Ethics, Standards & Corrections

Mission statement

Real Fix’s mission is to publish amazing real-life stories as told by the people who lived those stories.

Real-Fix is a trading style of SWNS Media Group Ltd.

Real journalism

SWNS was built on the values of ‘real journalism’. We believe in real reporters, photographers and videographers being on the ground – not just on a computer.

We use the best of modern technology and social media to enhance traditional journalism. We are on the scene, we speak to people, we hear their stories first-hand.

This approach produces the most detailed and trustworthy editorial content which resonates with audiences and drives engagement.

We are also passionate about the cause of proper journalism and protecting the ecosystem of news which plays such an important role in society.

For this reason we are active members of the Society of Editors and the National Association of Press Agencies (NAPA).

Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO)

All of our editorial staff are trained in – and adhere to – the standards and code of conduct set out by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO).

The Directors of SWNS were also integral to the establishment of the Local Democracy Reporting Service in 2018, which saw up to 150 reporters deployed into local councils across the UK, and we continue to lobby for systemic changes to support the news industry.

We also believe in protecting the rights of media and content owners. That’s why we started our news syndication service a decade ago, and why we correctly licence every image or video we distribute (apart from the ones we produce ourselves).

You can read more about our syndication, licencing and distribution services here

Ethics policy & Complaints

(This represents a synthesis of Real-Fix policies and is not meant to be comprehensive).

These policies are meant to guide Real Fix journalism as we deliver news and information in a rapidly changing media environment. We consider these guidelines to be a “living document” that we will continually modify and update based on feedback from our journalists, from our readers, and from our perceptions of our changing needs. Because the circumstances under which information is obtained and reported vary widely from one case to the next, these guidelines should not be understood as establishing hard and fast rules or as covering every situation that might arise.

We are committed to resolving complaints from readers, contributors or members of the public swiftly and fairly.

All of our editorial staff are trained to adhere to the Editor’s Code of Conduct set out by the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO). This can viewed here https://www.ipso.co.uk/editors-code-of-practice/

We also operate a stringent licensing system which respects the copyright of content creators and owners.

If you believe we have breached these principles and wish to make a complaint you should firstly contact the news editor of the local SWNS office which has produced the content in question. The Real Fix / SWNS reporter has handled your story will be able to advise you who this is. Contact details can be found here.

Photographic or video queries should be submitted to our central image desk at pix@swns.com

If the matter cannot be resolved locally it will be escalated to the senior management or Directors at our company headquarters in Bristol.

A full copy of our complaints procedure can be obtained by emailing our central newsdesk news@swns.com.

Complaints Policy & Procedure

We are committed to resolving complaints from readers or members of the public swiftly and fairly. If you have a complaint please make contact with the news editor of the local SWNS office which has produced the content in question. The SWNS reporter or photographer who has handled your story
will be able to advise you who this is.

If the matter cannot be resolved locally it will be escalated to the senior management or Directors at our company headquarters in Bristol. Our complaints procedure is as follows:

  1. On receipt of a complaint, the local editor will ask you to explain your complaint in an email. Please provide as much detail as possible, including any written correspondence that is available.
  2. The local editor will investigate the complaint. This will involve talking the issue through with the complainant and the reporter involved in the story.
  3. All shorthand notes, audio recordings, email correspondence and any other corroborating evidence will be gathered by the local editor.
  4. All active promotion or marketing promotion of the material in question – be it words, images or video – will cease while the complaint is being investigated.
  5. The local editor should respond to your complainant with his/her findings within 48 hours of the initial complaint being made. If this is not possible you will be informed of the delay and given an estimate of when a reasonable response can be made.
  6. If you are still not satisfied with the answers provided by the local editor, the issue will be escalated to the Bristol office.
  7. To escalate your complaint you should email complaints@swns.com.
  8. Local editors who have been handling the complaint up until this point will forward all correspondence and evidence to the senior manager or Director who is now handling the issue.
  9. The senior manager or Director assigned to the complaint will then email you to confirm that the matter has been escalated and they are now handling the issue.
  10. SWNS will aim to reply to you within five working days of the issue being escalated.
  11. The senior manager or Director will then write to you with his/her findings.
  12. Where appropriate, an offer will be made to settle the issue.
  13. If the complaint is upheld then the material in question – be it words, pictures or video – will be permanently deleted from all SWNS archives if this is requested by the complainant. SWNS will also make all reasonable efforts to have the material removed from all the platforms of our publisher clients.
  14. If this offer is not acceptable and no amicable agreement can be reached, you will be advised to contact IPSO if the complaint is in regards to a published article.
  15. Any other matters that cannot be settled by this stage will be referred to our legal representatives. The complainant or his/her legal representatives will be advised to write to
    ours outlining their complaint.
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