Firewall Policy

Our policy builds on those of our colleagues at the Institute for Nonprofit News, Hell Gate, and the 51st. This policy is subject to regular review and modification by COYOTE’s worker-owners. We welcome community feedback on our funding practices and transparency measures. Questions about our funding or potential conflicts of interest may be directed to our collective leadership via hello@coyotemedia.org.

Editorial Independence

COYOTE Media Collective's worker-owners maintain full and sole authority over all editorial content to protect the journalistic integrity and business interests of our cooperative. We maintain a strict firewall between news coverage decisions and all sources of revenue, including memberships, donations, grants, sponsorships, and event partnerships.

Our editorial decisions are made solely by our collective and are not influenced by financial contributions from any source—whether individuals, businesses, foundations, government entities, or other organizations. Acceptance of financial support does not constitute implied or actual endorsement of donors or their products, services, political aspirations or opinions. Donors will never, under any circumstances, be allowed pre-publication story review. Our worker-owners make all editorial decisions based on community needs, newsworthiness, and our mission to serve Bay Area readers.

Transparency

Public Disclosure: We will publicly disclose all donors, sponsors, and funding sources who contribute $5,000 or more per calendar year. This disclosure will be prominently displayed on our website and updated regularly.

Anonymous Donations: We will accept anonymous donations for general operational support only when sufficient safeguards ensure that editorial decisions remain independent of the funding source. Anonymous donations over $5,000 will not be accepted unless extraordinary circumstances warrant an exception, which must be approved by a majority vote of the worker-owner collective.

Conflicts of Interest

Individual worker-owners will disclose any personal financial relationships, board positions, or other connections that could present conflicts of interest with specific coverage areas. The collective will determine appropriate recusal or disclosure protocols on a case-by-case basis.

When covering stories that involve our donors or sponsors, we will clearly disclose those relationships to readers. Such disclosure will not prevent us from reporting critically on donor organizations when warranted by our editorial judgment.