Perfect for Journalism Interns or Journalist Students:

• Must have experience in journalism.
• Must have previous experience at a magazine, newspaper or blog.
• Must have excellent grammar and creative writing style/skills.
• Must have strong verbal and interpersonal communication skills.
• Must have strong interest in entertainment, health, business, crime, politics, technology or finance.
• Must be a team player in a hard working and fun environment.

NewsLI.com is an independent voice on the Web. We report news responsibly and truthfully, so that readers can improve their own lives and increase their understanding and respect for their neighbors next door or around the globe. YOU should join us.

News does not need to be Long Island related for it to appear on NewsLI.com, however, we do lean towards publishing stories which are of interest to those who live on Long Island. To become a NewsLI.com writer, first, read this page carefully. Next, read and agree to our Terms of Service. NewsLI.com reserves the right to change our policies and guidelines at any time. Finally, send an email to news@newsli.com letting us know about your interest, who you you, why you would like to write, and any experience you have in reporting and/or writing.We will review all inquiries and if accepted, you can start contributing right away.

Editorial Policies & Guidelines

CONTENT:

Original content is preferred (that is, not previously published elsewhere), after which you may syndicate your material as you wish. Writers are selected based upon expertise in a certain subject area, and we require that your posts remain within the agreed-upon theme. If you wish to write on another topic, even for a single post, you must obtain approval from NewsLI.com first. NewsLI.com prefers that all content be original and posted to NewsLI.com prior to other online locations. As the author, you may subsequently use it afterwards as you see fit. As the author, you must also have legal right to all media (images, photographs, etc.) posted with your stories.

HEADLINES

Carefully choose a headline that explains what your story is about—in clear terms. Using proper nouns in your headlines when possible is a good practice. This will increase traffic to your posts and help you develop a larger readership. Remember that readers look at headlines and photos first, and then decide whether or not to read a story. If a headline is not clear or doesn’t entice readers, they’ll move on. Note: Only 65 characters of headline appear in most search engine results pages, so be sure your first 65 characters carry the punch.

PHOTO CREDIT

When possible, you should always try to include a photo. This is because search engines generally display a photo as an icon and will result in your article link being clicked on more often, simply since it is easy to identify. When using photographs you must have photo permission and give credit. Be sure to get necessary licenses, rights, consents, and permissions for use of any photos or images you use, and be sure to credit the source. If a photo is not yours, get permission from the owner in writing before using it. Remember: You are solely responsible for any damages incurred from unauthorized use of photos. Please re-read the Terms of Service.

Make sure all photographs have a great caption. Remember that readers are looking at headlines and photographs first, before deciding to read a story, so your photo caption is more important than many authors might think.

EDITING

As a skilled writer for NewsLI.com, you are expected to self-edit your work and submit content that is publishable at the level of professional media. Errors lower the credibility of your story. So carefully check for grammatical and spelling errors before posting. Our readers have come to appreciate and expect our high editorial standards, so stories containing errors are subject to removal. A good practice is to read your story out loud before finalizing—this will help you catch errors. You must attribute all specific facts and quotes used in your story. Please follow journalistic style of in-text citation (do not use footnotes or citations in brackets).

HYPER-TEXT LINKS

You may hyperlink to sources used, but don’t go overboard. Make sure the sites you link to are directly relevant to the content, and that the external site does not violate NewsLI.com editorial guidelines. Note: Wikipedia articles and other types of user-generated content are not authoritative and should never be cited as sources.

STYLES

When posting your content, please follow these style guidelines.

• Space between paragraphs.
• Do not indent—all text should be left-justified.
• Use Title Case in Headlines (Capitalize Principal Words).
• Use sentence case in drop heads (capitalize as you would in a sentence).
• Avoid subheadings.
• Avoid EXPLANATION POINTS especially in titles.
• Place the headline in the title field only (i.e. not in the body of the article).
• Avoid underlining (except hyperlinks) and avoid TEXT IN ALL CAPS.
• Photo credits should be in brackets after the photo caption

ETHICS AND DISCLOSURE

As a NewsLI.com writer, you are expected to adhere to a journalist’s code of ethics. This means you must be independent in your writing and be free of obligation. As such, your posts cannot to be used for the promotion of a product or service, whether overtly or covertly. You can write about products and services, but you cannot benefit monetarily from the writing, nor may you receive gifts for your writing.

We require full disclosure if you have a special relationship or material connection to the subject you are writing about. For example, you received the opera ticket for free, or your sister-in-law is the marketing director of the company that sells the cool new product you’re reviewing.

YOUR FOLLOWING

As a NewsLI.com writer, you’ll want to develop a group of followers and generate traffic to your page. Posting consistently will help you achieve that goal. While you may post as frequently as you wish, it is best to write 2-3 articles a week, and to post them on a regular schedule.

For example, if your followers know you post on Fridays (or Tuesday mornings, etc.), they will be more likely to check in at that time to read your latest post. On the other hand, if you post several articles one week, and then nothing for a month, it will be more difficult for you to develop a following.

However often you decide to post, just remember that consistency is most important and it will help grow your readership. The best times to post in terms of website traffic are 10 – 11 a.m. Eastern, 6 – 7 p.m. Eastern, and on the weekends.

COMMENTS

Comments may be posted on the website below any story. Users may not post any unlawful, threatening, defamatory, obscene, pornographic or other material that would violate the law. All comments should be relevant to the topic and remain respectful of authors and commentators. Users are solely responsible for their own comments, the consequences of posting those comments, and the consequences of any reliance on the comments of others. We reserve the right to remove any comments for any reason at any time.