WTAE

Hearst Television's purpose is based on service, with an aim to provide quality news and information to the local television markets that it serves. Hearst Television says it is passionate about truthful, independent, fair and non-biased reporting of stories and issues that impact the communities it serves. Hearst Television stations work to be leaders in the markets they serve.

Hearst Television news platforms strive to find the truth, maintain independence, ensure accuracy and report with ethics. As part of its ethics policy, the news platforms of Hearst are committed  to checking facts, questioning information, providing context and remaining transparent with its reporting, affiliations and potential conflicts of interest. It operates independently and without influence of outside organizations or internal pressures.

Hearst Television, and its parent organization Hearst Corporation, is privately owned by the Hearst family and managed by a board of trustees. It is a multinational corporation, diversified into television, magazines, newspapers, trade publications, online media, real estate, finance and more. Hearst Television affiliates operate with editorial independence.

Hearst Television does not discriminate based on age, gender, race, religion, sexual orientation or disabilities. Hearst Television says it believes differences among its teams allow those teams to offer relevant, reflective and meaningful news coverage to the communities they serve in its 26 different local television markets.

Hearst Television says its platforms are committed to accuracy and transparency in reporting. Once mistakes are identified, the policy states changes are quickly made to acknowledge and address errors. Stories published to their platform websites note when a correction has been made.

Hearst Television says it does not rely single sources and avoids using unnamed sources unless necessary to protect the source from the threat of retaliation.