Advertising Policies

General Policy Statement

Because student editors are private citizens and not representatives of government, we have the right to accept or reject any advertising, according to our policy. We will not accept advertising that is libelous, obscene, irresponsible, or in poor taste. Neither will we accept advertising that can be considered incitement to breaking the law, language likely to provoke a fight, invasion of privacy, infringement of copyright, or speech that causes disruption of school activities. Advertisements for illegal products or services will not be accepted. We reserve the right to edit any material submitted for advertising. All decisions will be made by the Editorial Review Board and the Adviser.

Personal Advertisements

We reserve the right to establish a format for personal ads and to limit the choices of typefaces, etc. We reserve the right to edit all copy and photographs. Students and parents who purchase personal ads must read over a proof copy of their ads and sign an agreement approving the content. Although we will make every effort to return photographs submitted for personal ads, we cannot take responsibility for what might happen during the printing process.

If an advertiser does not have prepared copy to be used in the ad, the staff member in charge of selling the ad will be responsible for making sure ad copy is developed with the aid of the Adviser or other staff members. Copy will be prepared within the limits of the paper’s code of ethics and the staff’s desktop publishing capabilities. The advertiser may request to review the ad prior to publication. The placement of the ad in any publications will be at the discretion of the editors; whenever possible, we take advertisers’ requests into account.

Accounts Payable
All accounts will be due and payable after the final proofing of the advertisement.

Board Policy:

All advertising accepted by the activity’s staff must meet the same guidelines as editorial content. Acceptance of advertising does not constitute an endorsement by the school, the staff as a whole, or its individual members.

1. All advertising shall comply with “Limitations” set forth in “The Policy Governing School-Sponsored Student Expressive Activities”:
In the performance of such expressive activities as noted above (Panorama, Rambler, Crescendo, Perspective, Image, Shibboleths, speech, dramatic and other such activity of a comparable nature which has a public display feature), there shall be no content nor style incorporating the following:
a. that which would substantially interfere with the school’s work or impinge on the rights of others;
b. that which would be reasonably perceived to advocate drug or alcohol use, irresponsible sexual behavior, or conduct otherwise inconsistent with the shared values of a civilized social order as supported in the school curriculum and recognized to be widely held;
c. that which would associate the school with partiality on matters of political controversy;
d. that which is biased or prejudicial, vulgar, or profane;
e. that which is unsuitable for immature audiences;
f. that which presents a false and unprivileged statement about a specific individual which may be injurious to his or her reputation in the community;
g. that which is an invasion of privacy;
h. that which is ungrammatical, poorly written, or inadequately researched;
i. content which is unrelated to an educational purpose of pedagogical concern.

2. Standards for Sales:
a. Sales should be made in a professional manner.
b. Sales should strictly adhere to the contract.
c. School groups will not accept advertising from groups or individuals that promote materials that promote materials that are objectionable to minors, according to the standards of the community.
d. Billing and collection of funds will be the responsibility of the business manager or treasurer. Deposits and withdrawals will be made by the sponsor with the approval of the appropriate assistant principal.

3. Standards for Design:
a. Advertising placement is to be determined by editors and/or the advertising manager with the advice and consent of the sponor. No requests for advertisement placement by the advertiser will be accepted.
b. The advertising manager and staff are responsible for having camera-ready pages by their deadlines. They will design the advertising if necessary.
c. The percentage of advertising allowed in each issue will be determined by the sponsor and the editors who will take into consideration the total amount of space available in the publication.

4. Standards for Copy:
a. All copy will be accurate, tasteful, and well-written. It will follow the guidelines established by the Board of Education in the policy named above.
b. Should a student and/or school personnel die anytime during the current coverage period, the staff will treat the death in a tasteful, respectful manner, one which will provide adequate memory of the individual for those closely association while not overemphasizing it for other readers.
c. Students who appear in advertising must sign a model release form acknowledging that said student will accept no monetary remuneration from the client and that his or her appearance is one of support for the newspaper, yearbook, class, organization, or team rather than for the business or professional.

Click Here to Download the 2012-2013 Ad Contract