Organization Policies

We subscribe to standards of editorial independence adopted by the Institute for Nonprofit News:

Our organization retains full authority over editorial content to protect the best journalistic and business interests of our organization. We maintain a firewall between news coverage decisions and sources of all revenue. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services or opinions.

We accept gifts, grants and sponsorships from individuals and organizations for the general support of our activities, but our news judgments are made independently and not on the basis of donor support.

Our organization may consider donations to support the coverage of particular topics, but our organization maintains editorial control of the coverage. We will cede no right of review or influence of editorial content, nor of unauthorized distribution of editorial content.

Our organization will make public all donors who give a total of $5,000 or more per year. We will accept anonymous donations for general support only if it is clear that sufficient safeguards have been put into place that the expenditure of that donation is made independently by our organization and in compliance with INN's Membership Standards.

The following Financial Conflict of Interest Policy (“Conflict of Interest Policy”) is an effort (i) to ensure that the deliberations and decisions of Matter News and Grey Matter Media (“Member”) are made solely in the interest of promoting the quality of journalism in the state of Ohio, and (ii) to protect the interests of MEMBER when it considers any transaction, contract, or arrangement that might benefit or be perceived to benefit the private interest of a person affiliated with MEMBER (each, a “MEMBER Representative”). As used in this Conflict of Interest Policy, a MEMBER Representative includes any director, advisory board member, financial advisor, legal counsel or employee.

1. Duty to MEMBER. Each MEMBER Representative owes a duty to MEMBER to advance MEMBER’s legitimate interests when the opportunity to do so arises. Each MEMBER Representative must give undivided allegiance when making decisions affecting the organization. Similarly, MEMBER Representatives must be faithful to MEMBER’s nonprofit mission and are not permitted to act in a way that is inconsistent with the central goals of the organization and its nonprofit status.

2. Gifts. No MEMBER Representative shall personally accept gifts or favors that could compromise his or her loyalty to MEMBER. Any gifts or benefits personally accepted from a party having a material interest in the outcome of MEMBER or its employees by a MEMBER Representative individually should be merely incidental to their role as an MEMBER Representative and should not be of substantial value. Any gift with a value of $250 or more, or any gifts with a cumulative value in excess of $250 received by an MEMBER Representative in any twelve-month period from a single source, shall be considered substantial. Cash payments may not be accepted, and no gifts should be accepted if there are strings attached. For example, no MEMBER Representative may accept gifts if they know that such gifts are being given to solicit their support of or opposition to the outcome or content of any MEMBER publication.

3. Conflicts of Interest. The following are examples of conflicts of interest which must be promptly disclosed to the MEMBER Board of Directors pursuant to Section 4 below by any MEMBER Representative with knowledge of such conflict of interest:

   • (a) any real or apparent conflict of interest between a donor or the subject of an MEMBER publication or report and an MEMBER Representative;

   • (b) an MEMBER Representative’s ownership of an equity interest in a person or entity that is or will be the subject of an MEMBER publication or report; and

   • (c) failure to disclose to MEMBER all relationships between the subject of any MEMBER publication or report and any MEMBER Representative or close relatives of the MEMBER Representative.

4. Conflict Procedure:
   (a) If an MEMBER Representative or party related to an MEMBER Representative has an interest in any contract, action or transaction to be entered into with MEMBER, a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest exists. Any MEMBER Representative having knowledge that such a conflict of interest exists or may exist (an “Interested MEMBER Representative”) will so advise the Board of Directors promptly. An Interested MEMBER Representative will include in the notice the material facts as to the relationship or interest of the Interested MEMBER Representative in the entity proposing to enter into a contract, action or transaction with MEMBER.

(b) Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, the Board of Directors may authorize any committee appointed pursuant to the MEMBER by-laws (a “Committee”) to act in lieu of the Board of Directors in determining whether an action, contract or transaction is fair to MEMBER as of the time it is authorized or approved by the Committee.

(c) At any time that a conflict of interest or potential conflict of interest is identified, the President of the Board or a Chair of the applicable Committee will ensure that such conflict of interest is placed on the agenda for the next meeting of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable. The notice of such meeting of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will include, to the extent available when the notice is sent, a description of the conflict of interest matter to be discussed. By notice before the meeting or at the meeting, the directors on the board or the Committee, as applicable, will be advised that a vote will be taken at the meeting and that, in order to authorize the relevant contract, action or transaction, an affirmative vote of a majority of disinterested directors present at the meeting at which a quorum is present will be required and will be sufficient, even though the disinterested directors constitute less than a quorum of the Board of Directors or the Committee.

(d) Reasonable effort will be made to cause the material facts concerning the relationships between the individuals and MEMBER which create the conflict to be delivered to and shared with the members of the Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, prior to the meeting to enable the directors to arrive at the meeting prepared to discuss the issue. In the event it is not practicable to deliver the information prior to the meeting, it will be delivered to the directors at the meeting, and the directors can act upon the matter with the same authority as if notice had been given prior to the meeting.

(e) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will invite all parties to the conflict of interest to attend the meeting, to make presentations and to be prepared to answer questions, if necessary. The Board or Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will also invite outside experts if necessary.

(f) At the meeting, providing a quorum is present, the conflict will be discussed to ensure that the directors present are aware of the issues and the factors involved. The interested directors may be counted for purposes of a quorum, even though they may not take part in any vote on the issues.

