Rules for the Road: Suggestions on How to Use Smalbany Magazine & Blog UPDATED!

SMB is a journalistic forum and adheres to journalistic best practices of true facts, vetted information, and open discussion. It is more that just reporting, and much more reliable than general writing, which may not be concerned with the quality of the facts presented or the reliability of information or contexts.

Warning: If you are a minor (under 18),  please leave this blog now.

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No! Not that kind of “adult site!”

This blog is an information source and a forum for mature discussion; it is written in the best journalistic tradition: Truth.

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Journalistic Integrity

Why is Journalistic Integrity Important to Smalbany Magazine & Blog and to Our Readers?

The American public has found in recent years that they cannot rely on truth, good facts, honesty, and impartiality in mainstream media. The Internet and social media, too, are virulent sources of misinformation and plain lies, and even so-called social justice organizations manipulate the facts to support their agendas.. What’s even worse is that there are also individuals and groups of people who intentionally spread misinformation, rumors, and outright lies, which is especially easy to do online. That is why it is important to be aware that there are still news and information sources that practice journalistic integrity, a code of ethical practices that is must be implemented across the profession, if journalists are to remain a trusted source.

According to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, some of those key ethical concepts have been adopted by Smalbany Magazine & Blog, including but not limited to:

• We proactively seek the truth and disclose the true facts. Ethical journalism must be accurate and fair. As journalists we are consistently honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
• We minimize harm to subjects. In our practice of ethical journalism SMB treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
• We act independently and impartially. SMB believes that the highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public (not the government or corporations).
• We are accountable and transparent. In our practice of ethical journalism means taking responsibility for our work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.

As journalists practicing and promoting these basic tenets of ethical journalism together with good reporting practices, including but not limited to the commitments to:

• Providing accurate information that is verified before it is released.
• Clearly identifying the sources of information.
• Advising sources of our policy of assuring the confidentiality of private citizens and the limited privacy or confidentiality of public figures.
• Keeping sources anonymous when they have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere and may face danger, retribution, or other harm for sharing.
• Gathering, updating, and correcting information throughout the life of a story. 
• Acknowledging mistakes and correcting them promptly and prominently.

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At times it will present material with a somewhat “direct” slant which could be misinterpreted as aggressive or offensive; nothing could be farther from the truth of the matter. The style might be chosen to stimulate emotions, energize discussion, encourage dialogue you didn’t know you had, and to bring them out so that you can cope, question, and resolve.

Always keep in mind that much of what you express outwardly is an internal condition, irrational emotions kept bottled up, and when the explosion comes, it’s not pretty. If you sit down and think about what you think and how you act, you may be surprised to find that it’s not really you. You may find that you have been or are being toxically conditioned by others, and becoming a person you don’t really like. Have a good look because you have to live the rest of your life with the person you are or the one you’re becoming.

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Warning! This is not the place for immature or overly sensitive or impressionable readers. It is a place for people willing to see things differently — perhaps even as they really are —, to think about them, and to reconsider their positions on matters that seriously affect their lives, their community and their futures.

There’s blue sky behind the reality.

Reality is key on this blog, and if you’re uncomfortable staring reality in the face and acknowledging it, you’ll like it here. Be warned: This is no place to hang out; especially if your one of the scoundrels we expose; you could get hurt.

Obviously, age is no indicator of maturity. You may be 18 or older, much older and still be an intellectual or emotional fetus. Your position in the community or your job is also no reliable indicator of whether you are a mature, intelligent adult. We have doctors, lawyers, teachers, who are frequently more biased, prejudiced, self-centered and self-serving than most others. No one has the monopoly on ethics or morality, either. Public officials, law enforcement officers, teachers, priests, ministers, parents are not above immorality, unethical conduct, or downright nastiness. Look around yourself for some local examples.

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Smalbany Magazine & Blog is totally free and never has accepted favors or advertising. That’s because we want to remain totally independent and impartial. Our work is expensive not only in terms of the time we spend following up, researching, investigating and writing for our community, we also have overheads like gas, office supplies, Internet service providers, etc. We cover those expenses out of our own pockets. But you can help out by pledging or making a one-time donation. Please visit our Patreon funding page at Smalbany Magazine & Blog. Thanks in advance for your support!

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Some Suggestions

• The rule is intelligent exchange, civility, respect. Deviations from this rule will not be tolerated.
• We ask you to leave comments. You can find the comment link at the bottom of each post, just after the list of keywords. Try to keep your comments short and on-topic. All comments are moderated and, if necessary, edited; this takes time so short, on-topic comments are appreciated.
• You can also Like a particular post. The like buttons and share buttons are at the bottom of the post. Just click one to Like the post.
• You can get e-mail notifications whenever a new post appears. Just click the Follow button at the top of the screen.
• All that having been said, there will be questions. Just send a comment or an e-mail. If your comment is confidential you must tell us and we won’t post the information or identify you.
• In principle, we discourage visits by minors, since the issues we discuss here are very unlikely to interest them, and we consider it “Adult Content.” If you are under 18 mentally or chronologically, and you feel you need to comment, please have a competent responsible, preferably informed adult do it for you.
• We also discourage visitors with axes to grind. Please leave all weapons at the door.
• We do encourage you to send corrections or clarifications of any information we post. We want to be correct and we want our information to be true and factual. You can help.
• In general, comments are moderated and may be redacted if they appear to contain vituperative statements, ad hominem (or ad feminam) arguments, accusations, unverifiable factoids, or statements that do not comment on the facts in the respective article or do not offer new verifiable facts, whether or not they contradict those appearing in the article.
• If you provide verifiable facts that contradict those reported in the article we will gratefully correct any errors.
• To start reading just select from the Top Posts or Recent Posts listing on the right-hand side of the screen. You can navigate the blog also by selecting a Category (keyword), or by searching the blog using your own search terms.

Send links to friends, relatives, community leaders and elected officials if you liked this blog.

Thank you in advance for your co-operation. Enjoy your visit and share your thoughts!

For the Sake of Decency

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Special Notice: We make every effort to be truthful, complete, fair, and balanced on this blog; therefore, if you see anything that you know to be false or incorrect, or if you have additional information to clarify any issue, please let us know by e-mailing your information or by leaving a comment. It’s very important to us that we don’t fall into the same category as those whom this blog is intended to expose. Thank you very much in advance for your cooperation and assistance!