Policies: Editorial Processes & Policies

Last Updated: April 3, 2024. This is an evolving document. Revision history is at the end of the document. Please send suggestions for improvements and clarifications to info@actonexchange.org.

Editorial Processes

Roles

  • At this time, all roles in the Acton Exchange editorial process are filled by volunteers
  • Editor-in-Chief
    • makes final edits on all articles submitted for publication
    • has final say on what is and is not published
    • is the point of contact with the Action Unlimited
    • if the Editor-in-Chief is unavailable for these functions in a given week, they can be temporarily delegated to an understudy
  • Second reader
    • Provides the 2nd set of eyes (after the author and before the Editor-in-Chief), editing for clarity, relevance and accuracy. All articles are reviewed by two people, in addition to the author, before publication.
  • Content Wrangler
    • Strives for a steady flow of quality articles in their content domain
    • Recruits authors well qualified to write in their content domain, and coaches them towards writing within the confines of the AE Mission statement and editorial policies.
    • Can be the “second reader” for articles in their content domain
  • Writers
    • submit text and images for articles that fall within the AE mission and conform to the policies below
    • do not have to be Acton residents
    • can be municipal employees (Town, School, Acton Water District); however that affiliation has to be disclosed; see below under “Disclosure”
    • must be human; the AE does not accept articles written solely by Artificial Intelligence applications (such as ChatGPT).
    • The Acton Exchange is open to adding writers, and help is available in selecting topics and crafting articles.
    • Non-native speakers of English are encouraged to write for the Acton Exchange and will have access to editorial assistance.
    • We welcome submissions from high school students.
    • Potential writers must recognize that not every submitted article will be published, that content will be edited, and that decisions of the Editor-in-Chief are final.

Timeline/Sequence of events

  • Monday–Saturday: articles can be submitted to the AE via any editor. Early filing is encouraged. The earlier the article is submitted, the more opportunity for back-and-forth between the author and the editorial team on edits or clarifications.
  • Deadline is noon on Sunday for publication that week. Later deadlines are possible for late-breaking news or other circumstances.
  • Sunday noon through Monday midnight:  2nd readers edit any articles not finalized earlier in the week, making comments and edits in the “All materials for AU” file.
  • There may be an opportunity for back and forth with writers on edits or clarifications, but this is not guaranteed. If back and forth with writers occurs by email, messages from editors should be bcc’d to editors@actonexchange.org so that there is a record within the organization of what changes were made and why.
  • Sunday midnight through Tuesday afternoon: Editor-in-Chief (or designated proxy) makes final edits.
  • Tuesday 5pm: Editorial team meets.
  • Tuesday morning: Editor-in-Chief submits to Action Unlimited.
  • Soon after submitting to Action Unlimited, Editor-in-Chief sends final versions of articles to the Tech Team for publication on the AE website.
  • If an article is not published, the editorial team will make every effort to communicate the reasons back to the writer, with an eye towards encouraging future contributions that will be published.

Editorial Policies

All editors and writers for the Acton Exchange must be familiar with and abide by the Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists

Types of Content

  • Opinion pieces: not currently [yet] accepted by the AE
  • Features (longer pieces, more evergreen, not tied to a specific event): not currently [yet] accepted by the AE
  • Letters to the editor: See Letters Policy.
  • Obituaries: Accepted. Obituary Policy under development.
  • Milestones (engagements, weddings, etc.)
    • not currently accepted by the AE
    • can be submitted directly to the Action Unlimited as “paid story placements”; see https://www.actionunlimited.com/place-classifieds-notices
    • As a community news source, this is a content type that we would like to add sooner rather than later, but editorial guidelines have not yet been developed.
  • Announcements of upcoming events in Acton or of interest to Acton residents
  • News articles
    • News articles have some kind of news hook; they are typically tied to a specific event or active issue. Classic content includes: who? what? when? where? why?
    • This is the primary type of content being accepted for the AE.
    • Get the crucial information in the first couple of sentences – preferably in the first 3 lines, which will be seen before the [read more] jump.
    • AE is looking for news stories between 200 and 700 words in length. If the article stretches much longer than this, think about cutting lower priority content, or consider breaking it into two articles.
    • Avoid opinions or judgmental words (e.g. “amazing,” “annoying”) in the voice of the writer. (Quotes that include other people’s opinions are totally appropriate; see Quotes, below). The reader shouldn’t be able to discern the writer’s opinion on an issue by reading a news article. (See also Conflicts of Interest, below.)
  • News briefs
    • “News brief”:   A short (<200 words) piece, that calls readers’ attention to an event or issue, mentions why it is significant, and points to how to learn more.
  • “Backgrounder”
    • An article that does not report current news, but does provide information that the editors think will help Actonians better understand a current, locally-relevant event or issue. The 700 word limit still applies. The backgrounder should briefly state what the connection is between the article’s focus and the current event or issue. Example.
  • Reviews
    • Reviews are accounts of an artistic performance, exhibit or product, which differ from news articles in that they feature the writer’s/critic’s judgement or opinion on the quality or interest level of the performance or product.
    • The AE is open to publishing reviews of local performances or other artistic endeavors with a strong Acton connection, but guidelines have not been established for this category of article. Seek editorial guidance for your idea.
  • Profile
    • Portrait of an interesting person with an Acton connection, based on interviews with the subject and/or their associates. Seek editorial guidance for your idea.

