Donate to Noozhawk Today

Santa Barbara-Goleta, Thursday, January 08, 2009

Weather: Fog 51º

Noozhawk.com Logo

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 relating what was observed so don’t feel as if you have to craft a treatise.

» 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 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.

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.

» Submissions may be pasted in the body of an e-mail or sent as Word or SimpleText attachments. We’re not fans of PDFs but will accept them. If we must.

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

» We welcome photos and ask that they be sized at 540 pixels wide. Do not embed them in Word documents; that’s 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.

» Provide your contact information for verification and questions.

» Please e-mail all material, including story tips and photos, to . Sports material can be e-mailed to .

» Noozhawk’s popular Calendar is a Do-It-Yourself program that is so easy our publisher can use it. Click here to submit your event and follow the on-screen instructions. Events can be submitted far into the future and recurring events need only be submitted once — unless you like to type. Submissions generally are activated on the site within 72 hours.

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 e-mail and not snail mail. Click here for a staff directory.

If you are a high school or college student interested in interning with Noozhawk, e-mail a cover letter, resume and a portfolio to Noozhawk publisher Bill Macfadyen at . We offer internships in sales and marketing, reporting, photography and Web development. We’re also happy to work with a few junior high and elementary school-age students on a limited basis.