Editorial Standards and Corrections Policy

Jax Times publishes free local news for Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Northeast Florida. This page explains how we report, where our facts come from, how we keep news separate from advertising, and what we do when we get something wrong.

Last updated Oct. 20, 2026

What we're here to do

We cover the things that affect daily life in Northeast Florida: elections, schools, housing costs, restaurants, jobs, local events and high school sports. We write in plain English, put the most useful facts first and tell you where every number comes from.

Where our facts come from

Our original stories are built on public records, official data and named sources. Examples include:

• Restaurant inspections: Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation (DBPR) inspection records
• Elections: the Duval County and St. Johns County Supervisors of Elections and the Florida Division of Elections
• Schools: official Duval County Public Schools and St. Johns County School District calendars and reports
• Housing and money: data from sources such as Zillow, the U.S. Census Bureau and the Florida Department of Financial Services
• Local government: City of Jacksonville and county meeting agendas, budgets and announcements

We name our sources whenever we can and tell you in the story where the information came from, so you can check our work.

How we check facts

• We check names, numbers, dates and addresses against public records and official sources before we publish.
• When a story is built on data, we explain how we counted and show our math.
• When sources disagree, we say so and explain which figure we used and why.
• Dates, prices and schedules can change. Event and service guides tell you to confirm with the organizer before you go.

How we label what you're reading

• Original reporting carries the writer's byline. Our original stories are written by Mark Gertjegerdes (bylined "Mark G").
• Press releases and stories from other news organizations are labeled with their source.
• Paid content from advertisers is always labeled Sponsored and appears in our Sponsored section.
• Advertising on the site is clearly marked as ads.

Independence and conflicts of interest

• Jax Times is independently owned by Mark Gertjegerdes and is paid for by advertising. More about our ownership.
• Advertisers don't decide what we cover or how we cover it.
• If a story involves one of our advertisers or someone connected to our staff, we say so in the story.

Fairness

• When a story makes a claim about a person or organization, we try to reach them for their side.
• We separate facts from opinion. Our news stories report what happened and what the records show.

Corrections and updates

We work hard to get every fact right. When we make a mistake:

• We fix it in the story as soon as we confirm the error.
• We add a correction note at the end of the story explaining what was wrong and what we changed.
• We don't quietly change facts. Small fixes to spelling or grammar that don't change the meaning are made without a note.
• When we add new information after a story is published, the page shows when it was last updated.

Reader comments and submissions

• Reader comments are reviewed before they appear. Comment rules.
• Community event flyers and shout-outs sent by readers are reviewed before they're posted.

Republishing our stories

Other newsrooms may republish our original stories with credit. See our republishing guidelines.

Questions

Questions about these standards or a story we published? Contact us or email [email protected].