Editorial standards

A publication that argues for a living has to be checkable. These are the rules we hold ourselves to.

One voice

There are no bylines. Pieces are written and edited as the paper’s collective view, and the institution answers for every word. The three columns, Giannini, Warren and Terman, carry pen names rather than people: each is a standing brief, not an individual.

Sourcing

• Every figure is linked to a primary or tier-1 source: filings, court documents, official statistics, papers, or reporting from the best news organisations.
• Every piece ends with a numbered list of its sources.
• Quotes come from the public record only. We do not invent them and we do not paraphrase them into something sharper.
• We do not rely on anonymous insiders. If a fact cannot be verified in the open, we leave it out.

Corrections

We get things wrong. When we do, we correct the piece and append a note at its foot saying what changed. We do not quietly rewrite history. Every correction is also listed, newest first, on our corrections page. To report an error, write to corrections@thebaytable.com.

Sources and citations

Claims in the text carry small numbered notes. Each number points to the matching entry in the list of sources at the foot of the piece, which gives the title, the publisher, the date and a link. Charts name their source in the caption and cite the same numbered entries.

Images

Photographs come from Wikimedia Commons and are credited to their authors, with the licence and a link to the original. Cover art without a photographer is credited “Illustration: Bay Table”.

Independence

We publish no sponsored content and sell no paid placement. Nobody can buy a mention, a flattering adjective or the absence of an unflattering one. The weekly is free to read.

Style

• Articles are unsigned. The institution speaks, in the first person plural.
• We use British spelling: analyse, favour, programme, per cent.
• Pieces are dated, and written as of that date. We do not rewrite old arguments with the benefit of hindsight.
• Every piece takes a position and says what it is.