Why We Label Every Number: A Note From the Editorial Board

A newsroom's most valuable asset is a reader's willingness to believe a number. We would like to explain, plainly, how we are trying to deserve that willingness, and why you will see an unusual amount of labeling in what we publish.

What this edition is

This is a launch edition. The stories in it are built from illustrative scenarios: plausible situations written to show the shape of our coverage, our voice and the kinds of questions we intend to ask. They are not the product of original investigations, and they should not be read as such.

We say this at the top because a figure in a story can look like a fact even when it is not one. A percentage in a headline is easy to quote and hard to trace. We would rather over-explain than let a scenario be mistaken for a measurement.

How we label figures

Wherever a number appears, we aim to tell you which of the following it is.

• Reported. A figure reported by a project, a ministry, a laboratory, an operator or a programme's organizers, attributed to them in the text. We pass it on; we have not independently audited it.
• Illustrative. A figure used to explain an idea, such as a back-of-envelope calculation in a column. It is a teaching device, not a finding.
• Hedged. A figure described with words such as "roughly" or "about", because the underlying detail is soft.

We deliberately avoid attaching invented statistics, quotes or claims to real people, companies or institutions. Where a source is needed, we describe it by role, such as "a regional planner" or "a project engineer," because those descriptions are generic and make no claim about any real individual.

Why this matters

Constructive, optimistic reporting carries a particular risk. Good news is easy to overstate, and readers are right to be suspicious of cheerful numbers. The remedy is not gloom. It is precision about what is known, what is claimed and what is not yet verified.

That is why most of our news and feature pieces include a short passage on limits: what we do not yet know, and what has not been independently confirmed. We think a story that admits its edges is more useful than one that pretends to have none.

What changes when real reporting begins

When our newsroom begins original reporting, we commit to the following standards.

1. Every significant figure will carry its source and, where possible, its method.
2. We will distinguish clearly between what we have verified ourselves and what we are relaying.
3. We will name sources where we can, and explain why when we cannot.
4. Opinion will be labeled as opinion, and written under the name of the columnist or the board.
5. We will publish corrections promptly and visibly. See our Corrections Policy for details.

We will also be candid about what we cannot do. We do not claim awards, audience figures or partnerships, and we will not cite any until they are real and verifiable.

We would like your help. If you spot a number that seems wrong, a claim that seems unsupported or a label that is missing, tell us. Corrections can be sent to [email protected], and general thoughts to [email protected]. Letters to the editor can go to [email protected]. We read what arrives, and we would rather be corrected early than be right alone.

We also want to be clear about tone. Labeling is not a way of hedging every sentence into mush. It is a way of letting you see what is solid and what is soft, so that you can decide for yourself how much weight to give any claim. That is a small courtesy, and we think it is the minimum a reader should expect.

The bottom line

A newsroom earns trust one labeled number at a time. In this launch edition, we are telling you exactly what our figures are, so that when the reporting becomes real, you will already know how to hold us to account.