QBurgh LLC (including QBurgh.com, PittsburghPinkPages.com, and all other network brands) operates under the following ethics policy. This applies to all editorial staff, freelancers, and contributors while they produce work for QBurgh LLC.
Advertising and Revenue Partnerships
QBurgh LLC is home to editorial staff and business staff that enable them. In no case do the efforts of the business staff interfere with the integrity of editorial staff or the content they create.
The business staff includes staff responsible for selling advertising and editorial sponsorships and advertising on QBurgh social media properties. The QBurgh LLC sales teams and our sponsors neither influence the QBurgh editorial staff nor any of the editorial content QBurgh creates.
To the extent that editorial content is made possible through the support of sponsors, that content is clearly marked as content “sponsored by” the applicable sponsor. In these cases, our sponsors may select which content they wish to support, however, we do not allow our sales teams or our sponsors to control or interfere with the editorial integrity of the editorial team and the content they create. Any content featured on QBurgh sites and social media accounts that is paid for by a particular company or advertiser and that is developed by the sales staff is clearly marked.
Some of QBurgh’s content contains affiliate links, which means we will receive a commission for purchases made via those links. When our editorial or business staff have manually added affiliate links to our articles, we will include a disclosure within the content.
Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views of QBugh LLC.
Conflicts of Interest, Activism and Disclosures
QBurgh LLC has complete editorial independence and our editorial staff and contributors take their beats seriously. Any editorial team member or contributor will be recused from a story and / or publicly disclose conflicts of interest when editorially appropriate. This may include a personal or family relationship, personal financial investment, or relevant political activity.
QBurgh LLC also has a number of sponsors and advertisers. Advertisers do not influence our reporting and do not have any involvement with our internal reporting process.
Corrections, Updates, and Deletions
QBurgh LLC makes every effort for content to be completely accurate upon publication. If a correction is required, we are transparent and update a story if new information either adds to or invalidates the original story. We will issue corrections for a factual error or if a typo in the copy could cause audiences to misunderstand the story.
We almost always leave all editorial content live, with notes and corrections as needed. We may, in rare instances, remove content from our websites, social media pages, or related platforms for legal reasons or extenuating circumstances. Removal will never be at the direction of or be influenced by our advertisers and will always be approved by editorial leadership.
Gifts and Giveaways
We do not accept gifts or other considerations from companies as a condition or incentive to write a review or story, whether favorable or unfavorable. Any gifts accepted will be of minor value and in no way will compromise or guarantee editorial coverage of the event, product, or service.
However, QBurgh LLC staff and contributors may accept tickets or press passes to events they are covering or reviewing, but should not accept extra tickets for family or friends. QBurgh LLC staff and contributors are not permitted to resell any such tickets, passes, or gifts they receive.
Occasionally, QBurgh LLC will conduct contests and giveaways for our audiences. We will post rules for each contest and giveaway that will be binding for those who decide to participate. While giveaways or contests may be sponsored by an advertiser or partner, they are not, and should never be, considered endorsements of the entities involved or their products.
Social Media
QBurgh LLC hires our editorial employees for their strong, expert voices, and values their abilities to build positive communities and influence on our platforms and their own. Because editorial staff’s roles or affiliation with QBurgh LLC on social platforms also means that they are seen as representing QBurgh in those spaces, we ask all editorial staff to wield their voices with extra care, particularly when commenting on topics they cover. Behavior on social media is a reflection of both one’s personal and professional self and, as voices of QBurgh, we ask our editorial teams to apply the same journalistic integrity required in our editorial content when posting on social media.
Our editorial guidelines leave no room for indulging harassment on social media. If any QBurgh LLC employee or staff member is the recipient of harassment on social media, they should review our protocol for reporting online abuse.
Sourcing
QBurgh LLC obtains news and content from a variety of sources. Some of our sources do not wish to be named, and we grant anonymity when we know our sources to be credible and reliable, and that their stories would otherwise not be told. We make best efforts to confirm the veracity of the information provided by anonymous sources and will not include any information we have not thoroughly vetted. It is our policy not to pay sources.
AI-generated imagery
QBurgh LLC will not intentionally utilize AI-generated imagery in articles published on QBurgh.com or in print unless the AI-generated imagery is the point of the article. QBurgh was built by and for a community of creative individuals and will continue to support local artists, photographers, and writers. QBurgh LLC does utilize stock imagery services and software and will vet all assets to ascertain the authenticity of the imagery we choose to accompany our articles.