How we source, verify, attribute, and correct the news we publish.
The Florida Press publishes original Florida news for readers across the state. Every story on this site is reviewed, fact-checked, and edited by a human editor before publication, and is held to the same set of editorial standards regardless of who drafted it or how the research was assembled.
Each article goes through a human editorial process before it is published. An editor reviews the structure, sourcing, attribution, and factual claims; checks quotes and figures against the underlying source material; and signs off on publication. We do not publish stories that have not been through that review.
When a story is updated after publication, the editor responsible for the update is responsible for re-verifying the new material. Substantive corrections are logged on our public corrections page with the date and a summary of what changed.
We prioritise primary sources: government announcements, court rulings, the Florida Legislature, the Florida Division of Emergency Management, the National Hurricane Center, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, corporate filings, transcripts, and on-the-record statements from named officials. Where we rely on other news outlets, we link directly to the original reporting and credit the journalists who did the work.
Secondary claims are attributed clearly. When a claim is contested or only partially confirmed, we say so in the copy ("according to initial reports", "the agency says") rather than presenting it as established fact.
Every specific factual claim in a story — a person, a number, a team, a date, a quote — is checked against at least one independent source before publication. We do not publish claims we cannot verify. When a fact changes after publication, we update the article and flag the change.
We do not fabricate direct quotes. Where a Florida agency, a governor's office, or a federal department has issued a statement, we paraphrase and attribute generically ("the governor's office said", "a statement from the department confirmed") rather than invent specific language. Direct quotes appear only when we can tie them to a named source and a traceable statement, transcript, press conference, or press release.
We are a Florida news site. National and international stories are framed through their impact on Florida: markets, hurricanes, trade, federal regulators, immigration, energy, tourism, the cruise industry, and policy alignment. If a national story has no Florida angle, we don't cover it.
Featured photographs on our articles are sourced from licensed material: Wikimedia Commons (CC-BY, CC-BY-SA, CC0, public domain), federal-government works in the public domain (FEMA, NOAA, NASA, military), and paid wire services where applicable. Every photograph carries a visible credit line naming the photographer and licence beneath the image. We do not republish copyrighted editorial photography from league, team, or news organisation websites without permission.
Our editorial team uses contemporary research and writing tools to keep pace with the volume of Florida news. These tools help our editors assemble source material, organise references, and produce initial drafts more quickly. Every story is then reviewed, edited, and fact-checked by a human editor against the sourcing and verification rules above before it is published. No article goes live without that human editorial review.
We mention this not because the rules are different for these stories — they aren't — but because we believe readers should know how the news they read is produced.
When we get something wrong, we fix it, and we say so. Corrections are logged on our dedicated corrections page with the date of the correction and a brief summary of what changed. Minor typographical fixes that do not change meaning are made silently. Substantive factual corrections are flagged publicly.
Readers who identify a factual, structural, or grammatical error are encouraged to use the “Report an error” button on any article page, or write to corrections@thefloridapress.com.
We disclose conflicts of interest in any story where they apply. Editorial staff do not own shares in or take fees from companies they cover. Sponsored content is clearly labelled and separated from editorial reporting.
The Florida Press is editorially independent. We do not take direction from political parties, government, or advertisers on the content of our reporting. Advertising and sponsorship relationships are disclosed on our advertising page.
Questions about these standards, or specific editorial concerns, can be directed to editorial@thefloridapress.com. General enquiries go through the contact form.