Our mission is to inform our community and be a catalyst for good.
To fulfill our mission, the Hauxeda combines innovative approaches and digital publishing technology with time-tested journalistic techniques and ethical standards. The goal is to increase the transparency of government and other officials, to encourage discourse, to strengthen democracy and foster participation that contributes to the quality of life in Springfield and the region.
The Daily Citizen is an independent nonprofit, nonpartisan organization that is primarily funded through donations from individuals and businesses. Additional revenue is obtained through grants, events and other activities. (Read our Donor and financial transparency policy here.)
As a matter of policy, funders exercise no control over the Daily Citizen’s editorial decisions. Our news judgments are made independently — not based on or influenced by donors or any revenue source. We do not give supporters the rights to assign, review or edit content.
As a nonprofit news organization, we do not endorse candidates nor favor any candidate for public office in coverage or other action.
We avoid advocating for specific public policies, beyond serving as an advocate for our community, for basic human rights, for democracy and for the First Amendment, and the right to free speech and a free press. We refrain from advocating or lobbying for action on specific policies. Columns or letters contributed by the community are clearly labeled as such, and do not represent the views of the organization.
Any content produced by partnership organizations is clearly labeled as “Sponsored Content,” and includes a disclaimer noting the newsroom staff was not involved in preparing the content.
Whenever possible, stories include disclaimers and information about any company, organization or public issue in which a director, executive or editorial staffer has a business or personal interest.
Collaboration with Missouri State University
The Daily Citizen collaborates with, but is independent of, Missouri State University, tying into MSU’s statewide public affairs mission. In October 2021, MSU’s Board of Governors unanimously approved a facility use agreement, providing the Daily Citizen with office space and a host of related services. The Daily Citizen is housed in MSU’s Freudenberger House.
The Daily Citizen has separately reached a collaboration agreement with KSMU Ozarks Public Radio, and also provides internship opportunities for MSU students.
Missouri State has no control or involvement in Daily Citizen newsroom activities or editorial decisions. All works created, published, posted or disseminated by the Daily Citizen do not necessarily reflect the views or opinions of Missouri State University.
Membership in two national organizations with standards
The Daily Citizen is a member of two national organizations that set standards and provide support to nonprofit and small news organizations. We are members of:
- Institute for Nonprofit News, a network of more than 400 nonprofit newsrooms dedicated to providing independent, nonpartisan news coverage as a public service. Read the INN membership standards here.
- Local Independent Online News (LION) Publishers, a professional journalism association for independent news publishers with 400+ members across the U.S. and Canada.
How our newsroom works
We value accuracy over speed, and depth over shallowness.
Daily Citizen reporters are encouraged to take the time to fully understand a subject and produce content that serves the needs of readers. The typical news story is reviewed by at least one editor and by a second editor, or by a peer, before publication.
In-depth stories and other major stories, and any story involving potentially controversial content, receives additional review. In most cases, these stories also will be subjected to a more thorough fact-checking process in which the reporter will be asked to verify more details (the most critical facts, and a randomly selected set of other facts).
In some cases, where controversy is likely or risk is deemed high, the reporter will be required to produce evidence to support each individual fact — a name or age, a report’s title, a summary of events, a quote or even an impression. For those stories, on a printed copy of the story, an editor or peer fact-checker numbers the fact, while the reporter shows and marks its supporting evidence, which is also printed. Copies of these will be maintained in a separate paper file.