Editorial Guidelines

We, at EssentiallySports (accessible from essentiallysports.com), strictly adhere to the Editorial Standards accepted universally through what is stipulated in our ‘ES Editorial Guidelines’ document. The Guidelines set the standards for EssentiallySports, and more importantly, aid our vision and the values we intend to uphold in the industry.

As seen through our content, we at EssentiallySports always pursue values based on ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Public Interest’. Having a great level of privilege in catering content on the Internet, we at EssentiallySports strongly concur on the fact that we have certain responsibilities in the common interest and shall always be accountable for the privilege we possess.

(i) UNIVERSAL STANDARDS OF ‘FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION’ & ‘PUBLIC INTEREST.’

Rights and Duties shall always go hand-in-hand. We, at EssentiallySports, strongly reiterate the same through our perception of ‘Freedom of Expression’ and ‘Public Interest’, with high consideration to the ‘Right to Privacy’ and other legal rights rendered to individuals.

Freedom of Expression:

Enumerated through Article 19 of the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)’ and global journalistic standards and the First Amendment (US) principles of free press, we at EssentiallySports have the highest regard for ‘Freedom of Expression’ being the foundational principle of Journalism.

It also establishes our Editorial Independence from all external governing bodies, commercial interests, and political entities, and guarantees our editorial freedom, which enables EssentiallySports to pursue a unique mission. However, our readers also expect us to balance our right to freedom of expression with our responsibilities to our readers and the general public, subject to restrictions in law.

Public Interest:

We, at EssentiallySports, shall always strive to operate in the public interest, creating content and covering news of significance to our audiences and being accountable to the public at large. In our journalism standards set forth, we seek to establish the truth and shall use the highest reporting standards to provide coverage that is fair and accurate. We are impartial, pursuing to reflect the views and experiences of our content consumers, so that our content includes an extensive diversity of opinion and, more importantly, ensures that no substantial element of thought is under-represented. We are independent of outside interests that could compromise our editorial integrity.

In exercising freedom of expression, we are to offer appropriate protection to vulnerable groups and avoid causing harm to such groups. We have the highest regard for people’s privacy, only portraying information in the public domain where the public interest outweighs an individual’s “legitimate expectation of privacy”.

We have a particular obligation towards children and young individuals who contribute to our output. We shall always strive to take due care to ensure that their dignity and welfare are protected by ensuring that content not appropriate to such individuals is rendered responsibly.

Note:

Irrespective of being subject to a particular jurisdiction based on our origin, our legal accountability and standards set shall be in sync with what is expected universally, while respecting rights and obligations in the world of diverse legal and societal dynamics.

(ii) CONFLICT OF INTEREST AND TRANSPARENCY POLICY

We, at EssentiallySports, strongly strive to secure the public’s trust by making a primary allegiance to the public through our transparent practices. Any personal or professional interests that conflict with that allegiance, whether in appearance or reality, risk compromising our credibility. We are vigilant in disclosing to both our organization and the public any circumstances where our loyalties may be divided and shall recuse ourselves from related coverage. We strictly prohibit editorial compromise for commercial or personal gain or to achieve our goals unethically.

It is important to regularly review how our affiliations, personal or at the organization level, are entangled with the themes of our reporting and, when necessary, to take action. An apparent conflict shall always be disclosed and, when presented with more pressing or blatant conflicts, we shall avoid them. We do not pursue journalism competitions or serve on award committees when groups that have an interest in influencing our coverage are sponsoring the honors.

To the extent that editorial content is made conceivable through the support of sponsors, that content shall be clearly marked as “Affiliated” to the appropriate sponsor or shall have a distinct section on our website.

(iii) SOURCES

EssentiallySports obtains news and content from a diverse range of sources. We undertake stringent efforts to confirm the veracity of the information available on the internet and social media, only then proceeding to create content for the general public.

Our internal policies set the standards for creating content through sources. EssentiallySports shall always strive to provide content that is authentic, need-of-the-hour, and resourceful. Sources play an important role in pursuing our goal of creating a reliable and thought-provoking experience for consumers.

As much as selecting the right source providers is important, citing such sources is the hallmark of high-quality journalism. We have a thorough process for citing and crediting such sources when we do not deal with primary sources. Throughout this process, our ‘Editorial Leadership’ works closely with our content creators to produce quality content.

(iv) ANTI-PLAGIARISM POLICY

Plagiarism is the immoral act of replicating someone else’s prior ideas, processes, results, or words without explicit acknowledgment or prior authorization of the original author and source. Plagiarism, being a cardinal sin of journalism, we at EssentiallySports strive to eliminate such practices through our thorough internal policies and our bespoke ‘Quality Control’ mechanism.

Our editorial team sets the standards for high-quality journalism through stringent processes to detect plagiarism using industry-leading tools and editorial evaluations.

