Editorial Policy

Our Mission

Sport Syntax delivers timely, accurate sports coverage with a focus on clarity and transparency. We cover the NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, and MLS with the goal of helping fans understand what happened, why it matters, and what to watch next. Every article we publish is designed to inform, not to sensationalize.

Sourcing & Verification

Accuracy begins with sourcing. We prioritize primary sources such as official team statements, league press releases, credentialed beat reporters, and verified social media accounts from teams and players. When we reference external reporting, we link directly to the original source so readers can verify details independently.

Our sourcing standards include:

• Primary sources first - Official team and league announcements are always preferred over secondary reporting.
• Named attribution - We attribute information to its original reporter or outlet whenever possible.
• Multiple-source verification - For major transactions, injuries, and breaking news, we cross-reference multiple credible sources before publishing.
• Direct linking - Every article includes links to original reporting in a dedicated "Sources & Original Reporting" section.

Content Types

We publish several types of content, each with different standards:

• Breaking News - Time-sensitive updates on trades, injuries, signings, and major developments. These may be shorter initially and are expanded as more details become available. Breaking articles are clearly labeled.
• News Analysis - Longer-form articles (typically 800+ words) that provide context, historical comparisons, and expert interpretation of sports events.
• Injury Reports - Verified injury updates sourced from official team injury reports, press conferences, and credentialed reporters. We avoid speculation about recovery timelines unless supported by medical reporting.
• Trade & Transaction Coverage - Coverage of confirmed deals, including contract details, roster impact analysis, and salary cap implications when available.

AI Assistance & Human Oversight

Sport Syntax uses artificial intelligence as a tool in the content creation process. Our approach combines the speed of AI-assisted drafting with quality-control mechanisms designed to maintain editorial standards.

Here is how our editorial workflow operates:

1. News gathering - Our system monitors official sports news sources including ESPN, team announcements, and credentialed reporters for newsworthy developments.
2. Importance scoring - Each news item is evaluated for newsworthiness based on timeliness, entity relevance, event significance, and source credibility. Only items meeting our quality threshold proceed to content generation.
3. AI-assisted drafting - An AI writer agent generates an initial draft based on verified source material, following our style guidelines and editorial standards.
4. Automated editorial review - A separate AI editor agent reviews each draft for accuracy, clarity, completeness, and adherence to our standards. The editor provides feedback and the writer revises accordingly. This review loop may iterate multiple times.
5. Confidence scoring - The editor assigns a confidence score to each article. Articles meeting our high-confidence threshold are published automatically. Articles below that threshold are queued for human editorial review before publication.
6. Ongoing monitoring - Published articles are monitored for developing stories. When new information becomes available, articles are updated with clear notation of changes.

All AI-generated content is identified as such. We believe transparency about our process is essential to maintaining reader trust.

Content Quality Standards

Every article published on Sport Syntax is expected to meet the following standards:

• Factual accuracy based on verified sources
• Clear attribution of all claims and statistics
• Proper context for developing stories
• Readable, well-structured prose with appropriate headings
• No misleading headlines or clickbait framing
• Minimum word counts for each content type (news analysis articles target 800+ words)

Articles that fall below our standard word count are labeled as "briefs" and are excluded from search engine indexing until expanded.

Updates & Corrections

Sports news evolves quickly. We update coverage as new facts emerge and clearly note significant updates within articles. Updated articles display a "Last updated" timestamp and version history.

If an error is identified, whether by our team or by a reader, we correct it promptly and document the change within the article. Our correction process includes:

• Correcting the factual error in the article text
• Adding a correction note describing what was changed
• Updating the article's modification timestamp

Please visit our corrections page to report an error or request a clarification.

Independence

Sport Syntax maintains full editorial independence. We do not accept compensation for coverage, and editorial decisions are made independently of advertising or sponsorship considerations. Advertising displayed on the Site is clearly distinguishable from editorial content and does not influence our reporting.

Contact

Questions about our editorial standards or process? We welcome feedback from readers and fellow journalists. Reach us at editorial@sport-syntax.com.