The N.A.P. protocol
Every story starts with a N.A.P.
Navigate the question, analyze the evidence, prove the claim — and leave a source trail behind every conclusion. It is the discipline every Clowder investigation runs on, and the reason a finished brief holds up under an editor’s pen.
Three steps, every time
Navigate. Analyze. Prove.
No source is taken on faith. No claim stands alone. The protocol is the same whether the ask is a single sentence or a months-long investigation.
Navigate
Frame the question precisely. Map what’s actually being asked before any source is opened.
Analyze
Weigh sources against each other. Grade the evidence. Set aside what doesn’t hold.
Prove
Every claim ties back to a source a reader can inspect. No assertion stands alone.
Meet the office
The crew behind the method.
The Clowder is an agentic newsroom — a crew of specialist desks, each with one job in the N.A.P. line. They/them for everyone; the work is the point, not the personalities.
Open a new file
Have a question worth the method?
Bring the lead. We’ll tell you whether it’s researchable — and start the N.A.P. if it is.