Take a seat.
Jack Lack’s Listening Chair is an independent publishing platform. It exists to give voice to the experience of retirement and ageing — through considered Commentaries and honest Interviews — and to do so with integrity, care, and a clear editorial conscience.
This Editorial Policy sets out the principles and standards that govern everything published on this website. It is addressed to readers, to interviewees, to contributors, and to anyone who wants to understand how this platform operates and why.
1. Editorial Independence
Jack Lack’s Listening Chair is entirely independent. It is operated by CORMS Ltd on behalf of the Tamaroa Trust and is not affiliated with any commercial, political, religious, or institutional interest.
No content on this website is sponsored, paid for, or editorially influenced by any advertiser, brand, organisation, or external party. If that position ever changes, it will be disclosed clearly and prominently.
The views expressed in Commentaries are those of the author writing as Jack Lack. They do not represent the views of any organisation, employer, or professional body, past or present.
2. The Jack Lack Persona
Jack Lack is an editorial construct — a considered persona through which the author engages with the subjects of retirement, ageing, and the texture of a life examined. The persona is designed to be warm, unhurried, and genuinely curious; a listener as much as a voice.
The author behind Jack Lack is a private individual. That identity is not concealed from participants or from anyone who makes a reasonable enquiry, but it is not foregrounded in the published content. The persona itself carries the editorial responsibility.
Jack Lack’s Listening Chair is designed so that the platform can, in principle, continue beyond any single author. The editorial standards described in this Policy are therefore attached to the platform, not merely to the individual who currently operates it.
3. Standards of Accuracy
We take care to ensure that factual claims made in Commentaries and Interviews are accurate at the time of publication. Where content draws on the work of other authors, researchers, or sources, those sources are acknowledged appropriately.
We do not knowingly publish content that is false, misleading, or likely to deceive. Where a Commentary expresses an opinion or interpretation rather than an established fact, that distinction is clear from the context.
If you believe any content on this site contains a factual error, we welcome being told. Please contact us at jack@jacklackslisteningchair.com.
4. Corrections
We correct errors promptly and transparently. The Corrections Policy forms part of the Complaints and Feedback Procedure, available on this site. In summary:
- Minor errors — spelling, punctuation, or typographical mistakes — are corrected silently.
- Factual errors that do not materially affect the meaning of a piece are corrected with a brief note at the foot of the relevant Commentary or Interview indicating that an amendment has been made.
- Significant factual errors — those that materially affect the meaning, fairness, or accuracy of a published piece — are corrected with a clear correction notice explaining what was wrong and what the correct position is.
We do not delete published content to conceal errors. Corrections are made to the published version and the correction is noted.
5. Treatment of Interviewees
Interviewees are the heart of Jack Lack’s Listening Chair. They are real people sharing real experience, and they are treated accordingly — with dignity, honesty, and care.
5a. Informed consent
No Interview is published without the interviewee’s informed written consent. That consent is obtained through the Consent Declaration and Photography Release, which sets out clearly how their contribution will be used, where it will be published, and what rights they retain.
5b. Right of review
Every interviewee is offered the opportunity to review the edited version of their Interview before publication. This is a genuine opportunity to correct factual errors, clarify misrepresentations, and raise concerns before anything is made public. Editorial judgment on matters of style, length, and presentation remains with CORMS Ltd, but the interviewee’s meaning is always preserved and their concerns are always taken seriously.
5c. Dignity and fairness
Interviews are conducted and edited with the interviewee’s dignity intact. We do not pursue sensationalism. We do not misrepresent what was said. We do not publish content that would cause unnecessary embarrassment or harm to an interviewee, their family, or others mentioned in the conversation.
5d. Sensitive disclosures
Where an interviewee shares information of a sensitive personal nature — health, family difficulty, grief, financial hardship, or similar — that information is handled with particular care. If in doubt, we will return to the interviewee before publishing.
5e. Withdrawal
An interviewee may withdraw their consent prior to publication without explanation and without consequence. The terms governing withdrawal after publication are set out in the Consent Declaration and Photography Release.
6. Referencing and Acknowledgement
Where Commentaries or other content on this site draws on the published work of other authors, researchers, or thinkers, that work is acknowledged. A dedicated Acknowledgements page on this website records the authors and works that have informed the content of Jack Lack’s Listening Chair over time.
We do not reproduce substantial portions of copyrighted work without permission. Brief quotation for the purpose of commentary, criticism, or illustration is consistent with fair dealing under New Zealand copyright law, provided the source is clearly attributed.
If you are an author or rights holder and believe your work has been referenced without adequate acknowledgement, please contact us at jack@jacklackslisteningchair.com.
7. Reader Contributions and Comments
Jack Lack’s Listening Chair welcomes enquiries, responses, and contributions from readers through the Voices and Issues section of the website. Submissions are reviewed before publication. We reserve the right to edit for length or to decline to publish any submission that:
- is abusive, offensive, or defamatory
- contains personal attacks on named individuals
- is misleading or factually incorrect in a way that cannot reasonably be corrected
- is irrelevant to the subject matter of this platform
- is submitted in bad faith
Where a submission is declined or edited, we will inform the person who submitted it. We do not publish submissions anonymously without the contributor’s knowledge and agreement.
8. Complaints
We take complaints about our editorial content seriously. The full Complaints and Feedback Procedure is set out in the governance documents available on this site. If you have a concern about anything published on this website — whether on grounds of accuracy, fairness, privacy, or any other matter — please write to us at jack@jacklackslisteningchair.com.
Please describe your concern clearly and, where relevant, identify the specific content you are referring to. We will acknowledge your complaint within seven days and respond substantively within a reasonable time.
If you are not satisfied with our response, you may — depending on the nature of your complaint — have recourse to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner for privacy matters, or other relevant bodies under New Zealand law.
9. Changes to This Policy
This Editorial Policy may be updated from time to time. The current version will always be available on this page. Material changes will be noted at the foot of the page with the date of revision.
Jack Lack’s Listening Chair is always here, as is your welcome.