Himal Southasian policy on editorial independence and standards
Himal’s editorial team retains and exercises full authority and independence in all decisions over editorial content. Decisions regarding the topics we cover and how we cover them are based solely on journalistic merit and the public interest.
Our work is funded primarily by income from Himal Patrons (individual members/subscribers), institutional subscribers and grant-making organisations. Himal may also solicit and accept donations to support its work, including the coverage of particular topics. Patrons, subscribers, donors and grant-makers have no role whatsoever in editorial decisions.
Himal will publicly disclose the names of all institutional funders that contribute a total of USD 10,000 or more per year to the magazine’s operations.
We may carry advertising or sponsored content. All content paid for by any outside party is clearly labelled as such. Advertisers and content sponsors have no influence over our editorial direction or decisions, and we do not mould these in pursuit of more advertising or sponsorship revenue.
Himal does not and will not act on behalf of any government or government agency, any political party or political candidate, any corporation or business interest, any advocacy or lobbying group. While we respect the private political lives of the Himal team, no team member may hold a position in a political outfit or partisan organisation that compromises the magazine’s actual or perceived neutrality.
If a writer or other contributor has any personal or financial connection to a subject they are covering or discussing, this will be disclosed in the relevant story, podcast, newsletter or other content. Journalists working with Himal will not pay sources for information or accept any gifts or preferential treatment that may influence or be seen to influence our coverage. We do not practice “undercover” tactics unless there is no other way to get a story of immense public importance.
When we publish significant new allegations or criticisms against an individual or organisation, we make a good-faith effort to seek their comment before publication. We do not intrude on anyone’s privacy without a demonstrable reason why private information would be of public importance.
We protect at all costs the identities of sources that have been promised anonymity, and only promise anonymity where there is legitimate reason for a source to fear reprisal.
All Himal stories are thoroughly fact-checked before publication to ensure accuracy. We guard rigorously against plagiarism and fabrication. We maintain strict guardrails around the use of AI: we do not publish raw AI-generated text, images or other content, and we keep a human in the loop in all processes that may involve AI.
If we get anything wrong, we correct it and issue a public acknowledgement of the error.