When submitting an article for
publication in The Old Town Report or Post web site, please follow
these protocols and guidelines.
Required Protocol
Submit the following required information in a digital format or place a printed copy in the “Adjutant” mail
bin in the office at our Post; or send by U.S. Mail to Post 534, 145
W. Clark Ave., Orcutt, CA 93454, attention Adjutant. Always provide
your first and last name, a contact phone number and what unit you
are submitting this for, as for Post 534, Ladies Auxiliary, Sons of
the American Legion, The American Legion Riders
Deadline for receiving information in the The Old Town Report
newsletter each month is,
Friday following the monthly Executive Committee Meeting (E-Board) at
7 p.m.
Information received after the deadline will be accepted at the sole
discretion of the newsletter editor. Should circumstances require flexibility
in the deadline, please consult with the editor. There is no deadline
when submitting information for the Post web site.
Guidelines for Submitting Articles
Please do your best to follow these guidelines when submitting articles
for publication in The Old Town Report or the Post web site. The newsletter
and web site are official publications of Orcutt Post 534 and we reserve
the right to accept and edit all submissions for publication.
1. Have a positive message. Readers respond best to factually
correct messages containing positive information about the Post.
When writing your article please remember to use the principal, "Praise
in public, criticize in private" to guide you.
2. Include the facts necessary for our readers to fully understand your
message. The following excerpt from Rudyard Kipling's poem "The
Elephant's Child" is good advice on how to ensure the facts are
provided.
" I kept six honest serving men,
They taught me all I knew,
Their names are Why and What and When,
And How and Where and Who."
In journalism, this information is essential to consider a report complete.
The principle underlying the maxim is that each question should elicit
a factual answer — these facts are necessary to provide our readers
a complete report. Importantly, none of these questions can be answered
with a simple "yes" or "no". Sometimes all these
questions cannot be answered prior to the newsletter being published.
When possible please do your best to answer them all.
3. When using an acronym in your article, such as PUFL, please define
the acronym the first time you use it. Example, Paid Up For Life (PUFL)
members . . . " This will help ensure everyone understands the meaning
of the acronym.
4. Most people love to see their name in print. However, only when correctly
spelled. Please submit the full names (first and last name) of people
correctly spelled. If you are not certain, just indicate with (sp?) after
the name.
5. In articles submitted electronically use normal upper/lower case text
for the whole article. Text in all upper case makes editing the article
more difficult.
6. Dates, always use figures, without "st," "rd" or "th": "The
committee will meet Monday, December 12."
7. Time, use figures, except for "noon" and "midnight":
11 a.m. (not 11:00 or 1100 hours) 3:30 p.m. (not 15:30 hours). Having
a consistent presentation of time reduces confusion.
8. All submissions for publication are edited for spelling, grammar,
composition and style. If articles contain significant errors they will
be returned to the author for corrections. A proof of the newsletter
is sent to those submitting articles electronically. Pay close attention
to this document, it is your last chance to make corrections prior to
the newsletter being sent to the printer. It is your responsibility to
contact the editor with any errors in the draft newsletter before it
is sent to the printer.
9. Flyers: Clearly display the location or address of the activity. As
our flyers receive distribution outside of our Post (VFW, newspapers,
Senior Groups, Neighboring Legion Posts, etc.) our Post address may not
be known to them.
10. Newsletter Production: The newsletter is picked up from the printer
on second Thursday following the Executive Committee meeting. This is
normally the fourth Thursday of the month. Only one newsletter mailed
per household is standard, unless other arrangements are made in advance.
Volunteers are needed to fold, staple, and label the newsletter prior
to it being taken to the Post Office.
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