About

Editorial Policy

The following is a statement of policy broken down into categories for easy accessibility. The Fielder will adhere to all items of this document.

Purpose

Inform the community of Plainfield HS of events deemed newsworthy by the editorial board according to the news elements of timeliness, proximity, prominence, human interest, impact, consequence, conflict

Serve as an open forum for students and staff

Provide entertainment and interest for students, faculty, and administration

Adhere to the Society of Professional Journalists’ (SPJ) code of ethics in an effort to be an accurate, responsible, fair and impartial publication

Content

The editorial board, in conjunction with the adviser, will determine the content of each issue.

Individual interests of a staff member, a teacher, or any other outside sources will not be catered to.

All decisions of priority and placement will be made by the editorial board.

Staff Writing

All stories appearing in the Fielder will be the work of staff writers or students making a special contribution when approved by the editorial board.

Letters to the editor will be the only exception. Letters will be accepted by any student, faculty member, administration, or citizen of the community.

Letters to the Editor

Letters are welcomed and can be dropped off in the mailbox outside room 2305 in the English hallway.

Anonymous letters will not be printed except in cases where personal safety or reputation is at stake. In these cases the editorial board will make the decision by majority vote.

The board will decide which letters will be printed based on adherence to the SPJ code of ethics and priority of interest to the student body. This includes restrictions on libel, obscenity, invasion of privacy, and physical disruption of normal school activities.

Letters must be no longer than 300 words and must be signed.

Staff reserves the right to make corrections in grammar, punctuation, and length.

The author will be contacted to ensure that he/she is the actual author of the letter.

Errors

Error corrections will be printed at the bottom of the editorial page in a box labeled “corrections” in the following issue.

The corrections will be made whether or not they are brought to the staff’s attention or found by the staff itself.

Editorials

All editorial subjects must be approved by a majority vote of the board.

All editorials must be written by at least two board members working together, and must be thoroughly researched.

Editorials will not be signed; they reflect the voice of the paper as a whole.

News & Features

Emphasis will be given to school news, based on the news elements of timeliness, proximity, human interest, impact, prominence, consequence, and conflict.

Community and state news will be covered briefly.

Crimes committed by minors will not be covered.

Crimes committed by faculty or administration will be covered only with majority vote of the board, and a focus on the issue instead of the individual. There will be no character defaming material published.