Declaration of Principles

Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee founded The Murder Sheet in 2020. We view the podcast as a platform for our investigative journalism and in-depth analysis on the topic of homicide cases. We are committed to upholding journalistic ethics throughout our process, from news-gathering to publishing reports. Our high journalistic standards are reflected in the fact that we have become a widely-cited source in local, regional, and national news outlets. The following is our declaration of the principles that we hold ourselves to in the course of producing and publishing The Murder Sheet.

1. We are committed to pursuing the truth.

1. We strive to publish reports that are truthful, fair, and accurate.
2. We rely on reputable sources (on-the-record sources, confidential sources, and expert sources), court and police files, documents obtained through records requests and through sources, other forms of documentary evidence, and credible news reports for our journalism.

1. We will never publish reports based on un-verified, uncorroborated information from a single source.

1. We verify sources by confirming their identities.
2. We corroborate stories by obtaining information from multiple sources, while avoiding any leading questions in the process. Alternatively, we can corroborate stories by reviewing documentary evidence in some cases.

2. When speculating, we state that we are engaging in informed “speculation” and not stating outright facts.
3. When we present information that is impossible to corroborate or verify, then we will identify that as such.

3. In the event we publish an inaccurate report, we are committed to correcting the record.

2. We are fiercely independent.

1. Editorial control of The Murder Sheet will rest solely with Áine Cain and Kevin Greenlee.
2. We will look with a fair but critical eye toward entities that we report on, such as law enforcement and the true crime industry as a whole.
3. We are fearless when reporting on powerful entities and individuals.

1. We seek to hold the powerful accountable.

3. We work to ensure that we are not harming cases with our journalism.

1. When reporting on an active case, we work with law enforcement and other entities to determine and assess the risks — or lack thereof — of publishing specific pieces of information.

1. We are not swayed by blanket statements discouraging any and all journalism on a specific case.
2. That being said, we take into consideration requests that specific information be held back — provided an explanation is given about how and why said information could be damaging.

1. “Hold back” requests that concern personal safety — of law enforcement personnel, witnesses, or other individuals — will be deemed especially important.
2. “Hold back” requests that could impact the possible outcome of a case will also be deemed extremely important.

4. We uphold strict standards regarding sourcing.

1.  We rely on numerous sources to gather news.
2. We allow sources to remain anonymous if the individual source’s decision to go on the record could prompt them to face legal, professional, or personal repercussions for speaking to the press.

1. We minimize harm by being candid with potential sources — who are not public figures — about possible negative repercussions that could come about from going public.

3. We verify the identity of anonymous sources before citing them on the program.
4. When using anonymous sources in our reporting, we verify and corroborate stories and details with several sources before publishing said information.
5. We protect our sources.

1. We will not engage with anyone attempting to “guess” our sources.
2. In situations where publicly or privately answering questions about a confidential source could jeopardize said source, we will err on the side of protecting the source.
3. If a verified confidential source is concerned that their voice could be recognized, we will instead record a transcript of their comments.

6. We will explain definitions around different levels of attribution to our sources.

1. “On the record”: A source talking “on the record” is consenting to be named on the program, and for their voice to be recorded and published on the program.
2. “On background”: A source talking “on background” will not be named on the program. Depending on the source’s level of comfort, their voice may or may not be recorded for use in the program. The information they provide may be used in the program, stripped of identifying details.
3. “Off the record”: A source talking “off the record” will not be named. The information they provide will not be used in the program, unless their explicit permission is given at a later date.
4. If a source is found to have knowingly lied to The Murder Sheet about information, all agreements around their confidentiality may be considered void.

5. We aspire to be a professional and compassionate voice in crime reporting.

1. Whenever possible, we strive to foster connections with victims’ family members and loved ones, survivors of crime, law enforcement, journalists, and subject matter experts, in order to sensitively report on cases.

1. We also strive to reach out to and connect with victims’ family members and loved ones, as well as survivors of crime, whenever possible to alert them to developments in our reporting.

2. We avoid “victim-blaming” and needlessly offensive language when discussing cases.
3. We include content warnings in our material.
4. We employ a fair and journalistic tone in our work, both scripted and unscripted.  
5. Whenever we are reporting on institutions or individuals, we will reach out to give the institution or individual an opportunity to share their side of the story.

6. We support journalists.

1. We view ourselves as news-gathering partners for local, regional, and national journalists, rather than competitors.

1. We see journalists as our peers.

2. When other journalists ask for documents or other materials that we have gathered and released, we provide them with that information whenever possible.
3. We maintain connections with other journalists to discuss the facts of the cases we cover.
4. We will cite — either verbally or in writing — our sources when relying on the work of other journalists.

7. We clearly label advertisements.

1. Like most media outlets, The Murder Sheet relies on revenue generated through advertisements.

1. Advertisement revenue is derived from host-read advertisements and programmatic advertisements automatically inserted into the show.

2. We will always denote advertisements clearly, and identify sponsors in the advertising copy.
3. Additional revenue streams include Patreon, Buy Me a Coffee, Youtube, Apple Podcast Subscriptions, merchandise, and the Amazon Affiliate program.
4. Moving forward, The Murder Sheet and its business partners will categorically decline to advertise alcohol and gambling.