Currently, Clarion does not accept advertisements from outside sponsors, though it may choose to publicize school events free of charge.  This policy is under review for our 07-08 paper.

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As a general rule, Clarion does not accept outside submissions (articles, cartoons, etc.) from students and staff.  Exceptions may be made in the following cases:

• Outside submission comes from a former Clarion staffer.
• Outside submission is requested by Clarion.
• Outside submission comes as part of another teacher's classroom project with students.
• Outside submissions are Letters to the Editor or Dear Marge letters.

In the case of a classroom project, Clarion reserves the right to edit, modify, or omit outside submissions as needed.

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As with any newspaper, Clarion is not perfect and will make mistakes.  Moreover, Clarion operates under constraints that traditional papers do not.  Our staff members have limited time to pursue stories; Clarion is not a full-time job for students.  With that understanding, when Clarion articles contain factual errors, we ask that:

• You let us know.
• You be understanding and give us a chance to amend our mistake.

Clarion will run corrections with every issue that seek to rectify mistakes made in a previous issue.

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Every issue of Clarion contains at least one Opinion page.  Opinion articles operate differently than other articles.  Articles which appear within our Opinion section represent the individual opinion of the author.  They do not represent the opinion of the editors-in-chief, the staff, the sponsor, or the school as a whole.

With particularly sensitive opinion columns, Clarion will make every effort to include a "Pro" and "Con" piece to represent both sides of the issue.  Clarion also encourages you to submit Letters to the Editor to express YOUR opinions.

In writing opinion columns, staffers will also be aware and follow the ethical standards set forth by the Society of Professional Journalists.

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By tradition, Clarion has always operated and will continue to operate as a student-run forum for free expression.  Student Editors-in-Chief, under the guidance of a class sponsor, make the final decisions regarding the content of the Clarion.

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Clarion encourages community members to respond to its articles through Letters to the Editor.  The following restrictions apply:

• Letters to the Editor must be signed or they will not be printed.
• Clarion reserves the right to edit Letters to the Editor for content or length.

You can submit a Letter to the Editor by:

• e-mailing the sponsor, Daniel Mancoff, at dmancoff@rbhs208.org.
• hand delivering the letter to the Publications Lab (221) or any Clarion staff member.

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Clarion staff members are expected to follow the ethical standards set forth by the Society of Professional Journalism.

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The entire student body - grade 9 through 12 - is encouraged to join Clarion at any time.  As our staff grows, we may need to make decisions regarding admission to the class.  If this becomes the case, the following criteria will be taken into account when making selections:

• Previous Clarion experience.
• Completion of RB's journalism course.
• Recommendations from English teachers.
• Interview with Clarion sponsor.
• Schedule availability.

Furthermore, leadership positions within Clarion will be assigned at the discretion of the class sponsor with the following guidelines:

• Preference is to be given to experienced Clarion members over inexperienced Clarion members.
• Applications and/or writing samples may be requested by the sponsor.
• Preference is to be given to full-year staff members as opposed to semester staff members.

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Clarion seeks to cover the full-range of student life.  However, the limitation of being an 8-page paper requires us to make and prioritize choices regarding coverage.  Clarion Editors-in-Chief have the final say as to what stories ultimately get coverage within the paper.

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