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About WQAD

WQAD News 8 tells the stories of the Quad Cities and surrounding region. We celebrate the everyday people of the Midwest. People who cut the red tape and find real solutions to relevant local problems. We champion people who break the rules when the rules don’t make sense. We call out leaders who do nothing and offer no solutions to the issues many families are facing. We are committed to telling the stories of selfless people who sacrifice, giving of themselves to benefit others. We expose silly regulations, misplaced priorities and wasteful government spending. We lend praise to local innovators who are getting things done. We applaud individuals, families and neighbors who stand up and take control of their own destinies.

WQAD is made up of warriors against apathy, laziness and complacency. We hold ourselves accountable to our viewers by staying true to what’s important, our schools, decent-paying jobs, our families and our communities.

Hard work. Determination. It’s what we stand for at WQAD News 8.

WQAD is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.

Mission and Coverage Priorities

MISSION

TEGNA’s purpose is to serve the greater good of our communities.
We will provide the news and information that people need to function as effective citizens.
We will seek solutions as well as expose problems and wrongdoing.
We will provide editorial and community leadership.
We will seek to promote understanding of complex issues.
We will be advocates for our communities.

DIVERSE VOICES

At TEGNA, you will find people from all backgrounds, interests and abilities, united by a common purpose to make a difference in our work, our company and our community.

We are committed to making editorial decisions with input from a variety of voices that reflect our community. We seek sufficient understanding of the communities, individuals and stories we cover to inform the public. We are persistent in pursuit of the whole story.

DIVERSITY STAFFING REPORT

At TEGNA, we believe that attracting a talented and diverse workforce is one of the keys to our success. We strive to create for our employees an environment which offers professional and intellectual challenges, which encourages innovation and creativity, and which rewards success and effective teamwork.

Ethics, Standards and Practices

ETHICS

TEGNA is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, fair play and integrity. These principles apply to everything we do, from gathering content to reporting and producing content. Read TEGNA’s Principles of Ethical Journalism.

TEGNA journalists observe the following principles:

INDEPENDENCE

We will remain free of outside interests, investments, business relationships or personal relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news reports.
We will seek to avoid potential conflicts of interest and promptly disclose any that arise.
We do not accept gifts, meals or entertainment from any individuals or organizations that may be covered by our stations.
We do not allow sponsors of news to determine, change or restrict content.
We do not make political contributions, participate in political advocacy or publicly share political views.

TRANSPARENCY

We are transparent about paid or sponsored content.
We clearly identify and differentiate commentary from news.
We will explain our journalistic processes to our audience.

PUBLIC INTEREST

We will uphold and defend the First Amendment.
We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the public.
We will fight to insure the public’s business is conducted in public.

FAIRNESS

We will treat people with dignity, respect and compassion.
We will be fair with people unaccustomed to dealing with the media. (*)
We will seek all sides relevant to a story. (Also diverse voices)

INTEGRITY

We will act honorably, transparently and ethically in dealing with news sources, the public and our colleagues.
We will obey the law.
We will not skew facts, distort reality or sensationalize events (ETHICS).
We will not manipulate images or sound in misleading ways.
We will not present images that are reenacted without informing the audience.
We will use hidden cameras or similar techniques only if there is no other way to tell a significant story effectively, and only with news management approval.
We will respect the copyrights of others.

VERIFICATION & FACT-CHECKING

We report the news accurately, thoroughly and in context on all platforms. We vet sources, verify facts and challenge assumptions before reporting news. We hold factual information on all platforms to the same standards of accuracy.
We are honest. We do not mislead sources, story subjects or the public.
We attribute information received from others, and we are transparent with sourcing. We do not plagiarize.
We do not misstate our identity or intentions. We keep our word.
We do not intentionally slant the news.
We value being right over being fast.

UNNAMED SOURCES

We will use unnamed sources as the sole basis for reporting only as a last resort when it best serves the public’s right to know, and only with prior news management approval.

CORRECTIONS

We will make corrections promptly and proportionate to the original reporting.

CONTACT US

MASTHEAD/EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP

Click here to meet our Editorial Leadership team

ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK

We value feedback from our community, including story ideas as well as comments and corrections on our coverage. Click on the appropriate link below to route your feedback to the correct team in our newsroom.

Contact Information

NEWSROOM CONTACT INFORMATION

Connect/Contact

Trust Project Participation

TEGNA is proud to be a participant in the Trust Project. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press. For more information visit .

For all content licensing inquiries, please contact our representatives at TEGNA@nimia.com.

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