Image Licensing

Unless a specific credit line states otherwise, every image on this site — hero photography, scientific illustrations, charts, film-room frames, and generated share cards — is owned by 2ND CITY STANDARD and protected by copyright.

Editorial reuse

You may reproduce a single image from an investigation for non-commercial editorial commentary, criticism, or teaching, provided you:

• Credit “2ND CITY STANDARD” visibly next to the image.
• Link to the original investigation page the image appeared on.
• Do not crop out watermarks, captions, or embedded credits.
• Do not alter the underlying data shown in a chart or table.
• Do not imply endorsement of your work by the publication.

What requires a licence

• Any commercial use, including advertising, sponsored posts, and merchandise.
• Redistribution of images as a set, gallery, or dataset.
• Use in training, fine-tuning, or benchmarking machine-learning systems.
• Print, broadcast, or paid streaming use.
• Any use of our logo, wordmark, or brand marks.

Acquire a licence

To license an image, email licensing@2ndcitystandard.com with the URL of the page the image appears on, the intended use, the audience or print run, and the term you need. We respond to licensing requests within five business days and issue a written licence before any fee is due.

Rates depend on use, exclusivity, and duration. Editorial and academic requests are frequently granted at no cost when the credit and link requirements above are met.

Third-party imagery

Some images are used under licence from third parties, sourced from public government archives, or reproduced under fair use for commentary. Those images carry their own credit line and are not ours to sublicense — contact the credited rights holder directly.

Corrections and takedowns

If you believe an image on this site infringes your rights or is credited incorrectly, email licensing@2ndcitystandard.com with the page URL and evidence of ownership. We review every claim and act quickly on verified ones.