Ottawa Business Journal is an independent Canadian journalism organization that operates based on widely recognized journalistic principles and practices.
This includes the following commitments:
Accuracy:
Report news, information and data accurately and make reasonable attempts to verify its accuracy
Context:
Present information from sources, such as quotes or clips, in their original tone, not altering their intent or meaning
Balance:
Explore issues and events from multiple perspectives, free of bias and stereotypes
Timeliness:
Share information in a timely manner to keep our audience informed
Independence:
Conduct our news gathering and reporting free of censorship and pressure from special interests, including advertisers, sponsors and public officials
Transparency:
Clearly identify paid content and maintain a separation between journalism and advertising
Diversity:
Reflect the diversity of our community, especially in terms of gender equity and cultural sensitivity
Openness:
Operate in a transparent manner and respond to complaints and concerns, even when this includes criticism of our reporting and work
Corrections and reader comments
When a mistake is made, either in fact or context, OBJ is committed to publicly acknowledging the error and publishing or broadcasting corrections in a timely and consistent manner.
OBJ gathers information with the intent of making it available for public consumption. OBJ does not “unpublish” or remove information from its public channels, except in cases of egregious error or when legally required to do so. OBJ will generally reject public requests to remove or alter information and cases of “source remorse.”
OBJ encourages its readers to comment on and share their perspectives by commenting on its stories, either directly or through social media. Posts that are libelous, inflammatory, used to market a company/product or are otherwise off-topic are typically removed in order to promote constructive discussion about local business issues.
How OBJ deals with sources
OBJ collects information from sources and generally makes these sources publicly known.
OBJ will collect information on the following basis, as described by the Canadian Association of Journalists:
- Not for attribution: OBJ may “quote statements directly, but the source may not be named, although a general description of his or her position may be given”
- On background: OBJ may “use the essence of statements and generally describe the source, but we may not use direct quotes”
- Off the record: OBJ may “not report the information, which can be used solely to help our own understanding or perspective”
Complaints and concerns
Complaints or concerns should be emailed to editor@obj.ca. OBJ endeavours to quickly respond, but this might take up to three business days. People or organizations that are dissatisfied with our editorial team’s response can also communicate with the publisher by emailing publisher@obj.ca.
