Ethics Statement

Harmony Express is edited by Peter Bryant. As is common in a community publication of this kind, the editor is also an active, competitive participant in the very community this newsletter covers. He is a member of BABS and LABBS, through male and mixed-voice quartets, and his directorship of a LABBS chorus.

We believe transparency is the best safeguard against this kind of overlap. Rather than pretend this conflict doesn't exist, we're setting out plainly how it works and what we do to manage it.

Our Principles

  1. Disclosure. Where a piece covers a group with which the editor is directly involved, that involvement will be clearly disclosed as part of, or alongside, that piece.
  2. Limited self-coverage. Groups the editor is personally involved with will only be covered in Harmony Express through factual, results-based reporting — contest placements, event announcements, membership news, and similar. We will not publish editorial opinion, feature profiles, or promotional coverage of these groups written by the editor. If such coverage is warranted, it will be commissioned from an independent contributor with no conflict of interest.
  3. Hospitality and expenses. Harmony Express is run by volunteers, and covering an event sometimes means a reporter needs travel, accommodation, or entry covered by the group or organiser being covered. Where this happens, it will be declared alongside the relevant piece. Accepting reasonable hospitality or expenses does not affect editorial judgement or the newsworthiness test in Principle 4 — a story is covered on its merits, whether or not costs were covered.
  4. Equal treatment. Beyond the limits in Principle 2, groups and individuals connected to the editor will not receive preferential coverage, extra column inches, or more favourable framing than any other group in the BABS community. Newsworthiness, not personal connection, determines what gets covered.
  5. Independent contributors, where possible. As Harmony Express grows, we intend to bring in additional writers and contributors, particularly to cover contests, events, or stories where the editor has a personal or competitive interest. Widening the pool of contributors is an explicit goal, not an afterthought.
  6. Correcting the record. If a mistake, omission, or bias is identified in our coverage — including coverage related to the editor's own groups — we will correct it openly and promptly.
  7. Accountability to the community. As an official BABS publication, Harmony Express is ultimately accountable to BABS and its members. Readers who have concerns about a specific piece of coverage, or about how this policy is being applied, are encouraged to get in touch at hex@singbarbershop.com

This is a living document. As Harmony Express takes on contributors, covers contests the editor is competing in, or encounters situations not anticipated here, this statement will be revised — and we'll note when it changes.