Page Text: Contract Terms
Code of Ethics
This Code of Ethics statement sets the tone for all Simpler Media Group, Inc. (“SMG”) Websites (“SMG Sites”) but applies specifically to the CMSWire.com site, which is a publication wholly owned by Simpler Media Group, Inc. We refer to the publication as “CMSWire”, “CMSWire.com” or “SMG/CMSWire”.
Our Mission and Principles
Our mission at SMG is to inform, inspire and connect our community. As such we strive for accuracy and independence in our coverage of the industry.
We strongly support the four main principles of the Society of Professional Journalists’ ethics statement :
Seek truth and report it. Journalists should be honest, fair and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Minimize harm. Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.
Act independently. Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public’s right to know.
Be accountable. Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers and each other.
Editorial Independence, Disclosures and Conflicts of Interest
SMG/CMSWire’s editorial team makes independent choices about what to publish and is structured in manner as to be almost entirely unaware of the nature of SMG commercial relationships.
We do occasionally accept travel, lodging and meals as part of our live event coverage, but only if those accommodations are determined to be reasonable and bring value to our audience through coverage opportunities.
SMG/CMSWire employees have been known to accept t-shirts, pens, bags and other swag, but do not accept any monetary compensation or items of significant value.
Swag, travel, meals and any other items or services received from external contacts do not factor into our coverage considerations or opinions.
Corrections and Updates
Although it is always our intention to report accurately, mistakes happen.
We correct any errors in stories and disclose what was corrected. Note that minor typos and grammatical errors may be exempt from this kind of disclosure, but if the meaning or context is changed by an update, we will disclose what was altered.
If additional context becomes available after a story is originally posted, any additions will be clearly denoted within the content.
Attribution, Sourcing and Plagiarism
While we strive to use original sources whenever possible, in cases where stories are based on secondary sources, we will give clear credit and link to the original story if possible.
Unless specifically noted as a quote, content produced on SMG/CMSWire is original and unique. All quotes will be properly attributed.
We do not pay sources for special access, knowledge or news. On the very rare occasion we use an anonymous source, we will verify the source’s validity before publication and will protect that source’s identity.
Occasionally we may determine an unverified story is important enough to report. In these circumstances we will identify such stories as rumor or speculation as well as reach out to other sources to either confirm or deny.
Embargoes and NDAs
We see products and services throughout their lifecycle and in some cases before the product or service is released. While our editorial team respects embargoes and NDAs, we will not agree to or allow any limitations on coverage or tone.
Contributed Articles
At SMG/CMSWire, we believe it’s important to hear from a variety of industry voices. We therefore believe it is both necessary and good to bring in industry practitioners (software vendors, agencies, analysts and consultants) as a way to deliver more impactful and authoritative content.
In these cases, we provide a brief bio of the author to reveal any connections the author may have with the industry. We further work actively to prevent any promotional messaging coming through via these contributed articles. We do not accept payment for any contributed articles.
Sponsored Articles
Digital media business models have been increasingly disrupted and challenged over the past decade. As part of our ongoing monetization experimentation SMG/CMSWire currently offers “Sponsored Articles” as a commercial product.
The SMG/CMSWire team publishes between 150 and 175 total articles per month. We have decided to allow a maximum of 10% of these articles to be sponsored. So our readers will see a maximum of about 15 such articles in a given month. However, historically we have never done anything close to that amount.
Sponsored articles are conceptually developed in collaboration with the sponsor, then produced by the SMG/CMSWire Marketing Services team. Our Marketing Services team is meant to be independent from our Editorial team, but as a small organization there are some occasions of overlap. Over time we intend for the two departments to achieve full independence.
Sponsored articles appear on the homepage, article feeds and in our daily emails. We aim to present this content in a transparent way, clearly indicating when an article is sponsored and who the sponsor is.
Feedback Options
We stand by the statements we’ve made here and are happy to receive any feedback or suggestions about how we could do a better job (or really any feedback at all). You can reach our editors via hey-editors@simplermedia.com and you can reach our founder and publisher, Brice Dunwoodie, via hey-brice@simplermedia.com .
Last Revised: 13-Sep-2017