Editorial policy
How we work
What we read, how we write, and the rules every story must pass before it is published.
Ownership
Manx Wire is published by Isle Stays Ltd, which also runs Isle Stays holiday homes and advertises on this site. Adverts are always labelled and never presented as news. Any story that involves Isle Stays or Isle Stays Ltd says so.
1. Gathering
Several times a day we read public RSS feeds and web pages from Manx news outlets, the Isle of Man Government, Tynwald, the Financial Services Authority, the Companies Registry, the Planning and Building Control service, the Ronaldsway Met Office, the Steam Packet, the airport and other public bodies, plus public posts from official social media pages. Sailing and flight times come from the operators' own departure boards, and we ask readers to check with their operator before they travel.
2. Writing
We group items that describe the same event, decide what is newsworthy for the island, and write an original report in British English and our house style. We work from facts, not from other outlets' wording: we do not copy sentences, and quotes are short, attributed, and only taken from the source that published them. Every story links to its sources.
3. Checking
Every story is checked against its sources before publication. We hold back or rewrite anything that:
- states something the sources do not support;
- could be defamatory, or treats an allegation as fact;
- could prejudice active court proceedings (we report charges and hearings, not speculation about guilt);
- identifies a child in legal proceedings, or the victim of a sexual offence;
- identifies anyone accused of a sexual offence before they are convicted, which Isle of Man law forbids;
- names private individuals from social media posts;
- copies another publisher's wording beyond a short attributed quote.
4. Analysis and opinion
Pieces labelled Analysis — such as our weekly look at how UK, Irish and EU policy affects the island — explain and interpret. They are clearly marked and never presented as straight news.
5. Corrections
If we get something wrong we correct it promptly and say so. Tell us what's wrongusing our contact form, and see corrections and complaints.
Or email us at [email protected]
6. Comments
Most pages have comments. They are closed on crime, court, death and tragedy stories. Comments are screened when posted and reviewed every day, and we remove hate speech, threats, harassment, personal information and spam. See our community guidelines.
