Medellín Living’s Editorial Policy

Life requires adjustments. That’s probably why I like baseball so much — all the adjustments the players need to make to be successful. Well, that and all the nerdy math that has become so prevalent in the game.

In building a better Medellín Living blog and, now, iPhone app for our readers, we realize we have to make changes as well.

We also realize, with a following that has grown to more than 100,000 page views per month, we should be clear on everything to avoid any misconceptions about what we are trying to do.

That’s what this post is for. So let’s go through what you can expect from us going forward.

1. We’re not perfect.

Big surprise, right? Just want to put that out there because we know that’s the expectation. Heck, that’s the expectation we have of ourselves. But we are human, and do make mistakes, and will never be perfect.

That said, we will listen to your concerns and try to improve and make corrections when possible to make sure that we continue to be the No. 1 source of information for foreigners in Medellín.

2. We’ll take action.

This ties into No. 1. Last year, one of our contributors wrote a story on dating a Colombian man. In the comments section, the conversation turned toward her use of the word “gringo” in the story.

We responded appropriately in that section, we feel, but we wanted to take it a step further. We are lucky to have a talented young writer working with us named Ximena Restrepo who put together a great story about the word and its origin.

We plan to continue this kind of response to reader concerns, or whatever is appropriate for each situation, going forward.

3. We lean positive.

If you’re looking for hard news, Colombia Reports is your best bet. We’re focusing on the happy news.

Here at Medellín Living, you’ll find the best information on culture, dating, dining, nightlife, even how-to posts such as renting a furnished or unfurnished apartment.

Themes we neither write about nor promote include (but are not limited to): sex tourism, drug use or any actions that will violate Colombian or international law.

Because of our optimistic outlook, we reserve the right to delete comments, either parts of them or in their entirety, that we feel are not constructive toward the mission at Medellín Living, and that’s a key point.

Constructive criticism? We welcome it. Personal attacks? Unacceptable.

4. We encourage participation.

Constructive criticism is not only welcome, it is necessary. A good example of this is the feedback we get on our “Best of Medellín” series, in which we rank everything from parks to pizza.

Medellín is a big city and there’s a chance we might not know every place that deserves a spot in our rankings. That’s where readers enter the picture. We’ve tried dozens of places based on reader recommendations and more often than not, those places have found a way into the “Best of” posts when we make revisions based on new information.

Please continue to share what you enjoy in the city. It’s already proven to be quite beneficial.

5. We value our writers, so they will value our readers (you).

We pay our regular contributors because we value their time, energy and contributions. Compensating our writers is one of the reasons we raise money through our Patreon campaign.

We do not pay for unsolicited guest contributions, however those writers are made aware of this policy up front. In most instances, they are simply seeking a way to voice their experiences and opinions and give something back to the community.

The opinions expressed on Medellín Living are those of the individual writers and not necessarily those of the editors or site.

6. We are transparent.

If we do a story because we were invited to a free meal, tour, etc., we note that at the bottom or explicitly state as much contextually.

Or, sometimes we get something for free after the story, as a show of gratitude. But we had already decided to do the story because we liked the place so our objectivity was not compromised.

We can tell you this with certainty: we’re not going to write about a place or service we don’t like just because they offer something for free.

If you have any comments or questions about our editorial policy, please contact us.

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