch with the journalism team, or send us a news tip, email journalism@rmpbs.org.

Our main office is the Buell Public Media Center, located at 2101 Arapahoe St. Denver, CO 80205.

History & Funding

Rocky Mountain PBS began in Denver in 1956 as Colorado's first public television station. It is now Colorado's only statewide television network, with stations in Denver, Pueblo/Colorado Springs, Steamboat Springs, Grand Junction and Durango.

Rocky Mountain Public Media, of which Rocky Mountain PBS is a part of, is Colorado’s largest statewide, member-supported, multimedia organization. Rocky Mountain Public Media, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, comprises Rocky Mountain PBS, KUVO JAZZ and THE DROP.

Nearly three-quarters of our funding comes from individuals, including more than 90,000 people across Colorado who either pledge to be monthly sustaining members, donate impact gifts to support specific projects or become legacy donors by designating our organization in their estate plans.

Other significant sources of revenue include values-aligned local business underwriters, government organizations, and foundations. You can explore our financial reports in more detail here.

Rocky Mountain PBS’ journalistic decisions are free of undue influence from third-party funders, political interests, and other outside forces, including our sustaining members. Our journalists frequently interact with members of their community, including people who support Rocky Mountain PBS with donations and funding, but we follow guidance taken from NPR’s ethics handbook, which states that journalists interact with supporters in order to further editorial goals, not to serve the supporters’ agendas.

Other departments in Rocky Mountain Public Media, including underwriting, marketing and the grants and foundations team, understand this ethical boundary, and communicate with the Rocky Mountain PBS journalism leadership when questions arise.

Editorial standards

Datelines

All of Rocky Mountain PBS’ original journalism will come with a dateline. The dateline (e.g., DENVER or PUEBLO, Colo.) will indicate where the journalist reported from. If a story takes a journalist to multiple locations, the dateline will indicate where most of the newsgathering/reporting took place.

Bylines

All Rocky Mountain PBS articles will come with a reporter byline that features their name, photo, short bio and contact information. Many times, we will have multiple bylines on one story. This is because our journalists often produce videos and write articles in tandem. Journalists will receive a byline if their newsgathering, reporting or video production was vital to the story. Journalists who contribute partially to a report will be recognized in a tagline at the end of an article or in the credits of a video. Editors are trusted to determine which recognition is most appropriate.

All photography posted to our website will come with a credit on the individual photo or photo series.

Articles with the byline “Rocky Mountain PBS Staff” indicate that the work was produced collaboratively as a newsroom.

Press releases and other official announcements from Rocky Mountain Public Media will come with the byline of our director of communications.

When Rocky Mountain PBS re-publishes journalism from one of our partner outlets, we will include the journalist(s)’ name, short bio/description and contact information, if available.

Types of Work

As a statewide, multimedia journalism outlet, the Rocky Mountain PBS staff produces a variety of journalistic work. Our journalism, which includes online articles and videos, comes with a label identifying the “type of work” each piece is. We will use the following definitions:

For Articles:

News

Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. These pieces include perspectives from multiple viewpoints on a particular issue, unlike public relations or propaganda. News reports do not incorporate the opinion of the author. Read an example

Investigation

In-depth examination of a single subject requiring extensive research and resources. Read an example

Explainer

Provides context or background, definition and detail on a specific topic. Read an example

Fact-check

Checks a specific statement or set of statements asserted as fact. Issues a verdict on accuracy. Can also include reports intended to debunk false news. Read an example

Q&A

An interview to provide a single perspective, edited for clarity and obvious falsehoods. Helps the public get to know a person or one side of an issue. Usually one-sided and only lightly edited or fact-checked, with no response provided. Read an example

Behind the story

Describes why and how a story was reported. Rocky Mountain PBS uses this label on articles that explain the historical background and reporting efforts that contribute to the production of our documentaries and journalism, including "Colorado Experience." Read an example

Announcement

Announcements and updates concerning Rocky Mountain Public Media provided by the organization's director of communications. These announcements are not impartial, fact-checked journalism. Read an example

Underwritten
Independently reported by Rocky Mountain PBS journalists with financial support from a named entity, which did not approve or review the work. This work is held to strict journalistic standards but funded by an entity interested in being associated with the topic or news organization, or in expanding attention to a topic already on the news agenda.

