Modern Scot operates as an independent publication committed to accuracy, evidence, clarity and editorial restraint.

Modern Scot reports on Scotland and on developments elsewhere that have a material bearing on Scottish public life. Its journalism is grounded in verifiable evidence and is produced independently of political parties, governments, public bodies, commercial interests, campaign organisations and other subjects of its reporting.

Evidence and sourcing

Reporting is based wherever practicable on primary and authoritative material. This includes legislation, official publications, parliamentary and local government records, court and tribunal material, regulatory decisions, public statistics, procurement records, planning documents, company filings and accounts, academic and scientific research, official statements and other documentary evidence.

Secondary reporting, specialist publications, professional bodies, charities, trade organisations, campaign groups, companies and other sources may also contribute information. Their status and interests are taken into account when assessing and attributing their claims.

Modern Scot seeks to trace significant information to its originating document, dataset or responsible organisation rather than relying solely on summaries, press releases or reports published elsewhere.

A source being quoted or cited does not mean that Modern Scot endorses that source’s interpretation or conclusions.

Fact, claim and inference

Modern Scot distinguishes between established facts, official positions, allegations, estimates, forecasts, opinions and claims made by interested parties.

Assertions capable of attribution are attributed to their source. Company statements, political claims, campaign material, forecasts and promotional assertions are not converted into statements of fact merely because they have been published by an identifiable organisation.

Modern Scot does not reproduce promotional language as fact.

Where evidence is incomplete, uncertain, disputed or unavailable, that limitation is stated. Absence of publicly available evidence is not treated as proof that something did or did not occur.

Questions arising from evidence are not presented as established conclusions. Speculation is not used to fill gaps in the public record.

Accuracy

Accuracy takes precedence over speed, novelty or rhetorical effect. Dates, figures, quotations, legal status, institutional responsibilities and other material facts are checked against the available evidence before publication.

Proposals are identified as proposals. Consultations are identified as consultations. Estimates and forecasts are not reported as outcomes. Allegations are not reported as findings, and charges are not reported as convictions.

Headlines and standfirsts are subject to the same standards of accuracy as the body of an article and must not make a stronger claim than the evidence supports.

Context

Modern Scot covers the mechanics of public life in Scotland, including government, local government, justice, health, infrastructure, energy, environment, housing, transport, business, industry, communities, culture and the economy.

These subjects are not treated solely as a succession of announcements and isolated events. Where relevant, reporting examines the institutions, law, finance, history, geography, statistics and systems within which a development has occurred.

Historical and wider context is included where it contributes materially to understanding the current subject. Context is not used to force evidence towards a predetermined conclusion.

Independence and politics

Modern Scot does not adopt a partisan political position and does not report for the purpose of advancing or damaging a political party, government, candidate or political campaign.

Political statements are subject to the same evidential standards as statements from any other source. Government announcements are not treated as inherently authoritative simply because they originate from government, and opposition or campaign claims are not treated as inherently corrective simply because they challenge government.

Where competing positions are materially relevant, they are represented accurately and in proportion to the available evidence. Editorial balance does not require unsupported assertions to be given equal weight with established facts.

Commercial and institutional independence

Editorial conclusions are not determined by advertisers, commercial organisations, public bodies, political organisations, campaign groups or other outside interests.

Commercial relationships, where they exist, do not confer editorial influence over Modern Scot’s reporting.

Organisations covered by Modern Scot are not entitled to favourable treatment because they provide information, access, advertising, services or other assistance to the publication.

Fairness

Criticism is reported with the same evidential discipline as favourable information.

Where reporting makes a material allegation or criticism concerning an identifiable person or organisation, Modern Scot seeks appropriate evidence and, where necessary for fairness and practicable before publication, an opportunity for the subject to respond.

A response does not automatically displace documentary evidence, and the existence of disagreement does not require Modern Scot to describe an established fact as uncertain.

Language and tone

Modern Scot uses controlled, factual language. Reporting avoids exaggeration, sensationalism, manufactured controversy and unnecessary commentary.

The publication does not instruct readers what to think about the facts it reports. Significance should emerge from the evidence, scale, chronology and context of the story.

Strong evidence is reported plainly. It does not require stronger adjectives.

Corrections and developing information

Modern Scot distinguishes between information that was inaccurate when published and information that was accurate at publication but subsequently changed.

Material factual errors are corrected when identified and verified. Corrections are made for the purpose of restoring the accuracy of the published record, not to accommodate disagreement with accurate reporting.

Where a developing story materially changes after publication, Modern Scot may update or follow its earlier reporting while preserving an accurate account of what was known at the relevant time.

Sources and transparency

Modern Scot’s longer reported articles identify their principal sources so that readers can examine the evidence underlying the reporting.

The publication routinely examines material that may receive little general press attention, including public records, board and committee papers, consultations, regulatory material, statistics, procurement notices, planning records, corporate information, research publications and specialist sources.

Publication of a source list does not transfer editorial responsibility to those sources. Modern Scot remains responsible for the accuracy and fairness of what it publishes.

Editorial principle

Modern Scot’s role is to find, verify, examine and report. It does not require readers to share an editorial conclusion.

Where the evidence establishes a fact, it is reported as a fact. Where the evidence establishes only a claim, it is reported as a claim. Where the evidence does not provide an answer, Modern Scot does not invent one.

Readers are entitled to know which is which.