About Us
Our Promise
We are true champions of St. Louis. We create purposeful stories and strive to be there in every way to enrich the quality of life for people in our region.About Us
5 On Your Side is a community-minded and trusted local news and media source that has proudly served the St. Louis region since 1947. We have built our legacy on a promise to provide our audiences with the most meaningful and engaging information that will inform and impact their daily lives. As our industry has transformed, we have progressed along with it, yet one thing has remained constant from the start: the well-being of our community and its people is our first priority. We are completely committed to knowing our region inside and out, so we may find the ways to help, guide, advocate for, and serve it. We are driven to sustain what is great about St. Louis while also ensuring its promising future.About TEGNA
5 On Your Side is owned and operated by TEGNA Inc., an innovative media company that serves the greater good of its communities. Across platforms, TEGNA delivers relevant and trusted content by telling empowering stories, conducting impactful investigations and providing innovative and unparalleled solutions for advertisers through TEGNA Marketing Solutions. For more information, visit www.TEGNA.com.
Mission and Coverage Priorities
MISSION
TEGNA’s purpose is to serve the greater good of our communities.
We will provide the news and information that people need to function as effective citizens.
We will seek solutions as well as expose problems and wrongdoing.
We will provide editorial and community leadership.
We will seek to promote understanding of complex issues.
We will be advocates for our communities.
DIVERSE VOICES
At TEGNA, you will find people from all backgrounds, interests and abilities, united by a common purpose to make a difference in our work, our company and our community.
We are committed to making editorial decisions with input from a variety of voices that reflect our community. We seek sufficient understanding of the communities, individuals and stories we cover to inform the public. We are persistent in pursuit of the whole story.
DIVERSITY STAFFING REPORT
At TEGNA, we believe that attracting a talented and diverse workforce is one of the keys to our success. We strive to create for our employees an environment which offers professional and intellectual challenges, which encourages innovation and creativity, and which rewards success and effective teamwork. Read our latest EEO Diversity Report.
Ethics, Standards and Practices
ETHICS
TEGNA is committed to the highest ethical standards and dedicated to the principles of truth, independence, fair play and integrity. These principles apply to everything we do, from gathering content to reporting and producing content. Read TEGNA’s Principles of Ethical Journalism.
TEGNA journalists observe the following principles:
INDEPENDENCE
We will remain free of outside interests, investments, business relationships or personal relationships that may compromise the credibility of our news reports.
We will seek to avoid potential conflicts of interest and promptly disclose any that arise.
We do not accept gifts, meals or entertainment from any individuals or organizations that may be covered by our stations.
We do not allow sponsors of news to determine, change or restrict content.
We do not make political contributions, participate in political advocacy or publicly share political views.
TRANSPARENCY
We are transparent about paid or sponsored content.
We clearly identify and differentiate commentary from news.
We will explain our journalistic processes to our audience.
PUBLIC INTEREST
We will uphold and defend the First Amendment.
We will be vigilant watchdogs of government and institutions that affect the public.
We will fight to insure the public’s business is conducted in public.
FAIRNESS
We will treat people with dignity, respect and compassion.
We will be fair with people unaccustomed to dealing with the media. (*)
We will seek all sides relevant to a story.
(Also diverse voices)
INTEGRITY
We will act honorably, transparently and ethically in dealing with news sources, the public and our colleagues.
We will obey the law.
We will not skew facts, distort reality or sensationalize events (ETHICS).
We will not manipulate images or sound in misleading ways.
We will not present images that are reenacted without informing the audience.
We will use hidden cameras or similar techniques only if there is no other way to tell a significant story effectively, and only with news management approval.
We will respect the copyrights of others.
VERIFICATION & FACT-CHECKING
We report the news accurately, thoroughly and in context on all platforms. We vet sources, verify facts and challenge assumptions before reporting news. We hold factual information on all platforms to the same standards of accuracy.
We are honest. We do not mislead sources, story subjects or the public.
We attribute information received from others, and we are transparent with sourcing. We do not plagiarize.
We do not misstate our identity or intentions. We keep our word.
We do not intentionally slant the news.
We value being right over being fast.
UNNAMED SOURCES
We will use unnamed sources as the sole basis for reporting only as a last resort when it best serves the public’s right to know, and only with prior news management approval.
CORRECTIONS
We will make corrections promptly and proportionate to the original reporting.
CONTACT US
MASTHEAD/EDITORIAL LEADERSHIP
Click here to meet our Editorial Leadership team
ACTIONABLE FEEDBACK
We value feedback from our community, including story ideas as well as comments and corrections on our coverage. Click on the appropriate link below to route your feedback to the correct team in our newsroom.
NEWSROOM CONTACT INFORMATION
Trust Project Participation
TEGNA is proud to be a participant in the Trust Project. The Trust Project is an international consortium of news organizations collaborating to use transparency to build a more trustworthy and trusted press. For more information visit https://thetrustproject.org/.
5 On Your Side History
5 On Your Side has a rich broadcast heritage. We signed on the air in February 1947 as the seventh television station in the country, and since the very beginning we’ve been affiliated with NBC. We were known as KSD in the early years, and were pioneered by the Pulitzer publishing family.Throughout our history, we’ve experience several firsts – we were the first television station on the air in St. Louis (and for six years the only television station in St. Louis), the first station in St. Louis to broadcast in color, the first to broadcast in stereo, and the first to broadcast in HD.
In the mid-1980s, 5 On Your Side was the broadcast home for The Sally Jessy Raphael Show, which was nationally-syndicated. In 2006, we were the eighth station in the United States to broadcast local news and programming in high definition.
During our more than 70 years on the air, we’ve been recognized with hundreds of awards, including regional and national Emmys and Edward R. Murrow Awards. Our community initiative, A Place to Call Home, has also been recognized on a national level.
On September 5, 1995, 5 On Your Side was purchased by Gannett, Co. Inc. In 2015, the broadcast division was spun off and became TEGNA Inc., where 5 On Your Side remains today. To learn more about TEGNA, visit tegna.com.
For all content licensing inquiries, please contact our representatives at TEGNA@nimia.com.
