EDITORIAL STANDARDSNF-EDIT-AI-2026MODE / READER
The desk decides.
The tool only checks.
Every story on NewsFirst is reported, written and judged by a human. AI never files a story, never sources a fact, and never has the last word.
Written by reporters. Checked, word by word.
It runs once, after the draft is done, to catch what tired eyes miss. Nothing you read reaches you until an editor has signed it off.
The human
What the reporter does
- Finds the story, reports it, and does the digging
- Sources every fact and verifies it before a word is written
- Writes the first full draft
- Decides tone, angle, framing, and whether it’s news at all
- Handles the legal and ethical calls
- Signs off, and carries the byline and the responsibility
The AI
What the tool does
- Runs only after the human draft is finished
- Reads for spelling, punctuation and typos
- Flags grammar and clumsy sentences
- Checks flow, readability and structure
- Cross-checks names, titles, dates, figures and spellings
- Holds the copy to house style
- Suggests. Never applies. Never final.
How every
story is double-checked.
A reporter writes it.
An editor reviews the facts, sources, tone and judgment.
The AI quality pass runs: proofing, grammar, flow, consistency.
The editor reads each AI suggestion and keeps or kills it, one by one.
The editor of record signs off.
It publishes.
The line we don’t cross. Humans report, write and decide. AI polishes, under a human eye, at every step.
NO STORY REACHES YOU WITHOUT A PERSON AS THE LAST CHECKPOINT