Photographs and Images

  • We encourage photographs and other images.
  • Requirements for images
    • Allowed formats: JPG, PNG,
    • Required resolution: at least 2000 pixels in the horizontal dimension
    • Provide a caption. The caption should credit the source of the image.
    • Provide alt-text. Alt-text is read aloud by the text readers used by visually-impaired people and is displayed if the image fails to load for some reason. The University of South Carolina provides a step-by-step guide to writing good alt-text.
  • Credits
    • With the article, state a source/credit for every image and photograph. Usually this will be in the caption. State the name of an individual photographer, the organization for a courtesy photo, the URL for an image from a web site. If taking an image from a website, make sure that it is not copyrighted.
  • Identifying people in photos and requesting permission
    • Ideally, before taking adults’ photograph ask their permission and say that it is for possible publication in the Acton Exchange. Ask their name and note the spelling.
    • Second best. Show people a photo you have taken, ask if it is OK to publish it through the Acton Exchange. Ask their name and note the spelling.
    • For children, always ask first. Ask both child and accompanying parent/guardian. Is it OK to take a picture? Separate question: is it OK to use the child’s name (first name or first + last name)?
    • Exceptions
      • People performing on a stage (e.g. musicians, actors, dancers)
      • Officials or town staff performing official duties
      • Athletes during a competition
      • Crowd scenes, where individuals in the photo are small and hard to recognize

Sources, Quotes, and Attribution

  • Verbatim quotes from people participating in an event or involved with an issue is one of the characteristics that sets journalism apart from other forms of writing. The AE encourages the use of quotes from diverse voices of Acton residents, officials, staff, business people, etc.
  • Quotes can be collected from oral speech or in direct written communication such as email from source to author.
  • The AE writer should make it clear to a person whose spoken or written words you might like to use that this is not just a friendly discussion, that you are seeking their comments for possible use by the Acton Exchange. Ask permission to quote them and note the spelling of their name.
  • Exceptions
    • A public official (including a member of a municipal Board, Committee, or Commission) speaking during a meeting of that Board, Committee or Commission, can always be quoted without seeking further permission.
    • A private individual (including an abutter, business owner, parent) making a statement at the type of public meeting (e.g. hearing, Town Meeting) where speakers state their name for the record can be quoted without seeking further permission. If you didn’t catch the name, it’s ok to use such a quote identifying the person as “an abutter,” “a resident,” etc.
    • Docushare materials
      • The Town of Acton maintains an on-line public database (called the docushare) of all materials that are shown at or pertinent to meetings of Boards, Commissions and Committees, accessible via https://doc.acton-ma.gov/dsweb/HomePage.
      • Comments from private individuals (such as those included in the docushare as “abutter comments” or “public comments”) should not be quoted without obtaining explicit permission from the comment writer. The rationale is that such comment-writers may have thought they were just emailing the committee members (especially people relatively new to civic engagement), and that publishing such comments in the newspaper without notice or permission could have a chilling effect on people’s future willingness to submit comments.
      • Other than comments from private individuals, everything else in the docushare is quotable without seeking further permission, including materials from applicants and staff. Include a hyperlink to the document source (see hyperlinks below).
    • Published sources
      • If you want to quote an entire sentence (or more) from any written source (including websites) that content must be placed in quotation marks and attributed to the original source.  This is important to establish the authenticity of the AE as an independent news source, as well as to respect copyright. 
    • Personal observation
      • For a by-lined news article reporting on an event, the writer must have attended the event, either in person or by zoom.  For a meeting that was video-recorded, watching the video is also fine. If an important event has already happened but no-one from the Acton Exchange team was there and there is no video record, options are: (a) recruit a co-author who attended, (b) publish a news brief, (c) develop an issues article rather than an event report, explaining the issue and quoting various experts and stakeholders.
  • Hyperlinks
    • In general, the Acton Exchange encourages the use of hyperlinks (links that appear in online text and that can be clicked to visit another relevant website.) Appropriate use of hyperlinks contributes to the credibility of the Acton Exchange by documenting the evidence behind our statements and serves readers by making it easy to dig deeper into a topic or issue.
    • Definitely use a hyperlink if referring to:
      • a document in the Town of Acton docushare
      • a meeting or event where there is a publicly available recording
      • a page on a government website.
    • Try to find a suitable link to provide further information if mentioning:
      • a local community or non-profit organization
      • an upcoming local event [in the context of a news article]
    • Be cautious with hyperlinks for commercial businesses:
      • It is generally OK to link to local businesses, as this helps to build community ties. However, avoid wording that could be interpreted as overt marketing for the business. For example, you might say “at the reading held at the Silver Unicorn…”
      • Use meaningful text for the hyperlink, rather than some generic phrase like “can be found here.” When possible, fold the hyperlink into the flow of the sentence.

Conflicts of Interest and Disclosure

Refer to Conflicts of Interest & Disclosure policy, posted separately.

Corrections

Refer to Corrections Policy, posted separately.  

Republishing Acton Exchange material

Articles published in the Acton Exchange can be republished in another venue, under the following conditions:

  • The author of the article agrees
  • If the article is published exactly as in the Acton Exchange, the article must be credited as “Reprinted from the Acton Exchange; originally published [date].”
  • The author can slightly adapt the article, for example to better fit the interests and knowledge base of the new audience; in this case the credit line should read “Adapted from the Acton Exchange; originally published [date].”
  • If the new publication is online, the “Acton Exchange” in the credit line should be a hyperlink back to the original article.

Revision History

  • January 10, 2024: Added new content type: Backgrounder
  • January 10, 2024: Added section on Republishing Acton Exchange material
  • April 13, 2024: Revised timeline. Added letters. Added Obituaries. Added link to Letters Policy. Put links to Corrections Policy and Conflicts Policies, instead of content in here. INN wants those policies easily findable.

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