HipHopUntapped Editorial Policies and Standards
Mission and Coverage
HipHopUntapped, through reporting, analysis, and reader involvement, our independent media organization motivates people to achieve a more equitable, sustainable, and compassionate society.
HipHopUntapped explanatory journalism provides accurate information without bias, or discrimination, we check all articles for false information before they are released. HipHopUntapped uses our platform to connect fans closer to their favorite artists and connect new music lovers to new artists & music that they may like. We provide a space for readers to learn about hip-hop artists, culture, trends, and a newsletter about things that affect the hip hop community. We provide a platform for new and upcoming artists to learn, grow, and gain new listeners.
Ownership and Funding
Hip Hop Untapped was created as an LLC and founded in 2019, the company is an independently owned small business owned by Byron L Frazier and dedicated to the artists and their fans.
Our revenue comes from multiple sources including donations, foundation support, ads, and earned revenue from events. We do not charge our users, unlike other companies. Our platform is free for readers to read, share, and interact with our content.
Editorial Independence Policy
To preserve our organization’s best journalistic and financial interests, we retain complete control over editorial material. We keep a barrier between news coverage decisions and revenue sources. Acceptance of financial assistance does not imply or imply sponsorship of donors, their products, services, or viewpoints.
For the general support of our activities, we accept contributions, grants, and sponsorships from individuals and organizations; nevertheless, our editorial activities and news judgments are made independently by the editorial department, not based on donor support for the organization.
Although donations to support coverage of specific issues may be considered by our organization, our editorial director and executive editor maintain editorial control over all coverage.
Ethics Policy
HipHopUntapped Media has an internal style guide and adheres to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics in its editorial rules. HipHopUntappedJournalists seek and convey the truth—in obtaining, reporting, and interpreting information, they are honest and fearless. They reduce harm by treating sources, subjects, coworkers, and members of the public as human beings who ought to be treated with dignity. They are self-governing and have a responsibility to serve the public while avoiding conflicts of interest. They’re also responsible and honest, taking ownership of their work and explaining their decisions to the public. Furthermore, because HipHopUntapped believes that systemic change begins at the grassroots, HipHopUntapped stories try to reflect the viewpoints of individuals who are frequently overlooked by mainstream media. Includes the perspectives of community members, movement leaders, and others who are directly affected by the issues covered by HipHopUntapped this focus, however, does not detract from HipHopUntapped commitment to provide balanced, factual reporting and analysis, as well as clearly labeled commentary and opinion.
Fairness
The Post’s reporters and editors are dedicated to accuracy. While there are continuous debates regarding objectivity, editors and reporters may simply grasp and pursue the concept of fairness. A few simple practices result in fairness: There is no such thing as a fair story if important or significant details are left out. Completeness is a part of fairness.
There is no such thing as a fair story if it contains essentially unimportant information at the expense of important facts. Relevance is a part of fairness.
If a story intentionally or unintentionally misleads or even deceives the reader, it is not fair. Honesty – being on the same page as the reader — is a part of fairness.
No article can be considered fair if it includes individuals or organizations that have not been allowed to respond to claims or assertions made about them by others. Fairness entails proactively seeking feedback and sincerely considering that feedback.
Verification and Fact-checking Standards
Across all of its channels, HipHopUntapped is dedicated to providing factual information. We analyze assertions with skepticism, question assumptions, challenge conventional wisdom, validate the information with experts and current data, and endeavor to independently corroborate claims made by sources or entities. When possible, we verify third-party claims and facts using authentic documents and primary sources, and we make the source of information and data clear. While we do not allow sources to evaluate stories before they are published, we may share key statements or data with them to double-check accuracy.
HipHopUntapped Fact-checking is done on magazine articles. HipHopUntapped relies on its authors and editors to make independent assessments of tough themes, to report on and analyze those topics using verifiable facts, and to do so in a timely and accurate manner. and to explicitly identify the sources of any supplied material HipHopUntapped offers direct links to original sources and data in each story wherever available. We stand by the accuracy of our reporting and work hard to fix any errors swiftly and transparently.
We welcome feedback from our readers and sources regarding the information that we publish at [email protected]
Corrections Policy
HipHopUntapped is dedicated to informing readers as promptly as possible when a mistake has occurred, the magnitude of the error, and the proper information. This dedication and openness apply to both minor and major faults across our whole content. When an error occurs, HipHopUntapped will publish a correction note at the bottom of the relevant story, stating the nature of the error and providing the right information in the body of the article as well as in the correction notice.
