The Shoreline is an independent online magazine. We publish original long-form pieces in six departments. We do not run sponsored content, native advertising, or affiliate links inside the body of our reporting. We do not accept payment in exchange for editorial coverage of any kind. If this changes, this page will say so first.

Sourcing

Where a piece names a person, an organization, a place, or an event, the editor responsible has confirmed the basic facts of the matter with at least one primary or authoritative source. For historical and archival pieces, we identify the relevant archive or publication. For pieces involving private citizens, we have obtained consent where possible and named only what the person has agreed to share.

Fact-checking

Each piece is reviewed against its sources by a second editor before publication. Names, dates, places, quoted statements, and numbers are checked. Pieces involving recent reporting from named publications are cross-referenced against those originals.

Quotation

Direct quotation from a living source means the words were said to one of our editors or another reporter whose work we cite. We do not fabricate quotation marks. Where a piece reconstructs dialogue from memory of a single party — for instance, in a rescue narrative — we make this explicit in the text.

Anonymous and identified sources

We prefer named sources. We grant anonymity only when a source's safety, employment, or relationship would be materially harmed by attribution, and only with the agreement of the editor-in-chief. We do not invent sources.

Use of AI

We do not publish text generated by large language models as original reporting. Editors may use AI tools for transcription, translation, and research support, but every published sentence is read, edited, and approved by a human editor. Images are either original photography, archival material licensed for use, or general-interest stock imagery clearly distinct from photojournalism.

Corrections

If we are wrong, we say so. Corrections are added to the bottom of the piece in question, dated, and listed in the next issue's editor's letter. Significant corrections are flagged at the top of the article. We do not silently revise published text.

Conflicts of interest

Editors disclose any personal, financial, or professional relationship that bears on a piece they are reporting. Where a conflict cannot be eliminated, the assignment is reassigned. A standing list of our editors' outside affiliations is maintained internally and made available on request.

Reader rights

Readers may request correction of a published piece in which they appear, removal under a published right-to-be-forgotten standard, or a right of reply to material that names them directly. Write to the editorial address. We respond within fourteen days.

This policy may be revised. Material changes will be noted at the top of this page, dated, and announced in the editor's letter.