Financial journalism about thinly covered companies can move prices. That places an obligation on us to be careful about what we publish, transparent about our interests, and clear about the difference between reporting and opinion. This policy sets out the rules our contributors work under.
Editorial independence
Editorial decisions are made by the newsroom alone. No advertiser, sponsor, investor relations firm, shareholder or covered company has any say in what we cover, when we publish, or what we conclude. Nobody outside the newsroom sees an article before publication, except where we are seeking comment or verifying a fact with a source.
We do not sell coverage
We do not accept payment, shares, options, warrants or any other consideration in exchange for writing about a company, for the tone of an article, or for withholding one. We do not publish sponsored articles, advertorials or press releases presented as reporting.
Paid promotion is common in the micro-cap sector. If you are ever offered coverage on this site in exchange for payment, that offer did not come from us, and we would be grateful if you told us about it.
Personal financial interests
Contributors must disclose to the newsroom any financial interest they hold in a company they write about. Where such an interest exists, it is disclosed in the article itself, in plain terms, at the point of publication.
Contributors may not trade on information obtained in the course of reporting before that information is published, and may not take a position in a company with the intention of writing about it in order to benefit from the resulting price movement.
Advertising and commercial content
Advertising is kept visually and structurally separate from editorial content, and is labelled where its nature might otherwise be unclear. Advertisers receive no advance notice of coverage and no ability to influence it. Buying advertising neither earns coverage nor protects against it.
Sources
We prefer named, on-the-record sources and primary documents. We grant anonymity only where a source faces a genuine risk in speaking and the information is of real public interest — never as a convenience, and never to allow anonymous criticism of a company without a substantive basis.
We do not publish material from anonymous tips, message boards or promotional mailings without independent verification. Where a source has a financial interest in the subject of an article, we say so.
Fairness and right of reply
Where an article makes a substantive criticism of a company or an individual, we seek comment before publication and allow reasonable time to respond. If a response arrives after publication, we update the article to include it.
Separating reporting from opinion
News reporting and analysis or opinion are labelled distinctly. Analysis explains what the facts may mean and is identified as such, so that readers can tell where reporting ends and judgement begins.
Plagiarism and attribution
Plagiarism and fabrication are grounds for immediate removal of a contributor. Where we build on reporting first published elsewhere, we say so and link to the original.
Use of artificial intelligence
AI tools may assist with routine production tasks such as drafting headlines, summarising documents or checking copy. Every article is reviewed and approved by a human editor before publication, and we do not publish AI-generated reporting presented as human work. Responsibility for accuracy rests with the editor whose name appears on the piece.
Corrections
Errors are corrected openly and promptly under our correction policy. We do not quietly delete or rewrite articles to conceal a mistake.
Raising a concern
If you believe we have fallen short of these standards, write to contact@microcapobserver.com with the article and the specific concern. Complaints about a conflict of interest are reviewed by an editor who was not involved in the article.