Editorial Policies

In no particular order, to be revised.

Current version 11/19/2025

DATELINE – The Michigan Hoof Beat will use the location most central to the story, not necessarily where the reporter did the reporting. This is intended to be a service to the reader to help them understand where the story is happening. It is not intended to obfuscate the journalist's location; you should assume the reporter is using text, email and phone to conduct interviews. The journalist reports in-person as horse and family responsibilities allow; it's way more fun and usually a better story. If the story is decentralized about a statewide issue, the dateline will probably be Lansing. (Note for editors; if your publication's dateline policy requires the reporting location, text the reporter to clarify).

CORRECTIONS — Typographical errors that don't impact meaning will be corrected without comment (who wants a record of bonheadeeded typing?) Typographical errors that do impact meaning (incorrect spellings of a proper noun) will be corrected with a note at the bottom of the story.

CORRECTIONS —Late comments that arrive after publication will be inserted into the story wherever the comment best fits. We will note at the end of the story that the comment was added post-publication, with the following exceptions: 1) if the comment makes more sense as a follow-up story, The Michigan Hoof Beat may opt to publish a follow-up article and link to the follow-up story in the original article 2) if the comment radically alters the meaning of the original story as published, The Michigan Hoof Beat may opt to add clarification at the top of the story 3) If the story needs to be retracted, we will delete the content from the website but note that a story has been retracted.

CORRECTIONS — Factual errors or analytical errors will be fixed as soon as clarity and time allow. Procedures may include temporarily removing the story while the reporter investigates further; this could lead to a retraction or to a clarifying statement added to the story. The Michigan Hoof Beat will strive to be prompt, thorough, and transparent about how the mistake occurred.

RETRACTIONS — If the Publisher decides a retraction is necessary, The Michigan Hoof Beat will delete the content from the website, but note that a story has been retracted, along with a summary of the topic and the nature of the error; ("A story about a famous talking televized palomino has been retracted because the veracity of his claims were called into question by his owner in comments that arrived after publication.")

OFF-THE-RECORD AND ANONYMOUS SOURCES — "Off the record" often has different meanings for sources than it does for journalists. Suppose you want to provide an interview off the record or on background. In that case, you must state so at the beginning of the conversation. The journalist may ask clarifying questions about your intended parameters before ultimately agreeing or disagreeing to your terms.

Generally speaking, if a journalist calls you up and says, "I'm REPORTER from PAPER and I want to talk to you about SUBJECT," and you both start talking? You're on the record. Journalists work on a deadline; they don't have time to have conversations they can't report.

If you say "that's off-the-record, by the way!" ten minutes into a conversation . . . no, it wasn't. If you realize you've made a mistake and told the journalist something you didn't have permission to share, chances are good they'll prefer information you do have permission to share; not always and not every journalist, but if you're a mid-level manager and clearly inexperienced talking to the press, there's a good chance they'll be decent about it and try to find a solution. Getting a good source fired? Nobody wants that.

Remember, you always have the right to say, "no comment," to any of the reporter's questions. You can also end the interview whenever you want. Even better? Just talk about your hesitations. "That question makes me wonder if you're interpreting FACT to mean CONJECTURE, and I want to clarify that FACT actually supports OTHER CONJECTURE because REASON." (Example: "You think IATA, don't you, because I used the hoof pick without asking? But actually, I used her hoof pick on her own horse. I didn't want to use mine because I was worried about thrush. I dropped it in my grooming tote by mistake.")

As for ANONYMOUS SOURCES — you probably can't be one. From a journalist's perspective, anonymous sources don't save you any time on the front end and may cost you a lot of time on the back end. Editors hate them.

People think anonymous sources share juicy details, but usually, it's pretty mundane, boring, and not very informative to read. Remember, journalists don't work for you; they work for their boss and for the reader. In an ideal world, readers consume stories with a critical eye and judge for themselves how reliable sources are. The reader's trust wanes if the journalist can't "show their work" by citing their sources.

REVIEWS OF SERVICE PROVIDERS — The Michigan Hoof Beat will disclose funding sources at the top of the article (self-funded, funded by a sponsor, trade). The Michigan Hoof Beat makes no guarantee that any service will be reviewed, nor that the review will be published, nor that the review will be published on any particular timeline.

REVIEWS OF GOODS — The Michigan Hoof Beat will return goods lent to the newsletter by a business if the business provides for return shipping. If the company gives the product to The Michigan Hoof Beat outright and the reporter wishes to keep the item, they can purchase the item at half the Black Friday or similar price by donating that dollar amount to the Great Lakes Region Pony Clubs (the Publisher is secretary of the region in 2026). If the reporter does not wish to keep the item but believes it to be serviceable, the Publisher will donate the item to the region.

CLASSIFIEDS — Accurate ads are the responsibility of the entity placing the ad. The Michigan Hoof Beat will not independently verify any claims in the classified ads. However, the publication may reject a classified ad for any reason. Classified ads are not private; they are very much on-the-record.

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE — The Michigan Hoof Beat uses AI tools to transcribe interviews and to correct or improve grammar and style. The publication may use tools that aid in analysis (such as developing a spreadsheet algorithm). The publication may use AI summaries in browser search results (or similar) to assist in fact-checking. The Michigan Hoof Beat opposes the use of generative AI in writing and art, but distinguishes between generative AI tools and those that use human-directed instructions to refine what the human has created (telling an art program to sharpen, flip, or copy a vector image would be acceptable; telling it to "draw a unicorn with a rainbow horn on the beach in Miami" would not).

Prior Review — You probably can’t read the article before it is published. Most publications have a policy against it, and The Michigan Hoof Beat aims for republication in other outlets. One of the Publisher’s freelance clients, however, requires prior review due to the scientific and health-related nature of the content. Scientists have a culture of peer review. If the article is science or health-related and the Publisher does not expect reprints, prior review may be permitted on a case-by-case basis.

If you are a source worried about being misquoted, generally you can ask to have your quotes sent to you, with the understanding that your review of those quotes happens on the publication’s schedule; you can’t hold up publication for a week by refusing to sign-off. With the advent of transcription tools and call-recording, true misquotes are rare.

Moreover, interviews, ideally, are conversations, not just a list of questions. Over the course of the conversation, you should have a good sense of whether the journalist understands your comments and the context. Many sources like to have a list of questions beforehand because they feel more prepared when they do; however the best interviews have an element of the unscripted, with clarifying questions a big part of the process. It is normal for conversations to wander, not because anyone is trying to “get you” but because the journalist is looking for details that will stick with the reader.

About the editorial policies: The policies as written here are not intended to be a formal agreement or contract. Instead, they are descriptions of how the publication works, so readers and sources can understand the publication's values.