Saturday, May 18 , 2013, 11:57 pm | Fair 65.0º





Submit Your News

Submit Your News

Noozhawk has a small staff of professional journalists covering Santa Barbara and Goleta, but we’re proud to have the assistance of a large army of community contributors to extend our range and reach.

We know you have news and information that’s of interest to others and we’re inviting you to share it with us and the Noozhawk community. Here’s how:

» Just tell us what happened or what you know. We’ll accept a Pulitzer Prize-winning story, but sometimes the most valuable information is just a brief, factual account. Anyone can write a paragraph or two describing something so don’t feel as if you have to craft a dissertation.

» If you are writing an article, 700 words is about right as a maximum length. Remember, it’s the Internet and our attention spans are short.

» We gladly publish obituaries at no charge, as a public service. Multiple photos can be submitted for consideration as a Noozhawk slideshow.

» We will consider submissions from anyone, including press secretaries, shameless self-promoters, and public relations representatives who view Noozhawk readers as a valuable audience but are too cheap to place their clients’ advertising with us. If you abuse our generosity, we may limit your exposure. And if you’re going to ask Noozhawk readers to read what you write, make it helpful to them and not you.

» Unless you’re writing a commentary or letter to the editor, be respectful of our readers and keep your opinions to yourself.

» Don’t bother emailing us identical form letters to the editor outlining national and international grievances on behalf of national and international advocacy organizations. Ours is a hyperlocal news site; we don’t care.

» While we’re on the subject of commentaries, please note that Noozhawk does not take editorial positions or endorse political candidates or issues. Just because we’ve published an op/ed submission, doesn’t mean we agree with the opinion contained therein.

If you are submitting a commentary, please include a one- or two-sentence description of yourself that we can publish at the end of the article. Our readers want to know who you are and what your qualifications are. As an example, see any commentary in our Opinions section.

Finally, we know you would never do such a thing but, by submitting an article to us, you warrant that the material is your original expression, free of 
plagiarism, and does not violate any copyright, proprietary contract or personal right of anyone else.

» Submissions may be pasted in the body of an email or sent as Word or SimpleText attachments. We’re not fans of PDFs but will accept them. If we must. Please don’t send articles H&J’d; that’s annoying.

» Provide relevant urls so we can link your article to helpful sources.

» We welcome photos and ask that they be sized at 630 pixels wide. Do not embed them in Word documents; that’s really annoying.

» Make sure your picture caption information includes the full names of all clearly recognizable adults. Children need not be identified, or can be identified by first names. Also include the name of the photographer as Noozhawk believes in giving credit where it’s due.

» With Photo of the Day submissions, photographers are welcome to include aperture, lens, exposure data and other helpful information for fellow shutterbugs.

» Photo submissions may be re-posted on Noozhawk’s social-media sites.

» Provide your contact information for verification and questions.

» Please email all material, including story tips, obituaries, Photos of the Day and commentaries and letters to the editor, to .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Click here for a do-it-yourself calendar. Surfing submissions can be emailed to Santa Barbara Surfer, our sister site, at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Sports submissions can be emailed to our strategic partner, Presidio Sports, which provides Noozhawk with sports coverage.

» Click here for Noozhawk’s free event calendar for Santa Barbara County’s nonprofit sector.

Meanwhile, anyone may comment on an article by following the instructions at the bottom of every story. Please be respectful. Just because speech is free doesn’t mean you can say anything you please.

Noozhawks may be raptors but we don’t bite. We encourage your invitations to our staff to attend your events or speak to your organizations. Please know that ours is a virtual nest, however, so use email and not snail mail. Click here for a staff directory.

If you are a high school or college student interested in interning with Noozhawk, email a cover letter, résumé and a portfolio to Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). We offer internships in sales and marketing, reporting, photography, social media and Web development. We’re also happy to work with a few junior high and elementary school-age students on a limited basis.

 

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