These Terms of Service (“Terms”) are an agreement between The Sunlight Research Center, a Delaware 501(c)(3) non-profit corporation, and newsrooms who are our Members. 

 

When you sign up to receive our services, you become a Member and acknowledge and agree that you understand and agree to these Terms, that you have the authority to bind your organization to these Terms, and that you are legally able to enter into this agreement. You also agree to transact with us electronically and that any notice we send or display to you electronically will have the same legal effect as a notice in writing. 

 

If you have any questions about these Terms, you can reach us at hello@sunlightsearch.net. Please read these Terms carefully. If you do not agree to any part of these Terms, please do not become a Member of Sunlight Research Center.

 

SERVICES AND FEES

Sunlight Research Center will provide you, as a Member, with the services you sign up to receive through our website or otherwise.

 

You agree to pay the non-refundable fees for our services that we specify when you become a Member or change the level of your membership. Each year, we may increase our fees and charges by the most recent annual percentage increase in consumer prices for services as measured by the United States Consumer Price Index by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics entitled “All Services Less Rent of Shelter” or a similar index should such index no longer be published.

 

NEWSROOM COLLABORATIONS 

Relationship and Obligations

• Members that collaborate  with Sunlight Research Center agree to work with us to produce high-quality, fact-based journalism.

• Communication between Members and Sunlight Research Center will be responsive and maintained throughout the research collaboration. 

• Sunlight Research Center will provide background research and data analysis for Members’ stories, and Members will have responsibility for all content they publish.

• Sunlight Research Center expects Members to adhere  to the highest ethical standards and ensure the integrity and reliability of information they provide to the public.

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Collaboration Standards

• We will not enter into collaborations that compromise our ethical, content, and reporting standards or create the appearance of a conflict of interest. This includes collaborations with Members who have a financial or political interest in a story’s outcome.
   

• Sunlight Research Center is committed to transparency in all of its work and requires disclosure of all collaborators on news stories that use our research. Sunlight Research Center should be identified clearly following the byline or at the end of the report on news products that use our research, including a hyperlink to our website. 

• Examples of appropriate credits include: “Research and data analysis by Sunlight Research Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization,” “Public records supplied by Jane Smith of Sunlight Research Center” and “With research contributions from Sunlight Research Center, a nonprofit, nonpartisan research organization.” 

• Members will also disclose to Sunlight and in the final content any financial support for a collaboration that uses Sunlight Research Center research.

 

Project Requests and Deliverables

What We Need from You:

• Your Sunlight Research Desk Newsroom Request form.

• A brief intake call to discuss your project needs and timeline. 

 

What You Can Expect from Us:

• Confirmation: Within 48 hours of receiving your request, we will begin assessing whether we can meet your research needs within your timeline and respond to you by email to arrange a time to discuss the project.

• Timely Delivery: Once we confirm the assignment, we will provide the completed research by the agreed deadline and in the format you expect.

• Clear Communication: If there are any delays or changes, we will keep you updated and explain the situation. If your needs or the scope of research change, you will keep us informed.

• Confidentiality: We will treat all research requests and findings with the utmost confidentiality. We will not share details about your requests or the specific focus of your research with anyone outside our team. 

• Outcome Expectations: We will do our best to research your request thoroughly. We cannot guarantee that the results will align with what you hope to find. Sometimes, the information simply may not exist or may not confirm initial assumptions.

 

Editorial Standards and Review

• Members are ultimately responsible for the content of their articles. Sunlight Research Center’s work product undergoes internal editorial review. 

• If an error in Sunlight Research Center’s work is identified, we will take immediate action to alert the relevant Member and correct any incorrect information. 

• As part of our commitment to accuracy and reliability, we will fact-check the portions of content that use our research before publication and require changes if they do not align with our research outcomes.

• We adhere to a rigorous standard of evidence and sourcing. Where possible, we will verify all information we provide through multiple credible sources, and we will communicate any limitations or uncertainties in the research.

 

Ethics and Integrity

• Sunlight Research Center is committed to adhering to the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics. 

• Sunlight Research Center operates with editorial independence. We do not allow funders, partners, or external influences to dictate the direction or conclusions of our research.

 

Additional Considerations

• All collaborations are subject to review and approval by Sunlight Research Center management.

• Sunlight Research Center believes in promoting transparency. We encourage our Members to share with their audiences how the information they report was obtained, which helps build trust and credibility.

• Sunlight Research Center will not provide copies of materials from specific proprietary databases, such as LexisNexis, but may include information gathered from those sources in our work product. In those instances, we will attribute the information to “a proprietary database” or use similar language.

• Sunlight Research Center reserves the right to withdraw from a collaboration if its standards, ethics, or independence are, or could become, compromised.

 

BILLING AND PAYMENT

Annual Memberships

• On each one-year anniversary of your membership, your membership will auto-renew, and we will collect your annual membership fee for the following year by billing the payment method on file. If you do not wish to renew your membership, you will notify us at least 30 days before the anniversary of your initial term or any renewal term.

• You may change the level of your membership at any time by giving us 30 days notice. If you move to a membership with a lower annual fee, we will refund the difference or credit your account within 30 days. If you move to a membership with a higher annual fee, we will collect the difference for the rest of the term on a pro-rata basis. 

