Submitting Letters to the Editor, Press Releases and Advertorials

Letters to the Editor:

 

On sending letters to the editor: We welcome letters to the editor, including letters that disagree with what is printed in this newspaper. We REQUIRE not only that letters be SIGNED, but also that we have the writer's ADDRESS and PHONE NUMBER, so we might be able to contact the letter writer to verify that he or she has indeed sent it, or to verify the claims in the letter to avoid printing anything libelous. Letters should also be responsive to what has appeared in our newspaper, and should not refer to letters or editorials in other newspapers. Letters should be kept at 300 words or less. Weekly deadline is 12 p.m. each Tuesday for inclusion in the Thursday edition.  Only one letter per author will be accepted every 30 days.  Letters by the same author that reiterate opinions previously expressed may not be published. Letters must focus on issues of general concern, not personalities or specific businesses. Letters cannot be published in any other medium prior to appearing in the Town and Country.  We will print letters with "Name Withheld Upon Request" if, in the opinion of the publisher, the writer has a compelling reason to keep his or her name private. You can mail, fax, e-mail (no scanned documents), or drop your letter off at our office.

 

Press Releases & Advertorials:

 

The Town and Country newspaper will accept news, sports, and other information from groups and organizations throughout our circulation area. We encourage community, business, and public officials to designate and authorize a person or persons to submit information on their behalf. To avoid multiple submissions of like information, the newspaper may not accept the responsibility of publishing press releases without this authorization. A letter should be sent to the newspaper's office, on your letterhead, identifying the authorized designate for the group. All press releases are subject to editing by newspaper staff.

 

When submitting a release, the following rules must be followed:

1. Press releases must always contain a contact name and phone number.
2. Releases must always report actual events. Opinions should not be expressed within the release.
3. Because we can't guarantee a press release will publish on a specific week, those with date-sensitive information should be submitted as an advertisement to ensure your message gets to your intended audience on time.
4. News releases that, in the editor's opinion, specifically promote a commercial enterprise or product will be considered for the Business Page section of the publication only and must conform to #5 of this policy.
5. Advertorials are press releases that promote a commercial enterprise, business or product and will be limited to the Business Section. They must be less than 350 words. If a photo is to be published with the promotional information, the release must be less than 300 words. These items will be published as space is available, and priority may be given to regular advertisers and businesses new to the area. Published advertorials will be limited to one per business in each calendar year.  Words like "I", "me", or "we" should be avoided and replaced with the businesses name.  Additional advertorials can be scheduled and published at regular, advertising prices.  Call for details.  All advertorials will be marked as "advertisement" and "submitted by" at the end of the submitted text.  All advertorials are subject to USPS rules and regulations for regular advertisments and subject to normal fees and inclusions for postal charges.  All advertorials are subject to the Town and Country's Advertising rules. 
6. Press releases must be less than 400 words. If a photo is to be published with the information, the release must be less than 350 words.
7. All releases and advertorials are subject to editing for size and content.
8. Press releases can be e-mailed to:
          townandcountry@upvnews.com or dropped off at our office.
9. If you are e-mailing your press release, the information must be contained in an attachment and should be in Rich Text Format (RTF).
10. If you are e-mailing your photos, they must be sent as an attachment in TIF or JPG format, at least 200 DPI – no HTML photos will be published. Photos can also be brought into the office for scanning.