HISTORY LOVES COMPANY · OUR EDITORIAL PROMISE
Good stories deserve
good evidence.
History is worth telling beautifully. It is also worth getting right. Here is how we approach sources, memories, images, and corrections.
Published September 21, 2026 · Editor: Chris Hubel
History Loves Company begins in Detroit and Michigan, then follows documented connections outward. These standards guide new work and ongoing improvements to our archive. They do not mean every older story has completed a fresh review.
Start with evidence
We prioritize original records, archives, maps, photographs, contemporary reporting, and scholarship. Museums and historical organizations help us locate and interpret that evidence. We link sources near important claims and include further reading when available.
A date, quotation, address, or contested claim deserves a traceable source. When evidence conflicts or remains incomplete, we explain the uncertainty.
Keep people in the story
Buildings and objects matter because people lived, worked, organized, created, and made choices around them. We seek perspectives beyond famous owners and celebrated architects, including the people affected by displacement, exclusion, and change.
Personal recollection is valuable evidence of an experience. We distinguish a contributor’s memory from independently verified historical facts.
Credit what you see
Historical images should identify their creator or collection, date or approximate date, source, and applicable permission or license when known. We keep dates beside modern photographs so they are not mistaken for current conditions.
Colorization, restoration, composite images, and reconstructions must be labeled. A visualization is an interpretation, not a newly discovered historical photograph.
Be transparent about AI
AI-assisted research or drafting does not replace source checking or editorial judgment. Generated quotations, eyewitness accounts, and archival documents must never be presented as genuine evidence.
If AI materially reconstructs a scene, voice, or image, we label that use where the audience encounters it. The named editor remains responsible for the published work.
Respect a contribution
Sharing a lead starts a conversation. It does not automatically grant permission to publish a person’s name, recording, or family photograph. Before publication, we confirm credit, permission, and any limits with the contributor.
Only send material you own or have permission to share. Keep originals, identify people where possible, and mark approximate dates as approximate. Avoid sending sensitive personal records through a public form.
Make relationships clear
History Loves Company also connects to Chris Hubel’s real-estate work, The Foundry, books, and a vendor directory. Commercial links should be recognizable. Paid collaborations and material relationships should be disclosed beside the relevant content.
A researched contractor listing is distinct from an HLC-approved vendor. Inclusion is not a guarantee of work quality or a substitute for a homeowner’s own due diligence.
HELP US KEEP THE RECORD STRAIGHT
A correction is part of the story.
Spotted an error or a missing perspective? Send the page URL, the passage or video timestamp, what you believe needs changing, and a supporting source if you have one.
Our standard is to acknowledge substantive corrections on the affected page, explain what changed, and date the note. Small spelling or formatting fixes may be made without a separate correction notice. New information should be identified as an update, with the original publication date preserved.
