Editorial Policies
CENSORSHIP POLICY
The Kansas Student Publications Act guarantees the same rights for student journalists as are given to professional journalists. These rights include, but are not limited to, all First Amendment rights, including the rights to freedom of speech and the press, insofar as published items may not contain libelous, slanderous or obscene statements, may not incite or promote illegal conduct and may not cause a substantial disruption to normal school activity. The act forbids censorship on the part of the administration; students on the Mill Valley News staff make the final determination about all content on the site.
COMMENTS POLICY
Mill Valley News intends for this area to be used to foster healthy, thought-provoking discussion. Comments are expected to adhere to our standards and to be respectful and constructive. As such, we do not permit the use of profanity, foul language, personal attacks or the use of language that might be interpreted as libelous. Comments are reviewed and must be approved by a moderator to ensure that they meet these standards. Mill Valley News does not allow anonymous comments, and Mill Valley News requires a valid email address. The email address will not be displayed but will be used to confirm your comments.
TAKEDOWN POLICY
Once a story is published, our general policy is to not change or remove any content, including entire posts, quotes, names, pictures, graphics and any other information. Before publication, editors and other staff members have worked to ensure the validity, newsworthiness and ethics of publishing each piece. For these reasons, the editorial board will not take down past articles except in extraordinary circumstances. Content will only change or be removed if it is found to be false, libelous, dangerous or insensitive. If a story is altered, we will make it clear to the readers what edits were made.
A letter of “request of removal” for a post or content can be submitted to the adviser and will be considered on an individual basis. The final decision rests with the current year website editors upon consultation with the adviser. Decisions will be made based on the specific reasoning for the request and with regard to the policy in place. The letter of removal must have a detailed explanation of the request. Please send requests for removal to adviser Kathy Habiger ([email protected]).
CORRECTIONS POLICY
If an error is noticed by a staff member or reported by readers, the staff will correct the error. Online content should be altered to fix any errors once they are noticed. If a post is corrected, a staff member will add a notice to the bottom of the post detailing when it was corrected and what was corrected, as such: Correction: An earlier version of this post misspelled a source’s name. The correct spelling is Smith.
No material will be taken off Mill Valley News unless it is proven to be factually incorrect or violates the law. The editors-in-chief and the adviser will have full discretion to take down posts for other unforeseen circumstances.
Developing stories will be denoted at the bottom of the post, as such: “This is a developing story. Check back for updates.” These stories will be edited as new information becomes available. Readers will be notified of new information in a developing story by updates placed at the top of the post. Each update will include the time and date of the newly-published information, as such: “Update: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 7:47 p.m.”
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR POLICY
We value your opinions. If you wish to submit a column or letter to the editor for Mill Valley News, you can do so by handing it to a member of the staff or to the print journalism room (C-101). Additionally, you may email any member of the staff or the staff email account with opinions, as well as tweet us at @millvalleynews. Anonymous content will not be accepted. Please understand that we have the right to edit all copy published online or in print.
SOCIAL MEDIA POLICY
Mill Valley News will use social media posts on Facebook, Twitter and Snapchat to report on and share news. The staff will post a story about a news occurrence within a day of posting about it on social media to give readers further information, if necessary.
All information posted on social media accounts will be verified before posting, just as how facts are verified before being included in a story. If the staff finds out information posted on social media is incorrect, the post will be deleted or corrected.
Mill Valley News social media accounts will only share or retweet content as a means of reporting or audience engagement. Sharing or retweeting is an endorsement of the post, not the account.
