PeachPol has always believed that readers deserve to know not only how Georgia politics works, but how we work, too.
So we want to tell you directly about a change involving PeachPol founder Tharon Johnson.
Tharon has joined Keisha Lance Bottoms’ campaign for governor.
His new role presents an obvious potential conflict for a news organization that covers the governor’s race, and we are not going to pretend otherwise. PeachPol’s credibility depends on our readers knowing that the journalism they receive is produced independently of the candidates, campaigns and political operatives we cover.
For that reason, we want to be explicitly clear that Tharon will have no role in PeachPol’s coverage of the governor’s race or in our broader editorial decision-making while he is working for the Bottoms campaign.
He will not assign or approve stories, participate in editorial meetings, review unpublished journalism, select headlines or determine how PeachPol covers Bottoms, Republican nominee Rick Jackson or any other candidate or political figure.
Those decisions continue to exclusively rest with PeachPol’s editorial team, led by Editorial Director Maya T. Prabhu.
The Bottoms campaign will receive the same treatment as any other campaign we cover: the opportunity to respond to our reporting when appropriate, but no advance access to stories, no influence over our coverage and no special consideration because of Tharon’s relationship with PeachPol.
That means PeachPol will continue to scrutinize Bottoms’ campaign, record and policy proposals just as we scrutinize Jackson’s. We will report stories that campaigns like and stories they do not. We will follow facts where they lead.
We also recognize that saying we are independent is not enough. Readers should be able to judge that independence by the work itself.
PeachPol was created to provide sharp, substantive coverage of the people, power and policies shaping Georgia. That mission does not change because someone associated with our organization has taken a role in a political campaign. If anything, this moment requires us to be even more transparent about the standards governing our journalism.
We will include a disclosure on relevant coverage for as long as Tharon is affiliated with the Bottoms campaign, and we will update readers if the circumstances change.
We understand that some readers may have questions about this arrangement. That is reasonable. Trust is not something a news organization gets to demand; it has to earn it.
We intend to keep earning yours.
— The PeachPol Editorial Team
