LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
The letters policy below was first published in 2019. It is an attempt to balance the free flow of ideas and information with the goal of publishing accurate and concise information.
The Valley Indy is an independent news source that welcomes letters to the editor.
It is the writer’s responsibility to submit a letter that is truthful, concise, and accurate.
The Valley Indy does not relinquish editorial oversight to letter writers.
Letters are subject to review. This process includes editing for grammar, typos, and style.
If the editor has questions or concerns about the letter, you will be asked to address the concerns. The Valley Indy is not obligated to publish letters that violate or are suspected of violating newsroom standards. A letter could be held if it contains information that must be confirmed independently.
The Valley Indy will not seek your approval regarding your letter’s headline. A letter writer may submit a suggested headline. The Valley Indy is not obligated to use it. An editor writes headlines. This is a standard practice.
The Valley Indy will not consult with or seek approvals from the letter writer about where the letter is displayed on the website, the wording used to promote the letter in‘Extra, Extra,’ or the phrasing used to share your letter with the public through social media posts or any other form of communication.
The Valley Indy tries to publish letters to the editors in a timely manner. The amount of time it takes to publish a letter depends on the workload at the moment the letter is received. The Valley Indy does not publish on the weekends.
The Valley Indy posts letters to the editor to Valley Indy social media. There is no set time regarding when letters are posted to social media. There is no guarantee every letter will be posted to both ValleyIndy.org and Valley Indy Facebook and Valley Indy Twitter. This is a one-person operation. Don’t message asking when your letter is going to be posted to social media. Buy an ad.
Letters to the editor are opinions. Publishing a letter is not an endorsement of that opinion by The Valley Indy.
The Valley Indy will fact-check letters for accuracy to the extent a person’s opinion can be fact-checked.
There is a strict 550-word limit. The writer should stick to a single topic.
Do not submit graphs, tables, or info charts. Do not submit supplemental material. Supplemental material counts toward the 550 word limit.
Do not include potentially libelous statements. Learn about libel, and, if you are a public official, understand the difference between your position and that of a private citizen.
Do not engage in personal attacks.
If you disagree with a letter writer’s point of view, please feel free to write a response or post a comment.
Politicians or candidates for office should not contact The Valley Indy because a letter is critical. While this request is unusual, it’s difficult for The Valley Indy to take the time to discuss every opinion expressed in a public forum by a private citizen.
During campaign season, read the site to learn the deadlines for campaign-related letters, which is usually about a week before Election Day. The Valley Indy tries to publish every letter received, but, due to volume and available resources, The Valley Indy does not guarantee every letter will be published.
During campaign season, it is not advisable to submit last-minute dirt (the ‘October surprise’) about an opponent in the form of a letter to The Valley Indy. The letter will not be published if the information can not be verified independently, and The Valley Indy will not re-arrange a work schedule to chase down a last-minute rumor or accusation.
Do not submit letters as PDF documents. Word documents or plain-text emails are preferred.
TO SUBMIT AN EVENT
We have a self-service calendar where you can post any local event.
To use it, you must have a previous (non-Facebook) commenting account or register for a new account by clicking the “registered” at the top left corner of the calendar’s home page.
Fill out the form, including a screen name, password and valid e‑mail address. THIS IS SEPARATE AND APART FROM YOUR FACEBOOK SIGN IN. The calendar requires a different registration than story comments.
Once the form is submitted, we’ll approve it. You’ll receive a confirmation e‑mail.
At that point, go to the calendar on the upper right of the home page, click view full calendar. Follow the directions to add an event.
DO NOT POST FOR-PROFIT EVENTS ON THE POSTER BOARD. TAKE OUT AN ADVERTISEMENT.
COMMENTING ON STORIES AND VALLEY INDY FACEBOOK
(Revised during the COVID-19 outbreak of March 2020)
The Valley Indy is a one-person online newspaper that has more than 15,000 followers on Facebook.
The Valley Indy is notified every time someone comments on ValleyIndy.org or on Valley Indy Facebook.
The goal of the comment section is to provide a place for people to exchange thoughts and ideas.
However, The Valley Indy reserves the right to remove any comment posted on ValleyIndy.org or The Valley Indy Facebook page.
Readers posting on The Valley Indy website or Facebook page must be civil. Comments that are not civil will be removed without notice. Comments with incorrect information, including conspiracy theories, will be removed without notice. Comments that are not about the posted topic will be removed without notice. The Valley Indy reserves the right to remove people who violate the comment policy.
Don’t call each other names. Disagree, agree, express your opinion: do it without personal insults.
The Valley Indy comment section, whether on Facebook or ValleyIndy.org, is not the place to continually lodge complaints against your neighbor, former employer, or local contractor who treated you badly.
While Facebook is critically important to distributing Valley Indy stories, Facebook is also responsible for the spread of misinformation and toxicity that hurt communities. Facebook is designed, in part, to hold your attention on its website. In addition, Facebook does not give ‘brands’ the ability to ‘turn off’ comments on comment threads.
Because of these factors, The Valley Indy reserves the right to remove comments without warning or explanation. Comments with profanity are filtered (and have been since 2011) and will be removed. Comments that are tangential to the original post will be deleted. Threads that turn into bickering will be removed.
As always, The Valley Indy reserves the right to ‘ban’ people who choose not to follow the rules.
Private businesses should not promote their businesses on The Valley Indy Facebook page or The Valley Indy calendar. Buy an advertisement or sponsored post for $99.
As of Aug. 8, 2011 we require that you must have a Facebook account to post comments on stories.
We use Facebook in an effort to compel readers to use their real names when posting.
If you don’t have a Facebook account, click here to get one.
PRIVACY POLICY
The Valley Independent Sentinel doesn’t collect personal data. It doesn’t sell your data. It uses Google Analytics and Facebook Insights for information on how many people are reading the site and the age range of readers — statistical and demographic information that is needed when The Valley Independent Sentinel applies for grants. There is no personally identifiable information conveyed to The Valley Independent Sentinel. The Valley Independent Sentinel uses Facebook, a third-party entity, for comments. The Valley Independent Sentinel does not gain access to your Facebook account or any privately-held information stored on Facebook, such as photos, videos, etc.
