publishingPrinciples

publishingPrinciples · Optional

Appears in

Organization

What is it?

publishingPrinciples links a publisher, organization, or individual to a document describing their editorial principles and publishing practices. This includes ethics policies, diversity commitments, correction procedures, and the editorial values that govern how they produce and distribute content.

The field accepts either a URL pointing to the principles document or a CreativeWork object. It is applicable to any publishing entity, from major news organizations to individual bloggers, but its primary use is in the journalism and media sector.

Why this matters for AEO

Editorial transparency is a foundational trust signal for AI systems evaluating news and information sources. When AI answer engines decide which sources to cite or surface in response to queries about current events, they weight sources that demonstrate verifiable accountability. publishingPrinciples provides a machine-readable pointer to the document where a publisher makes its editorial commitments explicit and public. For Google's news-related features, this field is part of a cluster of Trust Project properties designed to distinguish accountable journalism from content lacking editorial standards. Publishers that declare publishingPrinciples give AI systems a direct path to their accountability documentation rather than relying on inference from unstructured content.

What the specs say

Schema.org:publishingPrinciples expects a CreativeWork or URL. It points to a document describing the editorial principles of an Organization or individual as they relate to their activities as a publisher, including ethics or diversity policies. [Source: https://schema.org/publishingPrinciples]

Google: Not mentioned directly in the Organization structured data documentation. [https://developers.google.com/search/docs/appearance/structured-data/organization]

How to find your value

Your publishing principles document may already exist under various names:

• Editorial standards and practices
• Newsroom standards guide
• Publishing ethics policy
• Editorial code of conduct
• Standards and ethics document

If your organization does not have a standalone publishing principles page, create one. It should address how editorial decisions are made, how conflicts of interest are handled, source verification standards, and how errors are corrected.

Format and code

Simple URL form:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
  "name": "The New York Times",
  "url": "https://www.nytimes.com",
  "publishingPrinciples": "https://www.nytimes.com/editorial-standards/ethical-journalism.html"
}

CreativeWork object form:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
  "name": "NPR",
  "url": "https://www.npr.org",
  "publishingPrinciples": {
    "@type": "CreativeWork",
    "name": "NPR Ethics Handbook",
    "url": "https://www.npr.org/about-npr/688766551/npr-ethics-handbook"
  }
}

Combined with related policy fields:

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
  "name": "The Guardian",
  "url": "https://www.theguardian.com",
  "publishingPrinciples": "https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/aug/06/guardian-editorial-standards",
  "ethicsPolicy": "https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/aug/06/guardian-editorial-standards",
  "correctionsPolicy": "https://www.theguardian.com/info/corrections-and-clarifications",
  "masthead": "https://www.theguardian.com/info/2015/aug/06/guardian-editorial-standards"
}

Webflow implementation

Static pages

Add publishingPrinciples to your NewsMediaOrganization or Organization JSON-LD block on your homepage or About page via Page Settings > Custom Code. The URL will rarely change, making static implementation appropriate.

CMS template pages

This is an organization-level field, not a page-level field. Implement on static pages rather than CMS templates.

In Schema HQ

Inside Schema HQ, the organization schema editor exposes publishingPrinciples as a URL field. Enter the URL of your editorial standards document, and Schema HQ includes it in the organization's published JSON-LD.

Real examples

Associated Press :

{
  "@context": "https://schema.org",
  "@type": "NewsMediaOrganization",
  "name": "The Associated Press",
  "url": "https://apnews.com",
  "publishingPrinciples": "https://www.ap.org/about/news-values-and-principles/",
  "masthead": "https://www.ap.org/about/"
}

Related fields

• masthead
• ethicsPolicy
• correctionsPolicy
• diversityPolicy
• unnamedSourcesPolicy

FAQ

Is publishingPrinciples a sub-property or parent of other policy fields?

publishingPrinciples is the broadest of the editorial policy fields. Properties like ethicsPolicy, correctionsPolicy, and unnamedSourcesPolicy can be considered more specific sub-policies that fall under the umbrella of publishing principles. You can use all of them together: a broad publishingPrinciples URL pointing to a comprehensive standards document, plus more specific fields for individual policy areas.

Can non-news organizations use publishingPrinciples?

Yes. Schema.org defines publishingPrinciples for Organization, Person, and CreativeWork, not only for NewsMediaOrganization. Any entity that publishes content, from a content marketing agency to an individual blogger, can declare its publishing principles. The field is simply more common and more impactful in news contexts because Google's news features recognize it.

How long should a publishing principles document be?

There is no minimum length requirement. Large news organizations publish comprehensive standards handbooks. Smaller publishers may use a one-page editorial policy statement. What matters is that the document is genuinely informative about editorial decision-making, not a generic placeholder page created only to satisfy a structured data requirement.