Editorial Standards

This page describes how we find, research, write, and source the news on Marengo Post. It is meant to be a commitment we can be held to.

We read the primary documents. City council packets are published before each meeting and typically run 30 to 80 pages. Meeting minutes are published afterward. Budget presentations, audit reports, and state filings are public record. We read these before we write, not after.

Beyond city documents, we draw on open government data at the county, state, and federal level, as well as geospatial datasets (OpenStreetMap, county GIS, Census geography) when a story benefits from a map or location context. When a national or global event has a local angle, we start with the primary data for the claim before building the story outward to Marengo.

Story selection follows a simple test: Does it affect people who live here? Is it sourced from public record? Can we explain it clearly? We prioritize council decisions, budget changes, and infrastructure projects because those have the most direct impact. But we also cover business openings, community events, and practical information, because a publication that only runs fiscal analysis isn't serving the whole town.

We maintain a structured knowledge base of every entity, fact, and relationship we've reported on: people, organizations, projects, dollar amounts, vote outcomes, dates. Before writing a new story, we check what we've already published. If we reported a pension funding ratio six months ago, we know the number and the source before we start the new piece. This prevents contradicting our own earlier reporting and surfaces context that would otherwise require re-reading old articles.

When processing a council packet, we record every action item: what was approved, denied, tabled, or discussed, with vote counts where available. Budget numbers, project costs, and staffing levels get logged with their source document and date. When personnel or project statuses change, we update the record. The goal is institutional memory that outlasts any single story.

We verify claims against their source documents before publishing. If a number in a budget presentation doesn't match the number in the underlying line items, we note the discrepancy. If a percentage cited in a staff memo doesn't match our own calculation from the same data, we flag it and explain the difference.

The voice is direct and specific. Short sentences, common words, plain structure. The analysis underneath is adult and unsentimental.

The first sentence of every article contains the most important fact, stated in plain terms. After every significant number, we add one sentence explaining what it means. "$6.49 million" is followed by what that buys. "47% funded" is followed by what healthy looks like. We don't stack three numbers in a row without giving the reader a moment to absorb each one.

Tone scales with the story. Fiscal and infrastructure pieces are precise and number-driven. Development and zoning coverage is moderate, focused on what's proposed and what changes. Community stories have more personality in the structure but no editorializing. City operations updates are brief and factual.

We use different article structures depending on the story. Budget and accountability stories always include charts, key figures, and section headings that separate reporting from analysis. Zoning stories include context boxes explaining the process. Explainers start with a plain question and work toward the local data. Community updates are short and direct. Longer analytical pieces carry the "Ground Level" label and follow a three-act structure that escalates from what you can see now to what hasn't arrived yet.

When an article moves from reporting to interpretation, we mark the transition with a section heading: "Why It Matters," "What Happens Next," "The Broader Context." The reader should always know whether they're reading a documented fact or our assessment of what it means.

We use a graduated scale of certainty in our language. Documented facts get "shows," "records," "according to." Official statements get "said" or "stated." Inferences from data get "indicates" or "suggests." Projections get "may" or "could." Unresolved questions get "it is not yet clear." We try to match the force of the prose to the force of the evidence. When we don't know something, we say so.

Every article includes numbered footnotes at the bottom, each linking to the original document. If a claim comes from the March 23 council packet, the footnote links to that packet. If a number comes from Census data, the footnote links to the specific table. The reader should be able to trace any factual claim back to its origin without contacting us.

We distinguish between direct quotes and paraphrases from meeting minutes. Council minutes are summaries written by a clerk, not verbatim transcripts. When we cite what someone said based on minutes, we use reported speech ("Alderman DeSerto described the application as lacking detail") rather than quotation marks. When we use the clerk's wording in a pull quote, we note "per [date] minutes" in the attribution. Text from official documents (budget memos, audit reports, staff presentations) can be quoted directly because the written words are the original source.

When data is regional or national rather than Marengo-specific, we say so. If a gas price comes from the EIA's Midwest average, we call it "Midwest gas prices," not "gas prices in Marengo." If a farming statistic comes from state-level USDA data, we write "Illinois soybean acreage," not "Marengo soybean acreage." The geographic scope of the data should match the geographic scope of the claim.

Every chart has to earn its place. Before adding one, we ask: what is this chart trying to show, in one sentence? If a single number with context ("47.3% funded, up from 36.8% three years ago") is clearer than a bar chart, we use the number. Charts go in when the shape of the data matters: a trend, a comparison, a distribution.

Y-axes start at zero for dollar amounts and counts. Chart titles state the subject, not a conclusion ("Police Pension Funded Ratio," not "Police Pension Is Improving"). Source lines are mandatory. Units are always labeled. We highlight the most important data point, not necessarily the most recent one.

Maps use real geographic data. The rail corridor map in our intercity rail article traces the actual railroad geometry, not an approximation. The price tracker explains what each number represents and where it comes from. If the data is a proxy (county-level data standing in for city-level), the methodology note says so.

We will get things wrong. When we do, the correction goes at the top of the article with a timestamped note describing what changed and why. We don't silently edit published work. If we misstated a number, we say what the wrong number was and what the correct number is. If we misattributed a statement, we say who we attributed it to and who actually said it.

If you spot an error: hello@marengopost.com. We'd rather fix it fast than defend it.

We are not neutral on whether Marengo should thrive. We are neutral on how. The editorial perspective favors regional connectivity (rail links, trail networks, transit options), long-term infrastructure planning, and downtown vitality. A town of 7,700 that is only accessible by car is economically fragile. We think investments that expand connectivity and walkability deserve serious consideration, and we report on them accordingly.

That said, we report the costs and trade-offs honestly. A rail stop that displaces downtown parking has real consequences. A water rate increase affects every household. When state or county funding flows into the community, we name the program and the dollar amount, because residents should know when Springfield is investing in their town. When infrastructure ages and the bill comes due, we explain the math. The goal is the full picture, not a preferred conclusion.

We take a particular interest in zoning and land use. Many local zoning rules are inherited from a different era and serve to enforce car-dependent sprawl rather than the walkable, mixed-use patterns that make small-town main streets work. We report on zoning with that lens: asking whether a regulation serves a clear public interest or is a legacy restriction that no longer fits the community's needs. This is not anti-regulation. Safety codes, environmental protections, and infrastructure capacity limits serve real purposes. The question is whether other rules do too.

Marengo Post is editorially independent. We are not affiliated with the City of Marengo, any political party, or any local business. Nothing publishes without editorial review, and editorial decisions are never influenced by advertisers or sponsors.

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