Code of Conduct

LION Publishers is committed to creating and maintaining spaces that are welcoming, respectful, and meaningful. We also require that member organizations meet the ethics and standards of our membership criteria upon joining and maintain those standards to remain active members. 

All LION members, staff, board members and contractors agree to follow this Code of Conduct  in online spaces, meetings hosted by LION Publishers, at in-person LION events, and during any other LION-related activities.

The following guidelines is not an exhaustive list of things that you can and can’t do. Rather, we encourage you to take this code in the spirit in which it’s intended — an outline of ways to support a thriving LION Publishers community.

Privacy

Maintain the off-the-record nature of any LION Publishers forum that is so designated, so we can continue to share information and experiences in an environment of mutual trust.

Reciprocity

The LION community is full of smart, generous people who go the extra mile to help answer questions and share expertise. We hope you’ll tap into that collective knowledge and contribute.

Respect

We aim to encourage lively conversations, and even disagreements, but we expect those conversations to always remain respectful and civil. LION will not tolerate personal attacks, offensive language, or harassment of any kind or directed at anyone and we reserve the right to warn and/or remove anyone who doesn’t meet these standards. This includes personal attacks or discrimination related to appearance, gender,  sexual orientation, race, ethnicity, religion, or ability.

Solicitation

If you’d like to promote jobs, fellowships, internships, or grant opportunities, that’s awesome.  LION community spaces (ex: NEC Slack) are intended to support learning from each other, not a marketplace for selling products, services, or story pitches.

Membership criteria

Members are approved based on a review of their news product(s) at the time they apply for membership. If a member has changed their content and no longer meets our membership criteria and/or the Code of Conduct, we will review their news product and consider removal from membership.

If any participant in a LION-hosted activity, forums, programs or other spaces engages in unacceptable in behavior that is harmful to others, the organization’s leadership may take any lawful action we deem appropriate, at our discretion, including but not limited to warning the offender or asking the offender to leave the event or activity without a refund, or removing them from membership in LION.

These community guidelines are inspired by and adapted from guidelines created by the Journalists of Color, OpenNews, and Gather communities, which we love and admire. 

Do you think someone has violated the Code of Conduct? 

If you believe a member has violated the Code of Conduct or members, you may submit a complaint following these instructions: 

  1. Complaints about inappropriate conduct by a LION member should be reported via email to LION’s Associate Director of Membership (Jess deRivera, jessderivera@lionpublishers.com) and Executive Director (Chris Krewson, chriskrewson@lionpublishers.com).
  2. Please describe the inappropriate behavior in as much detail as possible: what happened, who was involved, and when and where it occurred. If possible, please provide any documentation of the inappropriate behavior (screenshots, emails, etc.). We may not be able to guarantee complete anonymity, but please alert us if you would like your complaint to remain as anonymous as possible. 
  3. Code of Conduct complaints will be reviewed by LION leadership, relevant staff members and potentially the LION membership committee of our board.  

 

All complaints about potential Code of Conduct violations that are submitted to LION Publishers will go through a five-step process:

  1. Received: A submitted complaint is received & acknowledged by LION staff. The person accused of a Code of Conduct violation is notified, if necessary. 
  2. Review: The complaint is reviewed by relevant staff and potentially the membership committee. 
  3. Decision: LION staff confirm next steps. 
  4. Outcome: The outcome of the review and decisions are communicated to the person who submitted the complaint and the person or LION member organization that was accused of violating the Code of Conduct. 
  5. Documentation: The complaint is settled and a record of the complaint, review and outcome is maintained by LION Publishers. 

If you have any additional questions about the Code of Conduct and potential violations, please reach out to LION’s Director of Programs, Sarah Gustavus Lim (sarahlim@lionpublishers.com).