FMN Code of Conduct
As member organisations of the Festival Media Network, we offer a diverse range of policies, styles and voices. But we share and commit to FMN’s core values, built on the pillars of transparency, integrity and governance.
TRANSPARENCY
Transparency means that we are clear about our own policies and what you can expect from us.
We will be straightforward and candid in our dealings with others, even when we have to admit that things have gone wrong.
We will always make clear who we are and who we represent. We will publicise information about our legal owners, and any other persons or organisations who exercise control of our content. If we use more than one brand name, we will make clear that the brands are linked.
When we apply for press tickets, we will make clear in advance what coverage we intend to provide. We will commit to providing that coverage, in all but the most exceptional of circumstances.
We will have, and will publicise, target turnaround times for time-sensitive content such as reviews. We will track how often we meet these turnaround times, and publicise the results.
We will publicise broad details of our recruitment policies, balancing the need to protect our contributors’ personal information with the legitimate desire of performers to understand the background of those who comment on their work.
INTEGRITY
Integrity means that that we deliver on our promises to the highest standard, and to the best of our abilities.
We will maintain style guides or other content guidelines, and we will monitor our content to ensure that our policies are followed.
We will ensure our contributors are competent in the area they are working in, and will provide whatever support and training is required to achieve this standard.
We will be alert to and actively manage conflicts of interest, to ensure they do not compromise the integrity of our content. We will publicise our policies in this area.
In all our output, we will maintain a clear differentiation between editorial content and advertising. We will not accept payment for editorial content.
We will take all reasonable measures to ensure the factual accuracy of our content, recognising that factual errors are different from a dispute over the tone of a review. We will respond actively and promptly if factual errors come to light, and will publicise corrections with at least the same prominence as the original content.
We will ask permission from the copyright holder before we use photographs or any other third-party content, except in cases where that permission is clearly implied.
GOVERNANCE
Governance means that we have the structures in place to support these ideals.
We will have a defined legal structure, and we will meet all laws and regulations applicable to that structure. We will pay our suppliers on time. We will pay our taxes.
We will employ effective editorial control to ensure consistency of quality, according to our own policies. We will have a named editor or editors with overall responsibility for our content.
We will employ effective administrative control on all aspects of our organisation. If we make a mistake, we will apologise and try to make amends.
We will be responsible in our use of press tickets. We will make every possible effort to avoid double-bookings. When we have booked a press ticket, our representative will actually attend and, in the rare cases where this proves impossible, we will do our best to cancel so that the ticket may be sold.
We will have, and publicise, a robust complaints process. When handling a complaint, the final decision will never made by the person whose conduct is being challenged, nor by any other person with a conflict of interest in the matter.