Editorial Standards

The written policy that governs how ChainReport Weekly reports, edits and publishes every issue.

1. Independence

ChainReport Weekly is not owned by, invested in, or contractually associated with any restaurant company, franchisee association, private-equity firm or industry trade organisation. Our editorial team has no financial position in publicly-traded restaurant companies we cover, and any prior industry employment is disclosed on our About page and in bylines where relevant.

2. Sourcing

Reporting on corporate strategy, franchise economics, labor practices and M&A is grounded in public filings (10-K, 10-Q, franchise disclosure documents), earnings-call transcripts, court records, named on-record sources, and vetted anonymous sources whose identity is known to the editor-in-chief. We prefer on-record sources. We use anonymity only when a source faces credible professional risk, and we do not use anonymity to attack named individuals.

3. Data journalism

Our proprietary datasets (labor-cost model, menu-price index, franchisee-margin composite) are described in each piece where they are used. Methodology summaries are available on request to qualified industry researchers, subject to protecting individual franchisee anonymity.

4. Fact-checking

Every issue is read for factual accuracy by a member of the editorial team who did not report the story. Numerical claims, historical dates and company financials are cross-referenced against at least one independent source before publication. Direct quotes are verified against recordings or contemporaneous notes.

5. Use of AI

ChainReport Weekly does not use generative AI to write, rewrite or paraphrase editorial content. We use AI-assisted tooling for spell-checking, grammar suggestions and headline brainstorming only. Any use of AI-assisted illustration is captioned as such.

6. Corrections

Errors of fact are corrected promptly and visibly. A dated correction notice is appended to the top of the affected piece; the original erroneous text is preserved with strikethrough where the fix is material; and the substance of the correction is described in plain language at the foot of the article. Reader-reported corrections: corrections@chainreportweekly.example.

7. Right of reply

Subjects of critical reporting are contacted for comment before publication and given a reasonable window to respond. On-record responses are included in the published piece. Post-publication concerns from named subjects are reviewed by the editor-in-chief and, where warranted, addressed through updates, clarifications or full corrections.

8. Ethics

The team follows the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics as our baseline standard. We do not accept gifts from covered companies. We do not accept comped meals, press-event food or media junkets. Personal financial positions in publicly-traded restaurant companies are disclosed and generally prohibited.

Last reviewed: April 12, 2026. Next scheduled review: April 2027.