SRI-CONNECT recognises that media organisations – particularly those specialising in SRI or sustainable development - have potential to provide information and analysis that could be of great value to users of the site.
However, we also recognise that other users of the site may be apprehensive about using a site where material they post is accessible to journalists and media organisations.
Therefore we:
- have instructed our registration team to exercise particular diligence when vetting the registration requests of media organisations and their employees
- will not typically allow employees of general or news media organisations to join the site (only those that specialise in financial or sustainability news and information)
- remind all users employed by media organisations that the site operates under the Chatham House rules (see here) and that independent permission must be sought before attributing any views presented on the site
- require all journalists to agree (before registration) to the rules and requests below
- suggest that media organisations view the site as an additional (and targeted) outlet for their news and information rather than as a source of stories
- notify all media users of our ‘one strike’ rule whereby an entire organisation can be barred from the site for a single breach by one individual
- remind all users that we will ban and, if deemed necessary, seek further redress from any media organisations that breach the spirit of trust necessary for the effective operation of the site
We reserve the right to change our policy regarding the ability of media organisations and journalists to access the site if any of our other users feel that it constrains their freedom to contribute to the site.
Factors governing journalist membership of SRI-CONNECT
A professional research community relies on trust and discretion between its members and has to be very careful about which journalists (if any) it admits to membership and the terms on which this is done. In general terms, we do not permit journalists access to the site.
However, we make exception for those with a track record of engaged coverage of sustainability and SRI themes.
This is subject to them abiding by three rules and one request
- Rule 1) what goes on the site stays on the site – you can’t use any information that users put on the site in your writing – unless the information is publicly available elsewhere; esp. you can’t use anything within the discussions, events & blogs areas
- Rule 2) if other users decide they don’t want journalists in the community, we’re afraid that we’ll have to remove your access – even if you are behaving yourself
- Rule 3) don’t tell any other journalists – there are currently only a few on the site
- Request 1) The site only accepts registration from those with a direct professional exposure to SRI – please don’t write about the site in publications that might attract non-professionals to the site; they will be refused registration – which will take up my time and it may annoy your readers. (Of course, we welcome applications from CSR managers, IR managers and professional SRI investors)