(v) SOCIAL MEDIA

Social media is undeniably a groundbreaking aspect of today’s journalistic hemisphere, but it is our responsibility to extract the positive aspects of such an interpersonal facet in today’s world. Be it sourcing or engagement, we shall strive to inculcate best practices. As mentioned above, we have strict guidelines on creating content from social media.

As EssentiallySports grows in relevance in the sports media industry, our journalists and content creators logically become relevant or influential in the social media hemisphere. Being representatives of EssentiallySports, our content creators shall be obligated to follow best practices on social media by being respectful, free of bias, and responsible. Our editorial guidelines explicitly leave no room for indulging in harassment on social media platforms.

(vi) POLITICAL, SOCIAL & CONTROVERSIAL ISSUES UNIFORMITY

At EssentiallySports, we strive to balance interests that arise from political and social issues’ relevance to sports to pursue harmonious societal dynamics. Irrespective of individual political or social thought processes, we at EssentiallySports maintain an objective, neutral stance on all socio-political matters relevant to sports

The subject matter on such issues shall always merit our audience’s interest. More importantly, we strive to reach common ground when expressing such thoughts by upholding universal standards of law and customary practices.

We maintain strict standards in covering controversial aspects of the world by prioritizing factual integrity over sensationalism and avoiding the pitfalls of ‘Recency Bias’ for content providers to be at the forefront of such content creation. Most issues that polarize the public involve nuanced aspects that require careful deliberation and research. In a bid to “break the news” in a timely manner, media houses tend to be deficient in research and portrayal of reality. We, at EssentiallySports, recognize this challenge and strive not to fall prey to the “bandwagon fallacy”.

(vii) INTERNAL QUALITY CONTROL MECHANISM

After in-depth research and multi-stakeholder deliberation, we have created a bespoke internal quality control mechanism befitting the new-age digital media hemisphere. By relying on timeless journalistic standards, we have curated an editorial framework relevant to the needs of today’s sports journalism industry. Recognizing aspects like advertisement technology, we have implemented stringent compliance frameworks that safeguard our key stakeholders, including readers, while providing a thoughtful reading experience.

(viii) GOOD PRACTICES AND VALUES WE UPHOLD

Remaining true to our vision by adhering to universally accepted journalistic ethics is essential for EssentiallySports. These are the common principles we strive to inculcate in our organization:

• Truthful and genuine reporting
• Acting independently and free of bias
• Encouraging diverse perspectives
• Freedom of thought and expression for ourselves and others
• Enhancing harmony through our work

(ix) WHAT SETS US APART

We at EssentiallySports have stringent and unique internal content creation policies reflected through our content. As the media industry and societal dynamics evolve, it is our responsibility to stay abreast of developments while maintaining timeless standards expected in the media sphere.

EssentiallySports prioritizes the safety and legitimate privacy of individuals and entities. We strictly avoid content based on private information in strict compliance with CCPA, GDPR, and international data privacy standards.

We recognize the issue of “clickbait” content creation in the evolving digital media landscape. While competing for audience attention, media houses risk disparity between titles and main content. We strive to eliminate this through stringent internal processes.

The digital media hemisphere has also enabled coverage of rumors or speculative content in sports. As data suggests, speculative reporting has become “a central aspect of contemporary sports journalism”. It is the need of the hour to clearly demarcate fact from rumor. We strive to clearly indicate coverage around speculative content and ensure it provides genuine value to readers.

In a world of polarized opinions and partisan agendas, we strive to remain impartial and provide contrasting viewpoints. This approach defines our niche journalism pursuits.

Political correctness versus “need of the hour” coverage requires balance. In a polarizing media hemisphere, we strive to remain impartial, compassionate to the vulnerable, and informative, ensuring our readers are more informed and less radicalized.

(x) COPYRIGHT & AI

At EssentiallySports, we uphold creativity, integrity, and legal compliance. All editorial analysis is human-generated. AI is utilized strictly as a data-augmentation tool for non-editorial assets. All AI-assisted assets comply with copyright laws and editorial standards and are carefully reviewed to respect intellectual property rights.

(xi) ACCOUNTABILITY, COMPLAINTS AND RECTIFICATION

Our standards reflect our duty to be transparent and accountable. We publish our editorial standards and update them periodically.

We strive for accuracy and perfection. Corrections, updates, or deletions will be addressed promptly upon request.

We welcome feedback or complaints and strive to provide a seamless content experience for all readers, irrespective of caste, sect, religion, color, gender, or orientation, ethnicity, etc.

For more information, kindly refer to:

(i) Fact-Checking Policy
(ii) Corrections Policy
(iii) Ethics Policy

Email: editorial@essentiallysports.com

Updated: 21-02-2026