</p><p> Click here for The Star's verification checklist</p><p>CONFLICTS OF INTEREST</p><p> If we expect readers to view us as credible, then Star editorial employees must aggressively seek and fully report the truth while remaining independent and free from any legitimate suggestion that their independence has been compromised. No policy can anticipate every conceivable conflict. But these guidelines should apply to all editorial employees, full and part-time, freelance or contract, and regardless of position, title, beat or personal circumstance. </p><p>Editorial employees should: </p><p> Avoid even the appearance of a conflict and immediately report to their supervisor anything that would allow a news source to call our impartiality into question. Editors should make news judgments solely on their merits and use diligence in determining when real conflicts exist. Refrain from writing about, reporting on, photographing or making news judgments about any individual related to them by blood or marriage or with whom they have a close personal relationship. If the spouse, relative or close friend works for a business or institution, editorial employees may be barred from writing about that enterprise. Employees should make certain they disclose conflicts or potential conflicts to their supervisor. The importance of the position occupied by the family member or friend is another critical factor. It would be a conflict, for example, for a reporter to cover a city that employed a close relative as a department head or council member. But it might not be a conflict or a legitimate appearance of one for a reporter to cover a city that employed a close relative as a truck driver. Exceptions may be made only when editors agree, and only when the conflict is clearly disclosed in the story. Be careful about choosing topics if they are reporters who also write columns. The timing of a column -- or its placement near a news story by the same author -- also should be weighed to avoid questions about the writer's objectivity. Those reporter/columnists also should exercise restraint if their credibility in news coverage could be compromised by expressing opinion. For example, a beat reporter may want to avoid editorializing on a controversial subject that is likely to be an area of continuing coverage. Analysis, however, is acceptable.</p><p>Advertising/news: Maintain a clear line between advertising and news. Business considerations should not influence news judgment. All editorial employees should alert their supervisors when advertisers and /or employees from the business side of the newspaper attempt to exert influence over their work. Editors shall exercise sole judgment over all editorial content, including special sections. When news stories are not time-sensitive, attempt to avoid running stories on the same subject on the same day of an advertising special section. While this may be sometimes unavoidable, we must be sensitive to the appearance of advertisers buying news. Copy generated for advertising supplements, for example, should be produced independently of the newsroom staff.</p><p>Organizations: Staff members must refrain from reporting on or making news judgments about organizations with which they, or family members, have a significant involvement. However, nothing in these guidelines is meant to discourage them from volunteering their time for nonprofit charitable endeavors whose aim is to improve the community or help its neediest residents. Serving as an officer in a public relations, personnel or fund-raising position frequently creates a conflict. When in doubt about a relationship, staff members should ask themselves: Could they or the newspaper publicly disclose the situation without fear of embarrassment or legitimate criticism? Above all, when in doubt, disclose a conflict or the appearance of one to your editor.