For Videos:

News

Investigation

In-depth examination of a single subject requiring extensive research and resources. Watch an example

Q&A

Ethics Policy

The Rocky Mountain PBS ethics policy is adapted from the standards set by the Public Broadcasting Service. The core principles of those standards are: Independence, Accuracy, Fairness, Transparency, Inclusiveness and Accountability.

Moreover, we believe that the quality of our journalism is also a matter of ethics. The most valuable accomplishment in journalism is credibility, and that comes from producing consistent, high-quality work. All of our journalist’s reporting will go through a rigorous editing process before publishing. Our journalism should answer questions, connect dots, provide context and be exceptionally produced. We will not publish work that fails to meet our standards.

You can read our full ethics policy here.

Fact-checking and verification

Rocky Mountain PBS’ fact-checking is rooted in the Digital Inquiry Group's Civic Online Reasoning curriculum, which boils down to three questions: Who’s behind the information? What’s the evidence? What do other sources say?

Rocky Mountain PBS journalists will be the primary fact-checkers for their own work. Every piece of journalism — whether it’s an article, video for broadcast, etc. — will be reviewed by at least one editor. However, these editors are not responsible for fact-checking every piece of the journalist’s article, video, etc.; that responsibility belongs to the journalist(s) who produced the work.

Rocky Mountain PBS journalists should approach all claims with skepticism, no matter the source. They should fact-check their sources and corroborate what sources tell them by speaking with other sources or referring to experts. Rocky Mountain PBS will not publish single-source pieces.

Journalists should verify data and statistics shared by sources before including the figures in their journalism. The source of the data should also be disclosed.

If a journalist refers to other reporting to support their work, the mentioned media outlet should be a trusted, nonpartisan news outlet. Here is a list of some of our journalism partners whose work Rocky Mountain PBS may reference.

We will stand by our journalists’ information as accurate. If it is not accurate, we will change it or clarify it as quickly as possible and be transparent with our readers about the changes we made. Every piece of journalism we publish will include the author(s) name and contact information.

If a reader/viewer believes we published false information, they can email us at journalism@rmpbs.org.

Unnamed Sources

Named sources are integral to transparent journalism. Rocky Mountain PBS journalists should press their sources for on-the-record interviews. If the interviewee is not comfortable being a named source, Rocky Mountain PBS journalists should try to find the information from a different named source before discussing the possibility of anonymity.

If a source is only willing to provide information on the condition of anonymity, Rocky Mountain PBS journalists must receive approval from an editor before agreeing to those terms. At least one editor must know the identity of the anonymous source so that the editor(s) can determine if using an anonymous source is vital to the story.

Anonymity can be granted if these circumstances defined by the Associated Press are met: “if the information is from a credible source with direct knowledge; if it brings to light important facts that otherwise would remain in the shadows; and if the information can be obtained no other way.”

Unnamed sources should never be the only source in a piece of Rocky Mountain PBS journalism. Moreover, we will not publish unnamed sources who use the afforded anonymity to participate in speculation or defamation.

Rocky Mountain PBS journalists will be responsible for setting ground rules with their sources before an interview in which anonymity is offered or expected. Our journalists will use the Associated Press’ definitions for these ground rules and will communicate them with sources.

The AP’s definitions are:

On the record
The information can be used with no caveats, quoting the source by name.

Off the record
The information cannot be used for publication.

Background
The information can be published but only under conditions negotiated with the source. Generally, the sources do not want their names published but will agree to a description of their position. AP reporters should object vigorously when a source wants to brief a group of reporters on background and try to persuade the source to put the briefing on the record.

Deep background
The information can be used but without attribution. The source does not want to be identified in any way, even on condition of anonymity.

There are instances when Rocky Mountain PBS will refer to a source only by their first name. This will not happen frequently, and will only occur in instances when publishing the source’s full name will risk their safety. If a source tells a Rocky Mountain PBS journalist that using their full name will put the source at risk, the journalist should seek another source before offering this level of anonymity.

