Who we are

Meridian exists to do one thing well: report what is happening in the world accurately, in plain language, and without fear or favour. We were founded on a simple conviction — that the people who pay for journalism should be the same people it serves. Our readers fund us, and only our readers. That single fact shapes everything else about us.

We are global by design. Our correspondents file from the places a story actually happens, not from a comfortable distance, and we go on covering regions long after the rest of the press has moved on. We are not the loudest newsroom, and we have no wish to be. We would rather be the one you trust when it matters.

Our mission

We report rigorously, source everything, and show our work. Where we can verify a claim, we publish the evidence alongside it; where we cannot, we say so plainly. We do not run on speculation, anonymous insinuation, or the manufactured urgency that passes for news elsewhere. A Meridian story earns your attention by being true and useful, not by being alarming.

We are especially committed to the stories others avoid — the ones that are expensive to report, legally fraught, slow to develop, or simply unfashionable. Independence is worth little if it is not spent on work that needs doing. In practice that means we hold to a few principles:

• Accuracy before speed. We would rather be right and second than first and wrong. When we get something wrong, we correct it openly.
• Sourcing you can check. We cite documents, data and named voices wherever possible, and explain why when we cannot.
• Fairness without false balance. We give people a genuine chance to respond, but we do not split the difference between truth and falsehood.
• Distance from power. No subject is too powerful to scrutinise, and none is too unpopular to treat fairly.

How we are funded

Meridian is paid for by the people who read it. We take no advertising, run no sponsored content, and accept no money that comes with conditions on what we may report. Members and subscribers cover the cost of our journalism directly, which means our only obligation is to them — to be accurate, independent and worth the price.

This model is slower to build than one funded by advertisers or a wealthy owner, and we prefer it that way. When readers are the business, there is no incentive to chase clicks, inflate outrage, or soften a story to keep a sponsor comfortable. The work answers to no one but the people it is written for.

How we stay independent

Independence is not a slogan for us; it is a structure. Meridian has no proprietor who can lean on an editor, no shareholders who expect a return, and no political affiliation, declared or quiet. No funder, member or institution is permitted to see, shape or suppress a story before publication. Editorial decisions rest with the newsroom alone.

We keep that wall standing in concrete ways: we disclose conflicts of interest, decline gifts and paid trips, and separate the people who raise revenue from the people who decide what we cover. If a member ever tries to influence our reporting, the answer is the same as it would be from anyone else — no.

We answer to our readers and to the facts. That is the whole arrangement, and we intend to keep it that simple. The editorial principle Meridian was founded on

Our team

Meridian is a small, deliberately international newsroom of reporters, editors, researchers and fact-checkers spread across the regions we cover. We hire for judgement and persistence as much as for talent, and we give correspondents the time a serious story needs rather than the time a schedule allows.

The newsroom is led by our editor, who holds final responsibility for what we publish and answers for it publicly. Bylines on every story name the people who reported it, and our standards page sets out who we are accountable to and how. If you believe we have got something wrong, we want to hear from you — that is what the corrections page is for.

How to get involved

There are a few ways to be part of this. The most important is the simplest: become a member, and help fund journalism that belongs to its readers.

You can also read how we work in our editorial standards, see how we handle your data in our privacy notice, or simply start with the latest reporting. However you arrived here, thank you for caring where your news comes from. It is the reason we exist.