The Village News follows the Press Code of the Press Council of South Africa (the code in force since 1 September 2022).
1. Accurate and fair
- We check facts before we publish, and say where information comes from.
- Anyone criticised in a story is asked for comment before it runs.
- If a story rests on limited information, we say so.
- News is kept apart from opinion. Opinion pieces, columns and letters are labelled.
- Headlines and captions match the story.
2. Independent
- The editor alone decides what we publish. Owners, management, advertisers and sponsors cannot buy, change or stop a story.
- Where anyone who owns, manages or works for the paper, or a member of their family, is connected to a story, the editor alone decides on it, and we say so in the story.
- At election time, every party and candidate gets the same access and the right of reply.
3. Adverts and sponsored articles
- Adverts, advertorials and sponsored articles are always clearly marked (“Sponsored” or “Paid for by…”).
- Advertisers do not see or approve news stories before they are published.
- We do not place adverts next to stories about deaths and tragedies.
4. Privacy and dignity
- We respect people’s privacy and follow the Protection of Personal Information Act (POPIA). We publish personal details only when there is a clear public interest.
- We take special care when reporting on grief, illness and tragedy.
- We mention race, religion, gender, sexual orientation or disability only when it is relevant to the story.
5. Children
- We never identify a child under 18 who is an accused, witness or victim in criminal proceedings.
- Photographs of and interviews with children need a parent’s or guardian’s consent.
- We never identify a survivor of sexual violence without their consent.
6. Photographs
- Every photograph is credited.
- We do not alter photographs in a way that misleads, and we never present a computer-made image as a real photograph.
7. How we use AI
We use AI tools to help with checking, sorting and summarising: for example, spotting spelling and style errors, flagging possible legal problems, and sorting the notes readers send us. A person on our team reads and approves everything before it is published, and the editor is responsible for it. We never use AI to change a writer’s words without their editor’s approval.
8. Letters and readers’ contributions
- Letters may be edited for length, clarity and legal reasons.
9. Corrections and complaints
- When we get something wrong, we correct it quickly: with a dated note at the end of the story online, and in the next printed paper.
- Every story has a “Tell us” link to report a mistake. The editor replies within 2 working days.
- See our Editorial and complaints policy and our Corrections and takedown policy for the full process.
