The Lee Daily Register reports news from Lee County, Virginia, and the surrounding Southwest Virginia region. These are the rules every story follows.
Sourcing
We build stories from primary sources wherever we can: Board of Supervisors and School Board agendas, minutes and recordings; court records; statements from the Sheriff’s Office, Virginia State Police and other agencies; state records such as VDOT, the Virginia Department of Health and the State Board of Elections; and on-the-record interviews. When a fact comes from another outlet’s reporting, we name that outlet and link to it. Every story lists its sources.
Attribution and the presumption of innocence
Every claim names who made it. What police or prosecutors say a person did is reported as an allegation. Stories about criminal charges say that the charges are allegations and that the person is presumed innocent unless proven guilty in court.
Dates and status
Every date includes its year. A status that can change, such as whether a road is closed or a case is still open, is reported as of the time we checked it.
What we do not publish
We do not publish rumors from social media as fact, speculation about people’s private lives, health, deaths or relationships, or headlines that promise something the story does not deliver. We do not identify minors accused of crimes, and we do not publish photos of child victims.
Images
We use photos we took, images released by agencies and organizations for publication, licensed stock photos, and public-domain or Creative Commons images credited to their creators. A stock photo that only illustrates a topic is labeled as illustrative.
Tools
We may use software, including AI tools, to help research and draft stories. A person checks every fact against its source before a story is published and is responsible for what it says.
Corrections and updates
When we get something wrong, we fix it and add a note to the story saying what changed and when. To report an error, see our contact page.