(g) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, must decide, in good faith, reasonably justified by the material facts, whether the action, contract or transaction would be in the best interest of MEMBER and fair to MEMBER as of the time it is authorized or approved.

(h) All interested directors must abstain from voting and, if necessary, leave the room when the vote is taken.

(i) The Board of Directors or the Committee, as applicable, will maintain a written account of all that transpires at the meeting and incorporate such account into the minutes of the meeting and disseminate it to the full Board of Directors. Such minutes will be presented for approval at the next meeting of the Board of Directors and maintained in the corporate record book.

(j) To the extent that the conflict of interest is continuing and the contract, action or transaction goes beyond one (1) year, the foregoing notice and discussion and vote will be repeated on an annual basis.

Personal Loans. MEMBER may not loan to, or guarantee the personal obligations of, any MEMBER Representative.

Matter adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists' Code of Ethics, which can be found on their website here.

We believe our role as a community news nonprofit in Columbus, Ohio is to provide contextualized, investigative, multimedia local coverage that not only informs, but equips locals to become more active in their communities.

Nonprofit Grey Matter Media seeks to expand our team over the coming years so that Matter can become a sustainable and reliable local news source. With additional staff, we will dig even deeper and look wider into our current investigations into policing and development. As time goes on, we will dig into more topics impacting people here. Above all, we aim to be increasingly accessible to and grow the trust that current audience members and supporters have placed in us, and earn that trust in communities we have not served up until now.

That begins with building nonprofit and editorial teams that reflect the varying and complex life experiences and perspectives that make up this diverse city. We’ve crafted these guiding principles for our recruitment efforts because we want to be as transparent as possible, both internally and externally, about the traits and skills we are looking for in new hires in light of our collective values and priorities.

Our hiring values and priorities

Local staff: We are committed to only hiring people who primarily reside in the Columbus area (at least 6 months of each year). This is because we value local news being locally owned, locally administered, and locally made. We see ourselves as the antithesis to large media conglomerates, in which news about Columbus is made and overseen in offices in places like New York and Houston. We are committed to providing truly local news with local context and that means hiring a local staff.

Collaboration and kindness: We aren’t just looking for candidates to fill a role, we’re looking for people to join a team. Our goal is to create -- and maintain -- a work environment where all people feel comfortable collaborating, sharing ideas, supporting one another, and otherwise lifting colleagues up. We understand that conflict will naturally arise and expect to resolve differences respectfully and equitably. All new hires should be committed to this.

Diversity: Ensuring a more racially diverse staff is among our highest priorities in this round of hiring. Although our board and contributors are a diverse mix of people who span different races, socioeconomic situations, genders, abilities, and sexualities, our current staff of 2 consist of 2 white women, one of whom identifies as LGBT. Of course, race is not the only diversity we are focused on, it is just one of our greatest gaps right now. We also seek a range of ages, abilities, educational backgrounds, ethnicities, gender identities, sexual orientations, and other life experiences. This is important in all of our positions, but we recognize the particular need and significance in managerial roles. All new hires should be committed to continuing to foster a diverse and inclusive staff, programming, and organizational environment.

A true passion for local news and democracy: Our commitment at Matter is to cover the most pressing issues in our city, and we seek staff who share this goal. We love seeing the direct impact of our work and engaging with our readers/listeners/neighbors. We firmly believe that local news is absolutely vital to the health of our Columbus community and our local democracy. If your passion is national politics, this may not be the right fit. But, if you’re into local business, community organizing, politics, etc., you’re probably a good fit.

A commitment to community journalism: We are a public service institutio.nOur community and audience-- both current and future--is at the heart of what we do. Anyone we hire should be committed to inclusiveness and diversity in our coverage, community engagement, and business operations. Our audience also demonstrates a clear interest in deep investigative and explanatory service journalism. We aim to cover the breadth of our community’s experience as it relates to our investigative topics, and that includes the issues as well as solutions.

Focus on ethical news production and business operations: We are always working to be conscious and intentional in doing business and news differently than tradition would suggest, because we are actively concerned with undoing systems of oppression inherent in the work we do. Our news product is intentionally opposite of breaking news coverage, because to us, the news is more equitable when it’s well thought out, researched, and developed, and not when it’s pushed out fast. We attempt to do business this intentionally as well, and need all of our staff and board members thinking in this way.

Creativity and innovation: Curiosity and open-mindedness are at the heart of what we do as journalists and startup entrepreneurs. We value colleagues who go a step further to ask different questions, talk to new sources, engage new audiences, etc. We also seek people who have new ideas --- and the energy/enthusiasm for taking a risk to try them out --- whether it’s a different kind of storytelling, a new way to engage the community, or a new internal system.

Support of staff: We aim to support the growth, development, and career goals of our team. Our current staff consists of 2 cofounders who have worked for no-to-little pay over 3 years and they are looking forward to expanding the team so they can spread the distribution of work necessary to run a nonprofit and a news publication across 3 staff members instead of 2 When hiring, we pay attention to candidates who can support our cofounder-directors in their work and to help evolve all they’ve built thus far. And not only do we look for new hires that will support our staff, but we also look for candidates who want to be supported and will capitalize on all we provide. We work hard to create workflows, automations, and adopt tools that will make our staff’s lives easier and to improve our communication, efficiency, and quality. We seek staff who will take advantage of that as well as have a mind toward further developing and shaping our infrastructure and internal policies.