To fulfill its mission, the Springfield Daily Citizen combines innovative approaches and digital publishing technology with time-tested journalistic techniques. The goal is to increase the transparency of government and other officials, to encourage discourse, to strengthen democracy and foster participation that contributes to the quality of life in Springfield and the region.
We value accuracy over speed, and depth over shallowness.
Daily Citizen reporters are encouraged to take the time to fully understand a subject and produce content that serves the needs of readers. The typical news story is reviewed by at least one editor and by a second editor, or by a peer, before publication.
In-depth stories and other major stories, and any story involving potentially controversial content, receives additional review. In most cases, these stories also will be subjected to a more thorough fact-checking process in which the reporter will be asked to verify more details (the most critical facts, and a randomly selected set of other facts).
In some cases, where controversy is likely or risk is deemed high, the reporter will be required to produce evidence to support each individual fact — a name or age, a report’s title, a summary of events, a quote or even an impression. For those stories, on a printed copy of the story, an editor or peer fact-checker numbers the fact, while the reporter shows and marks its supporting evidence, which is also printed. Copies of these will be maintained in a separate paper file.