The BHS Times Editorial PolicyWe, The Brighton High School Times newspaper editorial staff, are a community of observers who, through formal and creative expression, wish to inform and enlighten the Brighton community through an appropriate journalistic forum based upon the First Amendment of our U.S. Constitution.
Purpose [top] The BHS Times is the official school newspaper of Brighton High School. With a student led staff and teacher as advisor, we strice to accurately report newsworthy events within the high school and surrounding community. Students will develop research, writing, reporting, formatting, and journalistic professionalism while investigating news, features and sports, offered through a public forum for the free exchange of ideas and opinions. Editorial Board [top] Student editors make up the newspaper's editorial or planning board, which makes decisions on content, coverage, and treatment of news, features, sports, and opinions articles as they interest the readers of The BHS Times. Content [top] The BHS Times will serve as a public forum for STUDENT opinions and ideas. The student staff will strive to honor high journalistic standards in the selection and reporting of material of each published newspaper. A staff meeting will be held before each issue released to determine the content therein. Priority of content will be focused on student interest pieces. Final decision of published articles will reside with the editor and members of the editorial board. Opinion [top] The BHS Times staff will publish a staff editorial in each issue that will be singularly biased and will reflect the views of the majority of the editorial staff. Letters to the editor-These should now exceed 250 words in length and must included upon request. Letters may be edited for grammatical and spelling errors. Every effort will be made to contact the writer for questions on content and credibility prior to deadline. We will not print libel. Censorship Statement [top] The BHS Times supports the practice of the First Amendment rights and opposes censorship in all forms. By adopting this ideal, the staff recognizes the inherent responsibilities therin. Controversial Issues [top] The student staff members of The BHS Times will practice high journalistic standards in dealing with the reporting of timely issues and controversial topics. The staff will strive to remain. Correction of Errors [top] If a factual error is made, a correction will be made in the following issue. A correction column will be incpuded in the "Opinion" section and will be clearly labeled. Minor spelling and grammatical errors will not be corrected unless necessary to clarify the integrity of the article. Coverage of Deaths [top] In the occurrence of a death of a student or staff memeber, The BHS Times staff will publish and objective news story concerning the deceased individuals school activities, survivors, memorials, and may or may not include the cause of death, may be reflected in the news or feature sections depending on the news value or impact of information. Stylebook [top] The newspaper will follow the Associated Press (AP) Stylebooks in the preparation of all copy, captions and headlines. Byline and Attribution Policy [top] All stories, with the exception of the Staff Editorial, will include the name of the reporter in the byline, while all photographs (excluding headshots) will be given photography credit. Advertising Policy [top] The BHS Times has the right to reject any advertisements deemed false, misleading, or harmful to the students of Brighton High Schoool. All advertisements must promote products or services deemed legal and safe for the majority of BHS students. Any business that advertises with The BHS Times will receive a complimentary copy of the issue upon request. Distribution [top] Issues will be distributed monthly. |
