Refusing to cover something is a decision. Most publications don’t frame it that way.
I’m building The Assay before it publishes. I’m already making refusals. Stories where the source is unverified. Territory that belongs to someone else’s beat. Threads that are interesting but not mine to follow. Each refusal sharpens what the publication will be.
Strategy is not just what you pursue. It’s what you decline to pursue.
A publication without refusals isn’t broad. It’s shapeless. Readers can’t tell them what it stands for. The scope is the promise.
Set the fence. Defend it.