The editorial decision

Ask contributors to disclose relationships relevant to their article: employment, ownership, sponsorship, referral arrangements or a material commercial relationship with the subject. The purpose is to help the publication choose an appropriate format, reviewer and disclosure. A relationship does not automatically make the contribution useless, but hiding it can change how readers interpret a recommendation. Keep the discussion focused on relevant interests rather than collecting unrelated personal information.

A working method

Maintain a limited-access record of disclosures and the editorial decision made. Decide which relationships need to be explained publicly near the content, and check applicable requirements for the market involved. Review the record when articles are updated or a contributor’s role changes. If a piece is written from a company perspective, say so rather than forcing it into an independent-review format. Make the disclosure process part of commissioning, before a finished article creates pressure to overlook the issue.

Imagine this

Hypothetical example

A contributor proposes a comparison article and discloses that they advise one of the providers. The editor assigns an additional review and clearly identifies the relationship in the published piece. Readers can evaluate the argument with relevant context instead of discovering the connection later.

Make it practical.

Use this checklist as you read. Checks are not stored.

References & further reading

Further reading: FTC endorsements and reviews ↗

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