News Tips
E-mail your news tips and press releases to us at editor@claytoncrescent.org. Our executive editor and CEO is Robin Kemp.
Breaking News
Call or text us with breaking news at (404) 547-1171.
Investigations
For highly sensitive stories requiring extensive investigation, mail your documents to:
The Clayton Crescent
P.O. Box 1865
Jonesboro, GA 30237
We use Signal for encrypted communications. We cannot guarantee 100% security (no one can) but encrypted messages are far more secure than regular e-mail or texts.
Do us both a favor and let us know how to communicate with you. We may have follow-up questions.
Big Digital Files
Sending numerous PDFs, massive spreadsheets, or other lengthy files? Skip the e-mail attachment hassles and upload them to https://claytoncrescent.wetransfer.com.
Anonymity
For interviews, anonymity is only considered in the rarest of cases and in accordance with SPJ Ethics Committee guidelines. (Please familiarize yourself with these for deeper understanding.) The decision to grant anonymity is ours, not yours. Any “on the record, off the record” shifts in conversation are only by mutual agreement and a clear understanding of which part might be off record. We vet all sources to understand their reasons for coming forward. That means, at minimum, we need to know who you are. We need to be able to understand your reasons for coming forward and we need to know whether we can trust you. We thoroughly fact-check anonymously-submitted news tips but strongly prefer any tips come with supporting documentation. We are not in the business of spreading unsubstantiated gossip. See below.
Guidelines
We welcome your news tips!
Some rules do apply to more complex stories:
- We are less interested in gossip (who got drunk, who’s sleeping with whom) than public corruption (elected official indicted, appointed director skimming off contracts).
- We do not endorse any political campaign or candidate for elected office.
- We do not grant anonymity except in extremely rare cases. Before you ask, please review the Society for Professional Journalism Ethics Committee Position Paper on how we handle anonymous sources to understand why this is. You understand that the decision is ours to make. You also understand that anonymity does not mean that we cannot guarantee that some third party might learn your identity. If you are a government employee, you should consult with an outside attorney and familiarize yourself with Georgia and federal whistleblower protections before deciding to come forward.
- Before we discuss anonymity, we need to know who you are and your relationship to the subject of your tip.
- We do not engage in quid pro quo (e.g., you’ll give us a donation if we do a story about X, or a promise of a donation after completing an interview) for ethical reasons.
- If you make a serious allegation, back it up with receipts–documents that prove what you say is true. A piece of the truth supported by selective documentation is not the whole truth.
- If you have copies of relevant documents, please send them to us. This saves the time and expense of making unnecessary Open Records requests.
We adhere to the SPJ Code of Ethics.
PR people: Please review the kinds of stories we cover before sending unsolicited pitches or linkback requests.
We do not accept unsolicited story submissions or solicitations from “content providers.”
We do not endorse political candidates. We pride ourselves in monitoring politicians from all parties, ideologies, races/ethnicities, genders, sexual preferences, etc. in the interest of open government and the public pursestrings.
Sponsorships
We are open to paid sponsorships, which are similar to advertisements. All sponsorship ads must be approved by the Board of Trust in advance and adhere to camera-ready production specifications. The editorial department does not handle sponsorship requests and we do not do ad design/layout. Please call (678) 395-3618 or send written inquiries to The Clayton Crescent, ATTN: Sponsorships, 7742 Spalding Drive, #209, Norcross, GA 30092.
