Editorial Guidelines

As a primary outlet for Greek Australians to receive news, opinions, sport, culture, arts and entertainment, Neos Kosmos takes its responsibilities as a publisher seriously.

These guidelines and principles set out here explain how Neos Kosmos seeks to uphold its rights, values, and responsibilities, both to our readers and to ourselves.

It is a guide for our readers, so that they know what we stand for and how we operate.

Just as importantly, it serves as a guide for Neos Kosmos employees, management, advertisers, and partners as a statement of our values, principles, and responsibilities as a publisher.

The Purpose of Neos Kosmos

The primary purpose of Neos Kosmos is to serve our audience, the Greek community in Australia.

The success of the publication is anchored in the journalistic principles that have guided us since our founding in 1957.

Whilst we have a long history as a printed newspaper, we are now a modern digital-first publisher, reaching our audience not only on our owned website, but across a range of social platforms and evolving channels. Neos Kosmos is owned by our parent company, Ethnic Publications Pty Ltd.

Our purpose is to inform Greek Australians of all generations about their own community and the wider community with our public interest journalism both in Greek and English languages.

We aim to always report accurately on information and events and provide context so that our audience can gain knowledge on issues that affect them, their culture, and their community. We also seek to provide value to our partners, without whom we could not serve our audience.

Accuracy and clarity

Neos Kosmos endeavours to ensure that factual material in news reports and elsewhere is accurate and not misleading and is distinguishable from other material such as opinion.

Neos Kosmos provides a correction or other adequate remedial action if published material is significantly inaccurate or misleading.

Fairness and balance

Neos Kosmos ensures that factual material is presented with reasonable fairness and balance, and that writers’ expressions of opinion are not based on significantly inaccurate factual material or omission of key facts.

We ensure that where material refers adversely to a person, a fair opportunity is given for subsequent publication of a reply by that person if there has been factual errors or ommisions of key facts.

Privacy and avoidance of harm

Neos Kosmos will avoid intruding on a person’s reasonable expectations of privacy, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Neos Kosmos will avoid causing or contributing materially to substantial offence, distress or prejudice, or a substantial risk to health or safety, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Integrity and transparency

Neos Kosmos will avoid publishing material which has been gathered by deceptive or unfair means, unless doing so is sufficiently in the public interest.

Neos Kosmos will ensure that conflicts of interests are avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence published material.

Privacy

Collection of personal information

In gathering news, our journalists and writers should seek personal information only in the public interest. In doing so, our journalists and writers should not unduly intrude on the privacy of individuals and should show respect for the dignity and sensitivity of people encountered while gathering news.

News obtained by unfair or dishonest means should not be published unless there is an overriding public interest.

Our journalists and writers should identify themselves as such. However, journalists and photographers may at times need to operate surreptitiously to expose crime, significantly antisocial conduct, public deception or some other matter in the public interest.

Public figures necessarily sacrifice their right to privacy, where public scrutiny is in the public interest. However, public figures do not forfeit their right to privacy altogether. Intrusion into their right to privacy must be related to their public duties or activities.

Use and disclosure of personal information

Personal information gathered by journalists and photographers should only be used for the purpose for which it was intended. A person who supplies personal information should have a reasonable expectation that it will be used for the purpose for which it was collected.

Some personal information, such as addresses or other identifying details, may enable others to intrude on the privacy and safety of individuals who are the subject of news coverage, and their families. To the extent lawful and practicable, Neos Kosmos endeavours to only disclose sufficient personal information to identify the persons being reported in the news, so that these risks can be reasonably avoided.

Quality of personal information

Neos Kosmos endeavours to take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it collects is accurate, complete and up-to-date.

Security of personal information

Neos Kosmos will take reasonable steps to ensure that the personal information it holds is protected from misuse, loss, or unauthorised access.

Anonymity of sources

All persons who provide information to Neos Kosmos are entitled to seek anonymity. The identity of confidential sources should not be revealed, and where it is lawful and practicable, Neos Kosmos will try to ensure that any personal information it maintains derived from such sources does not identify the source.

Correction, fairness, and balance

Where individuals are a major focus of news reports or commentary, Neos Kosmos endeavours to ensure fairness and balance in the original article. Failing that, Neos Kosmos will provide a reasonable and swift opportunity for a balancing response in the appropriate section of the publication or online article.

Neos Kosmos will make amends for publishing any personal information found to be harmfully inaccurate. Neos Kosmos will also take steps to correct any of its records containing that personal information, so as to avoid a harmful inaccuracy being repeated.

Sensitive personal information

Neos Kosmos will not place any gratuitous emphasis on the categories of sensitive personal information, except where it is relevant and in the public interest to report and express opinions in these areas.

Members of the public caught up in newsworthy events should not be exploited. A victim or bereaved person has the right to refuse or terminate an interview or photographic session at any time.
Unless otherwise restricted by law or court order, open court hearings are matters of public record and can be reported by Neos Kosmos. Such reports need to be fair and balanced. They should not identify relatives or friends of people accused or convicted of crime unless the reference to them is necessary for the full, fair and accurate reporting of the crime or subsequent legal proceedings.

Further to these guidelines Neos Kosmos adheres to the following standards:

Accreditation

Neos Kosmos undertakes to ensure articles, images and other material published in our newspaper, website, and associated publication channels that we control are credited to the journalists, contributors, photographers, artists or authors responsible.

Syndicated material will be accredited to its source.

Bias and conflicts of interest

Neos Kosmos endeavours to ensure that conflicts of interests and bias is avoided or adequately disclosed, and that they do not influence our published material.

Staff of Neos Kosmos actively seek to avoid putting themselves in a position where their duty to act in the best interests of the publication conflicts with their personal, professional and business interests.

Actual, perceived or potential conflicts of interest can arise because staff will have outside personal and professional relationships, interests and experience (which can bring benefits to the work of Neos Kosmos).

When a conflict arises, the issue is not usually one of integrity, but of the management of any actual, perceived or potential profit from a person’s position, or any conflicting loyalties. Even the appearance of a conflict has the potential to damage the publication’s reputation and that of who we write about. So any interests, duties or obligations which give rise to any unavoidable conflict of interest must be recognised, disclosed appropriately and dealt with carefully in accordance with this Policy.

Staff of Neos Kosmos are to declare an interest if it exists and are to act in good faith and for a proper purpose at all times.