Trust the
Record.
Cultural documentation carries responsibility. Names, dates, photographs, quotes and history should be handled carefully.
TWIHHP reports on hip-hop through photography, interviews, music, history, community reporting and the Elements of Hip-Hop.
These standards explain how the publication approaches verification, attribution, opinion, corrections, commercial relationships and the cultural record it is building.
Being First Matters Less Than Being Right.
TWIHHP is building a record people may return to years from now.
That changes the standard. A misspelled name, incorrect date, misidentified photographer or unsupported historical claim does not become less important because the story moved quickly online.
Whenever practical, important factual claims should be checked against primary sources, direct participants, reliable records or multiple credible sources.
Six Principles Behind the Reporting.
Different stories require different reporting, but these principles should remain consistent.
Get the Basic Record Right
Names, dates, titles, locations, credits and factual claims should be verified whenever reliable information is available.
Say Where Information Came From
Quotes, photographs, research, archival material and reporting from other sources should be credited appropriately.
Do Not Strip the Fact From Its Environment
People, places, eras and community relationships often matter to understanding what happened and why.
Separate Fact From Interpretation
Reported fact, first-person memory, criticism and editorial opinion should not be presented as though they are the same thing.
Represent the Story With Appropriate Care
Where significant disputes exist, TWIHHP should make reasonable efforts to understand relevant perspectives rather than forcing certainty where the record is contested.
Fix Material Errors
When a meaningful factual error is confirmed, TWIHHP should correct the published record rather than allow known misinformation to remain.
Use the Strongest Available Source.
Not every source carries the same evidentiary weight.
Whenever practical, TWIHHP should prefer direct interviews, official records, original photographs, record credits, published primary materials and people with firsthand knowledge.
Secondary reporting, books, scholarship and reliable archival sources can deepen the story and provide additional context.
Social posts can sometimes provide leads or first-person statements, but online repetition alone does not make a claim verified.
Correct the Record. Do Not Quietly Rewrite It.
Accuracy includes what happens after publication.
If TWIHHP confirms that a published story contains a meaningful factual error, the information should be corrected as reasonably soon as possible.
For material corrections, the article should include a correction or editorial note explaining what was changed.
Minor spelling, grammar or formatting repairs that do not alter meaning may be corrected without a formal correction notice.
Not Every Change Means the Same Thing.
TWIHHP can identify different kinds of post-publication changes clearly.
A Factual Error Was Fixed
Use when previously published information was materially inaccurate, such as a wrong name, date, credit, location or factual statement.
The Original Wording Needed More Precision
Use when the published information was not necessarily false but could reasonably create an inaccurate or incomplete impression.
New Information Became Available
Use when a developing story changes after publication and new confirmed information is added to the article.
Readers Need Additional Context
Use when TWIHHP needs to explain a significant editorial decision, source issue, context change or other matter affecting how the story is read.
Money Does Not Buy the Editorial Verdict.
Advertising, sponsorship and partnerships support media work. They should not secretly control it.
Purchasing advertising does not guarantee editorial coverage, an interview, a positive review or favorable reporting.
Paid or sponsored material should be identified clearly so readers can distinguish commercial communication from independent editorial work.
Where a relevant financial or organizational relationship could affect how a story is understood, TWIHHP should disclose that relationship when appropriate.
Opinion Still Needs Evidence.
A review is subjective. That does not mean the supporting facts can be careless.
Album Reviews, Video Reviews and other critical writing should identify opinion as opinion while accurately representing the work being discussed.
Criticism should explain the reasoning behind the judgment rather than relying on insult, personal attack or unsupported assumptions about motive.
TWIHHP does not need a numeric rating system to make a clear critical argument.
Keep the Photograph Connected to What Is Known.
Documentary photographs should not become anonymous decoration when identifying information can be preserved.
Whenever practical, TWIHHP should keep photographer credit, subjects, location, date and contextual information attached to archival photography.
Cropping, captioning or presentation should not intentionally misrepresent what happened in the photographed scene.
When an image's identity, date or location remains uncertain, the uncertainty should not be hidden behind a confident caption.
Tools Can Assist the Work. Editorial Responsibility Still Belongs to TWIHHP.
Digital and AI-assisted tools may support parts of research, organization, transcription, editing, design or production.
Their use does not remove the publication's responsibility to verify factual claims, review final copy and make editorial decisions.
AI-generated or substantially synthetic imagery should not be presented as documentary photography of an event or person that was actually witnessed.
Where synthetic or heavily generated material could reasonably be mistaken for documentary evidence, it should be identified appropriately.
Help TWIHHP Correct the Record.
Readers, artists, photographers, organizations and people named in TWIHHP stories can bring potential errors to our attention.
When requesting a correction, identify the article, the specific statement or caption you believe is inaccurate, the correct information and any useful supporting source.
A correction request does not automatically mean the published information is wrong. TWIHHP may review available evidence before changing the record.
The Standard Exists to Protect the Story.
TWIHHP documents hip-hop through people, photography, music, history, community and cultural reporting.
Editorial standards are not separate from that mission. They help keep names, photographs, sources and cultural contributions attached to an accurate and useful record.
Remember where it came from. Document where it is. Help preserve where it goes next.
Document Carefully.
Attribute Clearly.
Correct When Necessary.
The record matters because people may depend on it later.