Please report possible errors to [email protected]
Veiled Sources
HipHopUntapped permits the use of pseudonyms in published journalism only when there is a clear and genuine need for anonymity, such as a valid concern for source safety or if personal privacy must be preserved for serious reasons. HipHopUntapped editors have sole authority over whether or not to use a concealed source.
Byline Policy
Each HipHopUntapped story has a byline that links to an author’s (or each author’s) biographic biography page on our website. A staff byline reading “HipHopUntapped Editors” may appear in circumstances where two or more staff editors contributed significantly to the reporting, research, and writing of a story or web item. Except in rare cases where the aforementioned conditions for veiled sources are met, HipHopUntapped does not publish anonymous pieces.
Social media
When utilizing social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter for reporting or personal reasons, we must maintain our professional ethics and keep in mind that Washington Post journalists are always HipHopUntapped journalists.
The repute and trustworthiness of the newsroom are reflected in the social media profiles maintained by HipHopUntapped journalists. We must always be aware of protecting HipHopUntapped’s reputation for journalistic integrity, fairness, and independence, even as we express ourselves in more personal and informal ways to establish closer ties with our readers. Regardless of privacy settings, any comment or link we share should be considered public information.
Journalists for HipHopUntapped must not write, tweet, or post anything — including images or videos — that could be objectively interpreted as conveying political, racist, sexist, or religious views, or other bias or favoritism.
Take-down (unpublish) requests
We are increasingly being asked to remove (or “unpublish”) articles from our website due to the ease with which our published content can be searched and accessed online, even years after publication.
We do not grant take-down requests as a matter of editorial policy because they should be thoroughly investigated. We should be willing to investigate and, if required, publish a correction if the subject claims that the piece was wrong. And there may be times where fairness necessitates a follow-up or update — for example, if we reported that someone had been charged with a crime but did not disclose that the charges were later dropped due to a lack of evidence. In brief, we will examine if more editorial action is necessary, but we will not erase the article as if it had never been published. When we make publicly available personal data available, we only consider takedown requests if the person concerned is in danger of physical harm as a result of the material’s availability.
Reader Engagement and Feedback
HipHopUntapped has been collaborating with readers to create a world that is more just, sustainable, and compassionate. We realize that when readers contribute their views, ideas, and expertise, we can make a bigger difference in the world. We are devoted to interacting with you and acting on your ideas, complaints, and other feedback. You might assist us in developing a specific article or line of coverage, answering questions raised by the story, identifying connected or under-covered problems, and teaching us about new and diverse sources, experts, and perspectives.
In accordance with this, we’re committed to increasing transparency in our reporting and providing regular channels of contact and interaction with our readers. We believe that news organizations have a responsibility to engage the public in discussions about current values, issues, and ideas and that we stand to gain a lot in return.
Diverse Voices Statement
Journalists must think and act in an inclusive way. The complicated difficulties we confront as a society necessitate tolerance for differing points of view. Point of view is influenced by race, class, age, gender identity, sexual orientation, ethnicity, and region. Better, more nuanced stories and a better-informed community result from reflecting these disparities in our reporting.
HipHopUntapped is dedicated to improving the diversity of our staff, writers, and sources, and we regularly enquire about our contributors’ ethnic and gender identities to increase representation for people of color, LGBTQ individuals, and others from historically underrepresented populations. We place a premium on working with authors who have firsthand knowledge of the communities they cover.
Staffing Diversity
We seek diverse voices in our management and reporting staff. Our company has increased its diversity from 2019-to 2022 including multiple races, religions, and other backgrounds. We currently have African America, an African, an Indian, and many other races of staff. Our staffs range from a spiritual, religious, and non-religious point of view. We take pride in the inclusivity and fairness of staffing for an equal and broad spectrum of content and decision-making.
Masthead
Current as of June 1, 2022
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR & SOCIAL MEDIA COORDINATOR
Byron L Frazier Jr.
EDITORIAL DIRECTOR & EXECUTIVE EDITOR
Queen Suigeneris
SENIOR EDITOR & ASSOCIATE ART DIRECTOR
Queen Suigeneris
DIGITAL EDITOR & GRANTS MANAGER
Byron L Frazier Jr.