How The Tees works.

The Tees is a community group that finds, aggregates and shares positive news stories from across Tees Valley. Our aim is to publish useful, constructive and interesting stories from the area without pretending difficult subjects do not exist.

Where our stories come from

New editorial stories should have an identifiable factual source. That may be a council, university, charity, community organisation, public body, business, event organiser, direct contributor or another publication. Where a story is based substantially on information published elsewhere, we keep a record of that source and link to it where appropriate.

Verification

We check the key claims needed to make an article reliable before publication. Stories may also carry internal verification notes recording what was checked, when it was checked and what still needs clarification. A source being positive or local does not automatically make it accurate.

Images and attribution

Images should have a recorded source and credit. If a photograph comes from an organisation, photographer or original source, that attribution should stay with the image. We do not present a sourced photograph as our own work.

Corrections and updates

If a material factual error is identified, we aim to correct it promptly. Significant updates should be made clear rather than silently changing the meaning of an article. Readers can use the story submission/contact route to flag something that needs attention.

Constructive does not mean uncritical

The Tees deliberately gives more space to progress, creativity, connection, recovery, local achievement and useful community action. That editorial choice is not a promise that every story will be cheerful, nor does it mean criticism or scrutiny is excluded when it is relevant.

AI and editorial responsibility

Digital tools, including AI, may assist with research organisation, transcription, drafting, formatting, search optimisation and administrative work. Responsibility for what is published remains with The Tees. AI output should not be treated as a factual source in its own right.

Community content and copyright

Articles, images and information may be submitted by members of the community or sourced from publicly available local material. We make reasonable efforts to identify sources, credit creators and respect third-party rights. No copyright infringement is intended. If you believe anything on The Tees infringes your rights, email matt@thetees.org.uk with the page URL and details. We will review it promptly and remove disputed content while the issue is resolved.