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Community Guidelines

Adopted as of July 26, 2024

The Economic Hardship Reporting Project takes seriously the well-being of its staff and contributors. As a contributor to EHRP, you are entrusted with and held accountable to the agreements below, and EHRP in turn commits to honoring our obligations to you. 

These Community Guidelines exist to promote an environment of collaboration, equity, and safety for all, while also clarifying our expectations for each other. It is a living document that can be improved or changed based on new experiences, feedback, and criticism. All contributors are expected to follow these guidelines; those who fail to do so may be considered in breach of their contracts with EHRP, and are at risk of being denied future opportunities for engagement. 

EHRP expects contributors to:

  • Honor the commitments of their contracts with EHRP and operate with integrity;
  • Promote relationships with EHRP staff that are based on professionalism, honesty, trust, and respect;
  • Follow the instructions of EHRP processes, for example, using our Pitch Portal and closing form;
  • Refrain from using harmful speech; harassing or abusing EHRP staff; and creating an atmosphere of hostility or intimidation;
  • Practice not assuming the identity and ability of EHRP staff;
  • Acknowledge the limited capacity of our small organization and modest staff; and
  • Recognize that our staff have a primary obligation to EHRP’s mission and operations, and that a contributor’s timeline or project may not always align with that obligation. 

EHRP expects our organization and staff to:

  • Honor the commitments of our contracts with contributors and operate with integrity;
  • Comply with the policies and procedures of EHRP;
  • Pay invoices in a timely manner;
  • Treat contributors with professionalism, respect, and impartiality;
  • Promote relationships with contributors that are based on professionalism, honesty, trust and respect, including providing editorial feedback in a timely and courteous manner;
  • Refrain from using harmful speech; harassing or abusing contributors; and creating an atmosphere of hostility or intimidation;
  • Refrain from accepting gifts or gratuities from contributors; 
  • Practice not assuming the identities of and abilities of contractors; and
  • Acknowledge the unique challenges facing independent journalists.

Agreement violations for both contributors and EHRP staff include but are not limited to:

  • Verbal or written harassment, especially when it asserts power-over relationship and/or is discriminatory;
  • Intimidation, bullying and/or stalking, and any other behavior which is likely to cause alarm or distress;
  • Physical harassment or inappropriate/unwanted physical contact (this includes any form of physical touch);
  • Unwelcome sexual or other personal attention;
  • Endangering the safety of yourself or others through irresponsible, violent and/or intoxicated behavior while representing EHRP; and
  • Appearing inappropriately incapacitated by alcohol or another substance when working on behalf of EHRP or at an EHRP-sponsored event.

If as a contributor, you feel an EHRP staff person has violated the terms of this agreement, or if you as an EHRP staff person feel a contributor has violated the terms of this agreement, please contact EHRP Chief Operating Officer Maire O’Malley at maire@economichardship.org. The COO will fairly, impartially, and thoroughly investigate all reports as discreetly and confidentially as is practicable. 

If the COO determines that a contributor has violated the terms of these Community Guidelines, EHRP may terminate its contract with them and/or refrain from engaging with them in future collaborative opportunities. If the COO determines that an editor has violated the terms of these Community Guidelines, EHRP may re-assign the contributor and/or take appropriate disciplinary action against that staff person. EHRP retains full discretion in how to respond to all complaints.

 

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