About Us
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WHO WE ARE:
The Stony Brook Independent started as the official, award-winning publication of the Stony Brook University campus chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. Founded in 2004, the Independent aims to become a complete, and yes, independent news source for anything that is happening at Stony Brook University, as well as a publication where the many varied, diverse opinions and viewpoints of the members of the University community can be expressed. It is no longer affiliated officially with SPJ but supports journalism and news literacy on campus with what few resources it has. As an online publication, the Independent is updated on a daily basis, and welcomes submissions from the entire campus community. Aside from news articles, commentary and feature articles, we are also proud to present to the campus community an up-to-date Calendar of Events, where happenings of all sorts on campus can be publicized, as well as our forums, which will serve as a place of constructive discussion on any topic that concerns students and other members of our community. Please find below the guidelines for joining the Independent as well as for contributing material to us: WHO CAN JOIN? Simply put, anyone and everyone is welcome to contribute to the Independent. All you have to do is register to use our website, and you will be well on your way to contributing articles, photos, comics, commentaries, news briefs, events and material to our news sections, events calendar, and forums. WRITING FOR US: Articles are classified into a number of different categories: news articles, commentaries, editorials, arts & lifestyle articles, feature articles, sports articles, news briefs, satire, and columns. -News articles: usually between 500-650 words, covering a campus event or news story. Such articles adhere to journalistic guidelines and standards of objectivity as set forth by the Associated Press Stylebook. Articles about off-campus news and events are also welcomed, especially if they have a significant impact on the campus community or students. Investigative articles take a more in-depth look at major news stories, and can be longer than 650 words. -Commentary: A purely opinion article submitted by any member of the campus community. A disclaimer is published with each commentary, stating that the opinion expressed within the article is that of the author and not necessarily that of the Independent or its editorial staff. Commentaries of all shapes, sizes and viewpoints are welcome but we generally ask them to be limited to 1,000 words. In addition, members of the University community are also welcome to send "letters to the editor," to us as well. -Editorials: Editorial articles represent the majority opinion of the editorial board of the Independent and are written by one or more of its members. -Arts & Lifestyle articles: Articles that pertain to music, movies, literature, the spoken word, theater, cooking, entertainment, pop culture, computing, video games or anything else that pertains to students' lives or the arts in some form. Generally limited to 800 words or less. -Feature articles: An in-depth article, retrospective or interview on a personality, organization, event, historical moment or, in general, any sort of human-interest story. Generally limited to 1,000 words or less. -Sports articles: Articles covering sporting events, primarily campus sporting events, but also, sports feature articles on an athlete, athletic club, or team on campus, articles on physical fitness and related topics, or behind-the-scenes news about campus athletics. Generally limited to 500-650 words and general sports writing standards. -News briefs: Short news stories, often 200 words or less, on news of lesser importance, or breaking news. -Satire: As the name suggests, a humorous look at our campus. Satire can also come in the form of comics, stories, photos and illustrations. -Columns: The Independent will feature work by different columnists, who will write on a regular basis about an issue or issues that concern them. We are welcome to any and all ideas for columns. Generally, articles are kept to a maximum of 1,000 words. -Photography: Photographs can say as much, or more, about a news story, than the story itself. We welcome photographs of all campus events, activities, viewpoints and perspectives. All photographs will be credited to their respective photographer. -Weather: Weather reports are provided to us by the MSRC Atmospheric Sciences Program at Stony Brook University, and are automatically updated. Forecasts are done by students in the program. EVENTS CALENDAR: One of the defining features of the Independent is the Events Calendar, which is a comprehensive online listing of anything and everything that is happening on campus. Anything from sporting events, Staller Center performances, to club meetings can be added here. Any member of the campus community, including representatives of student clubs and organizations as well as representatives of different departments and entities on campus, are welcome to register to use our website and to freely add events, and their accompanying details, to our site. Events are viewable to all visitors to our site and our Events Calendar is a great way to get the word out about whatever is happening on campus. We also welcome press releases from all campus and student organizations. In addition, an added bonus of publicizing your event through our Events Calendar will be the exposure your event will receive to the writers and editors of the Independent, and many events will be covered by our staff. FORUM: Our forum will serve as an online roundtable through wich any member of the campus community can freely post about any issue, from homework to campus life to current events. All message boards are moderated, to ensure that they stay spam-free, but every single member of the campus community is welcome to participate. BECOMING STAFF: As mentioned before, anyone and everyone is welcome to join the Independent, and our website provides users with the unique ability to contribute news, events and information to us freely. Feel free to submit to us news articles, letters, comics, photographs, and commentaries. In addition, feel free to contact us if you would officially like to write for us, letting us know what you are interested in writing or contributing, how often you can commit to contributing to the Independent, and your level of writing experience. Do not let this intimidate you, however, as no prior writing experience is necessary. Our editorial staff and trained writers will be more than happy to assist anyone who would like some help or guidance with news writing, photography, feature writing or anything else. Two published articles, photographs, comics or other pieces of writing will lead to official "staff" status for any writer, and elections for all Editorial positions are held in the fall and spring. All articles are further reviewed by our Editorial staff before publication. WORKSHOPS AND RESOURCES: The editors and trained writers of the Independent are here to assist you. We will regularly hold workshops and seminars on all aspects of writing, photography, conventional print layout, web design and layout, broadcast journalism and ethics, and in addition, our editors are available by appointment to assist you with any help that you may need. In addition, we work closely with other student media groups on campus, and welcome any form of collaboration, as well as welcome any writer for the Independent to contribute their work to any other media group on campus as well (let us know first). Finally, the Independent has on file all sorts of resources to assist writers and budding journalists, including the AP Stylebook and the SPJ Code of Ethics, which will be made available to any writer upon request. We welcome any questions or comments, so please feel free to contact us! No material from this website may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced in print or electronic form without the expressed, written permission of an authorized representative of the Stony Brook Independent. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS: Site engine based on Drupal |
