Editorial Guidelines

The standards every release must meet before it goes out on the Winston wire.

Last updated: April 10, 2026. Every release distributed through Winston News Wire is reviewed against the standards on this page before it goes to our newsroom partners and syndicated network. These guidelines protect the trust of the 220,792+ journalists on the other end of the wire — and protect you from publishing something you'll want to retract.

1. Scope and Purpose

These Editorial Guidelines apply to all press releases, announcements, media alerts, and sponsored content submitted through the Winston platform. They are enforced by our in-house editors and are updated as newsroom standards, securities regulations, and platform policies evolve. Winston reserves the right to reject, request edits to, or delay any release that does not meet these standards.

2. Accuracy and Verifiability

  • Every factual claim must be attributable to a named source, a public filing, a dated study, or a first-party statement from the issuing organization.
  • Statistics, rankings, and superlatives ("first", "largest", "#1", "fastest-growing") must include the qualifying dataset, timeframe, and geography.
  • Quotes must be approved in writing by the person quoted or an authorized spokesperson.
  • Financial figures must match the numbers in the issuer's most recent filings or be clearly labeled as unaudited, preliminary, or forward-looking.

3. Transparency and Disclosure

Every release must clearly identify the issuing organization, the contact person, and any material relationships between the issuer and the subjects of the release. Paid endorsements, affiliate relationships, and sponsored partnerships must be disclosed in the body of the release, not only in metadata. Anonymous or pseudonymous releases are not accepted.

4. Securities, Financial, and Investor Communications

Releases that relate to publicly traded companies, token offerings, private placements, or other regulated financial activity must comply with the applicable securities laws of every jurisdiction in which they are distributed, including the United States (SEC Regulation FD, Regulation S-K, Regulation S-P), Canada (National Instruments), the United Kingdom (FCA Handbook), and the European Union (MAR).

  • Forward-looking statements must include a safe-harbor disclaimer identifying the statements as forward-looking and the material risks that could cause actual results to differ.
  • Material non-public information must be distributed to all recipients simultaneously — no tiered or selective disclosure.
  • Price-sensitive announcements for listed issuers must include ticker, exchange, CUSIP or ISIN, and embargo time where applicable.
  • Token sales, ICOs, and crypto-asset offerings must include jurisdiction-specific risk disclosures and must not be distributed to residents of restricted jurisdictions.

5. Prohibited Content

Winston will not distribute releases that contain, promote, or are primarily about:

  • Pump-and-dump schemes, stock-promotion campaigns, or undisclosed paid stock coverage.
  • Gambling, adult content, weapons, controlled substances, or any product illegal in the distribution target countries.
  • Hate speech, harassment, defamation, or content targeting individuals or protected groups.
  • Medical, health, or therapeutic claims that are not supported by peer-reviewed evidence or regulatory approval.
  • Investment advice, buy/sell recommendations, or guarantees of financial return.
  • Misleading headlines, clickbait, or content designed to game search engines rather than inform readers.
  • Private personal information, leaked documents, or content that infringes the intellectual property of others.

6. Attribution and Source Material

Third-party research, imagery, logos, and trademarks must be used with permission or under a clear license. Fair-use excerpts should be short, clearly attributed, and linked to the original source. Stock imagery must be licensed for commercial redistribution. Winston may ask for proof of license before a release is approved for distribution.

7. Language, Tone, and Formatting

Releases should read like a news story, not a sales pitch. Leads should answer who, what, when, where, and why in the first two sentences. Headlines should be under 90 characters where possible and should reflect the substance of the story. Releases must be free of excessive capitalization, exclamation marks, and promotional language ("revolutionary", "world-class", "disruptive") unless directly supported by evidence.

8. Corrections, Updates, and Retractions

If a material error is discovered after distribution, the issuer must notify Winston within 24 hours. We will issue a correction or retraction through the same channels the original release was distributed to, at no additional cost. Silent edits to published releases are not permitted — every change is logged and timestamped.

9. Embargoes and Timing

Winston honors embargoed releases submitted with a clearly marked embargo time and date. Embargoed content may be shared with subscribed journalists before the release time under the standard embargo agreement. Breaking an embargo — by the issuer or a recipient — is grounds for suspension from the platform or the journalist network.

10. AI-Generated and AI-Assisted Content

Releases that are drafted, edited, or assisted by generative AI tools are welcome, provided the facts, quotes, and claims are verified by a human author who takes editorial responsibility for the final text. Fully machine-generated releases without human review are not accepted. Synthetic media — AI-generated images, audio, or video of real people or events — must be clearly labeled in the release.

11. Editorial Review and Appeals

Every release is reviewed by a Winston editor before distribution. Review typically completes within two business hours for standard releases and within fifteen minutes for priority financial releases. If a release is rejected, the editor will provide a written explanation and a path to resolution. Issuers may appeal a decision to our Head of Newsroom Partnerships by emailing [email protected].

12. Contact the Editorial Desk

Questions about these guidelines, or about a specific release under review, should go to our editorial team:

Winston News Wire — Editorial Desk
200 West 57th Street, Suite 1400
New York, NY 10019, USA
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +1 (212) 555 0140