• You may also cancel your membership at any time by giving us 30 days notice. If you cancel your membership, we will refund your annual fee on a pro rata basis, minus a 15% cancellation fee to help defray the costs associated with your cancellation.     

 

Monthly Memberships

• On each one-month anniversary of your membership, your membership will auto-renew, and we will collect your monthly membership fee for the following month by billing the payment method on file. If you do not wish to renew your membership, you will notify us at least 14 days before the billing date. 

• You may change the level of your membership at any time. If you move to a membership with a lower monthly fee, we will refund the difference or credit your account within 30 days. If you move to a membership with a higher monthly fee, we will collect the difference for the rest of the month on a pro-rata basis.

 

• We do not offer partial refunds of monthly fees.

 

Payment Platform and Fees

• We will collect payment from you using our payments platform when you become a Member and on each annual or monthly (depending on your plan) anniversary of your membership, and we will email you an invoice for your records. You are responsible for keeping your payment method updated on our payments platform. 

• If we are unable to collect payment from you, we may suspend your access to the services and charge you a $50 fee. You will pay all collections expenses, including attorneys’ fees and court costs, if we seek payment from you through collections. We may charge a fee of up to 3% for credit card payments.

 

SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS

• In the event that we undergo a merger, sale, or other business combination, these Terms will ensure to the benefit of our successors and assigns. We will notify you of any such event within 30 days after the event.

 

DISPUTE RESOLUTION

• If a dispute related to this agreement cannot be settled through direct discussions, the parties will endeavor first to settle the dispute by mediation administered by the American Arbitration Association under its Commercial Mediation Procedures.

• Any dispute that cannot be settled through mediation will be settled by arbitration in New York, NY, administered by the American Arbitration Association in accordance with its Commercial Arbitration Rules, and the arbitrator(s) may enter judgment on the award rendered in any court with jurisdiction. The arbitration will be governed by the laws of the State of New York. Each party will bear its own costs and expenses and an equal share of the arbitrators’ and administrative fees of arbitration. Except as may be required by law, neither a party nor an arbitrator may disclose the existence, content, or results of any arbitration hereunder without the prior written consent of both parties.

• If mediation and arbitration are insufficient to settle a dispute, all litigation arising out of these Terms will be commenced in New York, NY, and the parties consent to the jurisdiction and venue of the state and federal courts of New York, NY. New York law will guide the interpretation of these Terms.

 

NOTICES

• We will send you notices due under these Terms and other information via the email address(es) you provide to us. If your contact information changes, you will notify us via email at hello@sunlightresearch.net. 

• You may email any written notice due to us under these terms to hello@sunlightsearch.net.

 

MUTUAL LIMITATION OF LIABILITY

• NEITHER PARTY WILL BE LIABLE TO THE OTHER FOR DAMAGES, AND THE PARTIES HEREBY RELEASE EACH OTHER FROM ANY LIABILITY FOR ANY AND ALL KINDS OF DAMAGES ARISING UNDER ANY THEORY OF LEGAL LIABILITY, TO THE FULLEST 

• EXTENT THAT WE MAY LEGALLY AGREE TO RELEASE EACH OTHER FROM LIABILITY FOR SUCH DAMAGES. 

 

INDEMNIFICATION

• You acknowledge that you have legal responsibility for all information you publish, including information you develop using our services, regardless of whether you cite Sunlight Research Center as the source of information. You shall therefore indemnify, defend and hold harmless us, our successors and assigns, officers, directors, employees, agents, and vendors from and against any and all third-party claims, demands, suits, or proceedings, and any and all actual damages, costs, expenses (including, without limitation, reasonable attorneys’ fees and court costs) arising or resulting from, or otherwise in connection with, your use of our services. 

 

FORCE MAJEURE

• Neither party will be responsible for any delay or failure to perform any part of these Terms caused by events beyond its reasonable control and without negligence by the party claiming excusable delay or failure to perform, such as acts of God, war or terrorism; extraordinary acts of the countries in which the parties operate or any state, territory or political subdivision thereof; fires, storms, floods, epidemics, pandemics, riots, work stoppages, strikes, embargoes, government restrictions, and adverse weather or events of nature.

 

NO WAIVER

• The failure of either party to insist in one or more cases upon the strict performance of any of these Terms will not be construed as a waiver or subsequent breach of the same or any other term; nor will any delay or omission by either party to seek a remedy for any breach of these Terms be deemed a waiver by either party of its remedies or rights with respect to such a breach except as otherwise provided herein.

 

SEVERABILITY

• If any of the provisions of these Terms become invalid, illegal or unenforceable in any respect, the validity, legality and enforceability of the remaining provisions will not in any way be impacted.

 

SURVIVAL

• All provisions of these Terms relating to payment and dispute resolution will remain in effect after you are no longer using the services.

 

ENTIRE AGREEMENT

• These Terms, and any other terms you agree to when you become a member or from time to time as outlined in these Terms, constitute the entire agreement between us unless otherwise agreed to in a writing signed by both parties.

 

CHANGES TO THESE TERMS

• We reserve the right to update these Terms from time to time. When we update these Terms, we will change the Effective Date at the top. Please visit these Terms periodically to check for updates. Your continued use of our services means that you understand and agree to any updates to these Terms.​