Rocky Mountain PBS follows Associated Press guidelines when it comes to using minors’ full names.

When Rocky Mountain PBS publishes work featuring a source without a last name, we will explain our reasoning in the piece. We will not use pseudonyms.

Corrections

Mistakes happen. If an article or video contains a factual error, we will edit the piece to remove, update or clarify the information in question. When we edit an article to address an error, we will also include a correction at the bottom of the article that includes:

- The correct information

- A reference to the originally published, incorrect information

- When the edits were made

If a video is edited to address a factual error, we will include a correction in the description of the video that includes the correct information, a reference to the previous, incorrect information, and when the edits were made.

In instances when a video must be taken down and re-uploaded to fix an error, we will explain that process in the video description.

Rocky Mountain PBS will not issue corrections for edits made to address mistakes in grammar, punctuation or spelling unless those mistakes affected the factual information in the piece (e.g., not including a decimal point when sharing a statistic).

Articles or videos that include a correction will be aggregated on a corrections page on the Rocky Mountain PBS website.

Any errors made in our broadcast products will be addressed as early as possible, at the conclusion of the series’ following episode. For example, if an episode of “Colorado Experience” includes a factual error, the credits of the episode airing after the error was discovered will include a note acknowledging the mistake, and providing the information.

In the rare instance in which an article or video contains so many errors that it can’t be corrected, or the central premise of the piece is found to be false, the journalism leadership team will discuss whether or not to remove the piece from our website and/or social media platforms. If the leadership team decides to remove a piece of journalism, we will publish an update on the correction page explaining the decision.

Clarifications

If a published report is factually correct but needs more context, or if the language the journalist(s) used was confusing, Rocky Mountain PBS editors will ask the journalist to rewrite the section. After the story is updated, we will include a note at the end of the report detailing the clarification.

If a video is edited to provide more context or clear up confusion, we will update the description of the video to detail the changes.

In instances when a video must be taken down and re-uploaded to provide more clarity, we will explain that process in the video description.

AI

Rocky Mountain PBS will not publish content produced by artificial intelligence (AI). Our journalists may use AI for supporting work, such as Adobe Premiere Pro’s transcription services. If generative AI tools trained on internet data are used for fact-checking, original sources will be confirmed independently.

Use of verbatim generative pre-trained transformer (GPT) content is not permitted on our social channels. None of Rocky Mountain Public Media’s intellectual property should be entered into an AI program. Additionally, Rocky Mountain PBS does not use AI for writing headlines, captions or summaries.

When new AI technology emerges that may assist journalists in their work, the journalism leadership team will decide if or how the staff may use the tool. These guidelines will be communicated to the team, and updated in this section.

When AI is used, the work will always be double-checked by our (human) staff, including the reporter and at least one editor, before the work is published. We will also include a note at the top of our articles (or at the end of a video) if AI was used as part of the reporting process.

To read Rocky Mountain Public Media’s full AI policy, click here.

Privacy Policy

As a not-for-profit institution, our goal is to collect only the information about our users and their use of our services that will help us provide the best online experience possible and implement our mission.

This Privacy Policy describes how we use, share, and protect information that we collect from you online through pbs.org and any other websites, applications or online services that PBS operates and that link to this Privacy Policy (collectively, the “Services”). This Privacy Policy applies only to the Services. Please read it carefully. Our full policy is available here.

Diversity Statement and Report

At Rocky Mountain PBS, we are working to create a Colorado where everyone feels seen and heard. Inclusiveness isn’t just our goal — it’s what drives our storytelling. We’re committed to reflecting the rich diversity of our state, elevating voices across ethnicity, race, religion, gender, sexual orientation, culture, age, socio-economic background and ability.

We understand that journalism is at its best when newsrooms reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. Through newsroom training and workshops, as well as focused recruiting efforts and collaborations, we prioritize in our workplace and in our journalism.

By uplifting underrepresented voices and breaking down harmful stereotypes, we’re reinventing public media to better serve and connect with every Coloradan, ensuring that everyone — from our rural communities to our city streets — feels a sense of belonging and shared purpose.

Diverse Staffing Report

Languages

We employ journalists fluent in English, Spanish, Vietnamese and Mandarin.