How RTK Media reports a story
RTK Media is built around documentary evidence. Reporting generally begins by identifying the public records, financial data, court records, policies, correspondence or other primary material that can establish what happened.
Records are compared with public statements, timelines and other available evidence. When the evidence supports more than one reasonable interpretation, the reporting will say so rather than present an inference as an established fact.
Primary sources first
Whenever practical, RTK Media relies on original records rather than summaries of those records. That can include Right-to-Know Law responses, payroll files, budgets, invoices, government emails, policies, court opinions, meeting records and other official documents.
Secondary reporting can provide context, but it will not replace the underlying source when the original record is available.
Fact, analysis and unanswered questions
RTK Media aims to distinguish among:
- Documented facts supported by records or other reliable evidence.
- Analysis that explains what the records may mean or why a pattern matters.
- Allegations or disputed claims that require attribution.
- Open questions that the available evidence does not yet answer.
Headlines and story framing will not claim more than the underlying reporting establishes.
Fairness and response
When fairness or completeness requires it, RTK Media seeks comment or additional records from the people, agencies or organizations whose actions are central to a story.
A lack of response does not prove a claim, and an official statement does not automatically override contradictory documentary evidence. Both will be presented in context.
Updates and developing stories
Some investigations develop as new records are received. Articles may be updated when additional documentation materially changes or expands the reporting.
Material updates will be identified in the article when the change would matter to a reader's understanding of the story.
When RTK Media gets something wrong
Factual errors will be corrected promptly and transparently.
When a correction materially changes a fact, quotation, number, characterization or conclusion in a published story, RTK Media will update the article and add a correction or editor's note explaining the substance of the change.
Minor typographical, formatting or grammatical errors that do not alter the meaning of a story may be corrected without a formal note.
Readers, public officials and subjects of reporting are encouraged to identify possible errors and provide supporting documentation.
Correction requests: records@rtkmediallc.com
AI can assist the work. It does not replace editorial responsibility.
RTK Media may use artificial intelligence tools to assist with research organization, data analysis, transcription, editing or drafting. AI is not treated as a source, material produced with AI assistance is reviewed by Bryan Shearer before publication, and responsibility for the accuracy and fairness of every published story remains with RTK Media.
Ownership and potential conflicts
RTK Media LLC is privately owned and operated by founder and editor Bryan Shearer.
Any material sponsorship, paid partnership, grant, financial relationship or personal conflict that could reasonably affect a reader's assessment of a story will be disclosed in the story itself.
If founder and editor Bryan Shearer has a personal legal dispute, pending or past litigation, a Right-to-Know Law appeal, or another material adversarial proceeding involving a person, agency or organization covered in a story, that relationship will be disclosed in the story itself so readers can evaluate the reporting with that context.