Editorial Statement

At Ausdroid Media Pty Ltd (Ausdroid), our core mission is to report on technology news and publish reviews of interest to an Australian audience. Born from a desire to bring quality tech news to Australians in an environment where overseas sources were the best we had, Ausdroid delivers a broad, quality coverage today of all things smartphones, gadgets, accessories and more.

As a media outlet, we have created this editorial statement to guide our work, our interactions with our audience, the public relations industry, and of course the brands which make the gear we love to talk about.

This editorial statement applies to all who write for Ausdroid Media properties, from the top down.

Reviewed: July 2019.

We work collaboratively

Ausdroid works collaboratively as a whole with our contacts in PR agencies, within brands and in the tech space generally. Individually, we work collaboratively with each other and present a unified approach.

We write and act with professionalism, courtesy and respect

In every interaction we have with agencies, brands, and amongst ourselves, we act with professionalism, courtesy and respect. We will be friendly and amicable, whether we’re discussing something lighthearted or something serious like a defective product or an issue which may prevent a review being published.

We undertake to do the same in our reporting; we keep it professional, cordial and respectful.

We acknowledge that we are in a privileged position

Not everyone gets given products and services to review, in many cases for free or at a greatly reduced cost. We acknowledge that receiving free stuff is pretty cool, but it comes with an obligation – to review impartially and honestly – we don’t sell our opinions to the highest bidder. Our reviews will always reflect the honest opinion of the respective authors.

Equally, we take nothing for granted. Just because we’ve received review devices in the past doesn’t mean we’re entitled to (or expect to) receive them in the future. Every time a brand or agency asks us to review a product, we’re appreciative of the opportunity given and review it properly.

We Don’t Sell Phones, Tablets or Computers

While we do have partnerships with some of our advertisers, we don’t sell any of the devices ourselves. If you have problems with a device, that has nothing to do with us — contact the people you purchased it from. If you contact us, we may be able to point you in the right direction, but unfortunately we cannot provide technical support.

We Show Advertising, But We Don’t Hide It

Ausdroid Media pays for its activities by selling ad spaces whether it be directly to an advertising client, or through a third-party ad provider such as Google Adsense. Advertising of this kind is placed in clearly indicated, typical advertising spaces. While you can block these using an ad blocker, we ask that you don’t, because this is quite literally our income. It doesn’t cost you anything to allow us to get paid.

While we may sell post space, this is a very rare occurrence and we always clearly identify a paid or sponsored post as such.

We Respect Our Sources

Ausdroid obtains news content and materials from a wide range of sources. Some of those sources wish to remain anonymous and we will honour that without any exception. We offer various means for sources to contact Ausdroid so that anonymity and security can be guaranteed if needed.

We will not pay to receive information and we will not probe for information where we feel it’s not appropriate. If we seek information, we will set out what information we know (provided it can be disclosed), and what information we’re seeking to know.

Ausdroid Media requires all its staff to appropriately cite sources where anonymity is not requested. We will not post other people’s work and claim it as our own.

We make fair use of materials published elsewhere

Quite often, Ausdroid reports news that has been sourced elsewhere (see above). That reporting may include the use of imagery, information, documents or other materials. In carrying out its core function of reporting news, Ausdroid carries out “fair dealing” with these materials.

This means, in keeping with copyright law, we may use material for the purpose of reporting news, and that our use will be fair in that context. Fairness is determined on a case by case basis, but generally, will have regard to the following criteria:

  • The source we have identified will be acknowledged – this will occur within the content of the news report produced. The manner of that identification will be determined by us.
  • How much of the material is used. Where a sequence of images, documents or other materials is referred to, Ausdroid may reproduce a smaller subset of those materials and refer readers to where the full set or other information can be obtained.
  • The effect on the market or value of the material. As noted above, we will generally not reproduce the entirety of copyright material (or assumed to be copyright material), and we will not seek to detract from the original source(s) of information.

We Conduct Ourselves Well

When appearing at public and private events, Ausdroid Media staff will act professionally and appropriately.

If a company or PR agency offers hospitality (e.g. invitation to attend a meal, a Christmas function, or a briefing) there’s a good chance we’ll go if we’re able to. If we report on the event – because a product is announced, for example – we will disclose that we have received hospitality at the launch event. Just because we’ve been wined and dined doesn’t mean we’ll put a positive spin on a bad product – we will still deliver our honest opinion, good or bad.

We Can Do Professional Appearances

Ausdroid Media staff are sometimes approached by other media companies to appear as a representative of Ausdroid to speak about something Android or tech related. The appearances do not constitute endorsements of any products and/or services that are all talked about. Media appearances are, however, enjoyed by Ausdroid staff and we’re always happy to do them.

We Accept Review Units / Services

Ausdroid receives review units (phones, tablets, accessories, apps, cars etc) from many sources, which might include manufacturers directly, public relations firms, carriers, importers or units that we have purchased ourselves (either as Ausdroid Media, or in limited cases, individually).

Our reviews will be about the device as we see it, there will be no positive or negative spin put on the review that can’t be backed up.

If a review unit is sent to us in hopes that we’ll review it, we can choose whether or not we will review it. We do not accept every review request that we receive, for reasons of time, cost or conditions that we cannot meet. If we cannot review a device, we will always offer to return it so it can be distributed elsewhere.

In many cases, Ausdroid is provided review units and offered the opportunity to keep them after the review is completed. Staff are required to notify Ausdroid’s director of the offer, and a decision will be made about what to do with the review unit. Ausdroid may:

  • Decline the offer to keep the unit and arrange its return.
  • Accept the offer, and keep the review unit as a ‘pool’ device to be shared among staff.
  • Accept the offer, and give the review device away by means of a competition (with the consent of the brand or company concerned).
  • Accept the offer, and allow the reviewing writer to retain the unit for personal use.

Where a device is kept by Ausdroid following a review, this will be disclosed in the body of the review itself, and a register of such devices is kept by Ausdroid. The decision to allow a reviewer to keep a reviewed device is made after the review, and not before – a review should be impartially written, not favourably written in the hope of keeping the device afterwards.

Sometimes we will review a device / accessory / app that an Ausdroid Media writer has purchased for themselves or that Ausdroid Media has purchased for them. This will also be disclosed.

We Sometimes Do Giveaways

We love to have a giveaway every now as a way of thanking our readers and for a bit of fun. The products to be given away are usually provided by a third-party free of charge as a way of gaining exposure for themselves. Ausdroid does also purchase items to give away from time to time.

The fact that we’re giving away products should not be considered an endorsement of those products (though we do endeavour not to giveaway things that we wouldn’t want to have ourselves).

Ausdroid staff and their immediate family members are not usually eligible to enter giveaways.

We Reserve The Right To An Editorial Opinion

Every now and then an Ausdroid staff member will write an editorial piece which is wholly their own opinion. Any opinion expressed should not be seen as approved opinion by Ausdroid Media or an endorsement on Ausdroid Media’s (or Ausdroid Media’s partners) behalf.