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Summary

inferred The operating model follows from the pipeline: if every published claim must be defensible on the record, then the binding constraint is not production capacity but verification capacity. A model sized for verification rather than output is smaller and slower than a conventional newsroom.

The minimum roles

Role Function Why it cannot be dropped
Editor Owns the claim-status call at gate 3 Someone must be accountable for the documented/inferred/contested decision
Reporter(s) Document-first sourcing outside the clubs The pipeline depends on documents, not briefings
Verifier Independent check of gate 2 and gate 4 Self-verification is not verification
Legal reviewer Secrets, defence-zone and defamation exposure Documented litigation risk
Distribution lead Video, newsletter, syndication The medium decision is a strategic one, not an afterthought
Corrections owner Maintains the public log The corrections log is the defensive asset

inferred In a two-person start, the editor and verifier must be different people even if both also report — the separation is the product.

Cadence

inferred Because the sourcing routes are document-based rather than briefing-based, the natural cadence is fewer, larger, slower pieces with a steady video/newsletter presence in between, rather than a continuous news feed. A news feed would put the outlet in direct competition with aggregators on a metric it cannot win.2

Deliberate omissions

  • No attempt to join kisha clubs (documented to fail).2
  • No broadcast licence unless a specific reason justifies importing the lever.
  • No advertising-primary revenue.
  • No 24/7 news operation.

Links

Footnotes

  1. Kingston, Asia-Pacific Journal (2023) — the harassment climate that makes staff protection an operating requirement. ↩

  2. McNeill, East Asia Forum (2024) — sourcing outside the clubs, investigative weeklies as the model, the kisha-club access limits. ↩↩

  3. Bundle charter — the claim-status policy this model operationalises. ↩