‘NEWS BY YOU’ HOW TO
The Valley Independent Sentinel has published thousands of submissions from the public, nonprofit organizations, and government agencies.
Just email ValleyIndependentSentinel@gmail.com with a press release (that is, what you’re trying to say). The release should be in the body of the email or attached as a Word or text document. PDFs take longer to get online.
Attach a logo or photo to the email. Don’t embed photos into Word documents. We’re too old.
We ask that for-profit businesses take out an ad for $99 per week.
LETTERS POLICY
The Valley Indy stopped publishing letters in 2023 because the publication does not have the resources (time & people) to fact check the content of letters. The vast majority of letters received were political endorsements or problematic attacks during the municipal election cycles.
FACEBOOK COMMENT POLICY
The Valley Indy used to allow comments on the site. Unfortunately, the comments were often personal attacks or potentially libelous, which ran afoul of the publication’s code of ethics.
People on Facebook can comment on our content on Facebook.
While The Valley Indy supports the right to free expression, it is also important to prevent its comment section from being taken over by partisan attacks, libelous statements, personal grudges, and misinformation.
The mission is to promote civil debate.
The Valley Indy reserves the right to remove comments on its Facebook page without warning or explanation.
Comments with profanity are filtered and could be removed.
Comments that are tangential to the original post could be removed.
Threads that devolve into personal attacks could be closed.
Hyperlinks have to be prohibited due to spam and bot accounts.
The Valley Indy’s primary mission is to provide professional local journalism to the community where we live. Please keep in mind acting as referee to Facebook arguments takes time and energy away from that mission.
EDITORIAL POLICIES
Reporting the news can be controversial, even on the small-town level. Here are some newsroom policies and philosophies The Valley Indy follows:
Sensitive Issues
Suicide: in general, The Valley Indy does not report on suicides unless the person is a public figure (holds or held appointed or elected office) or the event happens in a public place, or causes public concern. Specific details are not shared, information about suicide prevention is included, and the story does not stay online forever.
Police blotter
The blotter isn’t every call for service . They are police calls selected by The Valley Indy.
We don’t publish suspects’ names in police blotters because we do not have the resources to track every arrest through the judicial system.
The Internet is forever, it is not fair to publish a name with no attempt to follow up.
We do publish names if the crime is covered as a separate story, and we track those cases.
We don’t include numbered addresses out of privacy concerns.
News gathering
Balance: The Valley Indy strives to be fair and balanced. Readers and sources should be aware that information for stories can be gathered in different ways depending on time, resources and the humans we communicate with. It’s not unusual for one source to be interviewed for a story in person and another source to be interviewed over the phone. The Valley Indy reserves the right to gather the news independently.
Campaign season: The Valley Indy strives to provide comprehensive coverage during municipal elections. The publication, in general, does not report on ‘October surprises,’ defined as information meant to harm a candidate that is kept secret by the opposing party until just prior to Election Day. It goes without saying anonymous, last-minute smears will likely not get pursued. The Valley Indy reserves the right to research news stories.
Deadline: The Valley Indy publishes daily Monday through Friday. Generally speaking, if a source is called for comment, the source is expected to get back to The Valley Indy on the same day, because The Valley Indy is a daily publication.
Adding to stories after publication: in general, The Valley Indy does not allow sources to add comments to stories after the story is published. An obvious exception to this rule is breaking news stories.
No comment: if The Valley Indy is writing a story that has a hole in it, and the source needed to fill the hole does not return a call or email for comment, The Valley Indy notes the person did not comment. This is not an insult aimed at the source, but an attempt to explain to the reader why the story has a hole.
Bias: The Valley Indy defines bias as purposefully misleading readers by writing stories that present information in a way to favor one side or group over another.
Reviewing stories prior to publication: in general, The Valley Indy does not allow sources to read stories prior to publication. However, if The Valley Indy is unsure of information or the information is of an extremely sensitive nature, the publication reserves the right to fact check by sending parts of the story to a source.
Anonymous sources: in general, The Valley Indy does not use anonymous sources unless the source needs to be private due to life-threatening issues or job-related actions (whistleblowers). The source needs to reach a high threshold in order to be anonymous.
Press releases: prepared and promotional statements are handled on a case-to-case basis. The Valley Indy is under no obligation to run a press release as submitted. Press releases can be edited and rewritten to match journalistic style and standards. The Valley Indy marks press releases as “press release” in the story’s byline.
E-mailed answers: The Valley Indy accepts emailed answers from sources, if the reporter asks for an emailed answer. We cannot mandate how sources choose to respond. The Valley Indy is under no obligation to run prepared answers word-for-word in a story.
