Forward Ethics Policies & Practices
Founded in 1897 as a Yiddish and socialist broadsheet newspaper, the Forward taught generations of Eastern European immigrants how to be American. Now fully digital, mostly in English and free of political ideology, the storied publication has been reinvented to reflect and serve the full range of diverse, 21st century American Jewish communities. Throughout history and today, the Forward has been revered for its independent, investigative journalism; cultural reporting and criticism; and opinion platform that drives and hosts the essential conversations that keep American Jews informed, engaged and entertained.
Ours is a particularly Jewish-American way of looking at the world: contrarian, cosmopolitan, fiercely intelligent and wickedly funny. Our reporters and editors operate free of political agendas to provide full and fair coverage of all aspects of American Jewish life. As a 501(c)(3), we do not endorse political candidates; opinion columns published in our pages reflect the author’s individual opinion, not that of the Forward.
Editorial Integrity & Independence
As a nonprofit supported by our readers and a broad array of philanthropies, we are not beholden to any individual, institution or ideology. Our donors are listed in our annual report. They are not involved in editorial decision-making. Nor is the board of directors or Forward employees outside the newsroom.
The Forward may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but its editors maintain complete control of the content of that coverage unless it is clearly marked as advertising or sponsored content. We cede no right of review or influence of editorial content.
News coverage decisions are kept entirely separate from sources of revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.
Values
As an organization, and as individual journalists, we are guided by five core values:
Integrity: We provide fair and full reporting in the highest tradition of public-service journalism, a cornerstone of resilient democracy. Through our work, we help build the foundation for a just, open, pluralistic society.
Courage: We pursue the truth wherever it takes us, delivering the news, investigations, narrative storytelling, and commentary that our community needs and deserves.
Independence: We are not beholden to any individual, institution or ideology. We are always relevant but also irreverent, challenging conventional wisdom in respectful ways as we showcase the full spectrum of voices shaping our experience.
Accountability: Through rigorous, even-handed journalism, we hold leaders accountable to the people and communities they serve. At the same time, we believe we must continuously earn the public’s trust by delivering on promises, operating with empathy and upholding our core values.
Yiddishkeit: We revel in the richness of our culture and history, providing a smorgasbord of art and politics, argument and understanding. We promote our rich Yiddish heritage as a living treasure for future generations.
Sourcing
All sources are carefully vetted by our team to ensure accuracy and fairness. We grant anonymity only as a last resort, when the information provided is critical to the essence of a story, and when the source’s reason for demanding it is compelling — for example, legitimate fears of safety, job loss or financial ruin. The bar for anonymity is even higher for quotes that disparage or criticize another person.
We require a reporter to know the source’s real identity and get permission from a senior editor, who must also know the identity and assess credibility, motivations, and potential repercussions to the source being named.
When we do grant anonymity, we are as transparent as possible with readers about why we did so, and about the source’s motivations.
Corrections and Clarifications
We correct all errors of fact in our journalism as soon as possible upon learning of them, appending a note to the article as necessary. We also occasionally add Editor’s Notes when information surfaces that might have led us to make different editorial choices. We invite readers to hold us accountable if something we published is incorrect or does not meet our standards. To contact us with a correction, question, or suggestion, please email [email protected]. We will conduct a thorough review of your request and respond as quickly as possible.
Following journalistic best practices, we do not generally remove articles from our website after publication.