AI: The Valley Indy does not use AI tools in its news reporting or editing. Stories are written and edited by humans. AI illustrations made on Canva.com have been used in the weekly ‘This Week in Valley History’ column, and in a story about school uniforms. If AI used for illustrations, The Valley Indy discloses the info in the credit line or photo caption.
Coverage area: The Valley Indy does not cover all the towns in the Naugatuck Valley because we cannot afford to do so. When The Valley Indy launched in 2009 Oxford and Shelton received daily bylined coverage. Staff over the years went from three full-time employees to one, to 1.5 employees, to 2.5 employees as of 2024. The coverage has been adjusted based on staffing levels and the need to provide one-to-one local news coverage (one reporter for one town). Note: we have never stopped publishing community announcements from Oxford and Shelton.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Valley Independent Sentinel is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists and follows the SPJ Code of Ethics.
It is as follows:
Preamble
Members of the Society of Professional Journalists believe that public enlightenment is the forerunner of justice and the foundation of democracy. Ethical journalism strives to ensure the free exchange of information that is accurate, fair and thorough. An ethical journalist acts with integrity.
The Society declares these four principles as the foundation of ethical journalism and encourages their use in its practice by all people in all media.
Seek Truth and Report It
Ethical journalism should be accurate and fair. Journalists should be honest and courageous in gathering, reporting and interpreting information.
Journalists should:
Be cautious when making promises, but keep the promises they make.
Identify sources clearly. The public is entitled to as much information as possible to judge the reliability and motivations of sources.
Consider sources’ motives before promising anonymity. Reserve anonymity for sources who may face danger, retribution or other harm, and have information that cannot be obtained elsewhere. Explain why anonymity was granted.
Diligently seek subjects of news coverage to allow them to respond to criticism or allegations of wrongdoing.
Avoid undercover or other surreptitious methods of gathering information unless traditional, open methods will not yield information vital to the public.
Be vigilant and courageous about holding those with power accountable. Give voice to the voiceless.
Support the open and civil exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.
Recognize a special obligation to serve as watchdogs over public affairs and government. Seek to ensure that the public’s business is conducted in the open, and that public records are open to all.
Provide access to source material when it is relevant and appropriate.
Boldly tell the story of the diversity and magnitude of the human experience. Seek sources whose voices we seldom hear.
Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
Label advocacy and commentary.
Never deliberately distort facts or context, including visual information. Clearly label illustrations and re-enactments.
Never plagiarize. Always attribute.
Minimize Harm
Ethical journalism treats sources, subjects, colleagues and members of the public as human beings deserving of respect.
Journalists should:
Balance the public’s need for information against potential harm or discomfort. Pursuit of the news is not a license for arrogance or undue intrusiveness.
Show compassion for those who may be affected by news coverage. Use heightened sensitivity when dealing with juveniles, victims of sex crimes, and sources or subjects who are inexperienced or unable to give consent. Consider cultural differences in approach and treatment.
Recognize that legal access to information differs from an ethical justification to publish or broadcast.
Realize that private people have a greater right to control information about themselves than public figures and others who seek power, influence or attention. Weigh the consequences of publishing or broadcasting personal information.
Avoid pandering to lurid curiosity, even if others do.
Balance a suspect’s right to a fair trial with the public’s right to know. Consider the implications of identifying criminal suspects before they face legal charges.
Consider the long-term implications of the extended reach and permanence of publication. Provide updated and more complete information as appropriate.
Act Independently
The highest and primary obligation of ethical journalism is to serve the public.
Journalists should:
Avoid conflicts of interest, real or perceived. Disclose unavoidable conflicts.
Refuse gifts, favors, fees, free travel and special treatment, and avoid political and other outside activities that may compromise integrity or impartiality, or may damage credibility.
Be wary of sources offering information for favors or money; do not pay for access to news. Identify content provided by outside sources, whether paid or not.
Deny favored treatment to advertisers, donors or any other special interests, and resist internal and external pressure to influence coverage.
Distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two. Prominently label sponsored content.
Be Accountable and Transparent
Ethical journalism means taking responsibility for one’s work and explaining one’s decisions to the public.
Journalists should:
Explain ethical choices and processes to audiences. Encourage a civil dialogue with the public about journalistic practices, coverage and news content.
Respond quickly to questions about accuracy, clarity and fairness.
Acknowledge mistakes and correct them promptly and prominently. Explain corrections and clarifications carefully and clearly.
Expose unethical conduct in journalism, including within their organizations.
Abide by the same high standards they expect of others.
PRIVACY POLICY
The Valley Independent Sentinel is part of the Online Journalism Project.
The Valley Independent Sentinel doesn’t collect personal data. The Valley Indy doesn’t sell your data. There is no personally identifiable information conveyed to The Valley Independent Sentinel when using the site. We use general demographic data from our Facebook page when applying for grant applications to try to explain the demographics of our audience. That info is generally limited to age and gender.