Valhalla Publication Policies
Mission Statement:
The Valhalla’s mission is to provide the LSHS community with a quality, thought-provoking publication. In these efforts, the Valhalla has established a place specifically for the exchange of information, opinions, and artistic expression dedicated to those in the LSHS community. The Valhalla will operate as a forum for student expression with student editors, in conjunction with an adult adviser, responsible for making all decisions related to the content of the newspaper consistent with the limitations and guidelines established by this policy.
Advertising:
The Valhalla will not accept any advertising that we believe to be factually inaccurate designed to mislead, deceive or defraud; containing malicious, vindictive, or unsubstantiated attacks; offering goods and/or services illegal for teens to possess, buy, or use; libelous; obscene; creating imminent danger or disruption to school. The Valhalla reserves the right to refuse any advertising, solicited or unsolicited. Ads identifying students as athletes by photo or text will also not be accepted (WIAA 18.20.0 and 18.20.1). Advertisements do not necessarily reflect the views, endorsements and/or positions of the Valhalla staff, student body, faculty, administration, or school board.
News and Feature Stories:
Reporters will strive to abide by the CODE OF ETHICS set by the Society of Professional Journalists. These ethics include accuracy and objectivity, fair play, and mutual trust. In addition, Valhalla reporters will abstain from stories that are factually inaccurate; designed to mislead, deceive, or defraud; containing malicious, vindictive, or unsubstantiated attacks. Also stories will not be published that are libelous; obscene; or that would create imminent danger or disruption to school.
Editorials:
The editorial section of the Valhalla serves as a forum for well written, thoughtful, longer forms of expression. Signed editorials represent the opinions of the author. Unsigned editorials represent the opinion of the majority of the Valhalla staff. Views printed here in are meant to be opinionated and/or persuasive, but do not necessarily represent the opinions of the student body, administration, or school board.
Ethics:
Conflicts of Interest:
All conflicts of interest must be disclosed to the editing staff. The Editor-in-Chief will make the final decision. (For Example, a wrestler should not write an article about wrestling)
For News/Features/Sports-
- No controversial topics if there is a conflict of interest/personal connection to the issue
- For sports teams and clubs, the story has to be related to a season update with dates and scores, not about coaches or people within the program (if there is a conflict of interest)
- For sports teams and clubs, the conflict of interest must be disclosed in the article to show the reporter’s potential bias/position so the reader has a better understanding of what angle the article is coming from.
For Opinions-
- Controversial topics must be covered with respect and transparency, and no hateful or divisive messages/words will be used.
Takedown Requests:
- Takedown requests from the authors based on a change in opinion/concern for digital footprint should be approved
- Takedown requests from students/staff who did not write the article will have to be reviewed by the editorial staff and will not always be approved unless the article somehow was published while containing elements of hate speech, targeting a person/specific group, inappropriate bias, misinformation, etc. Editorial staff will discuss the takedown request, if considered, with the reporter.
Use of AI:
- All use of AI must be disclosed to editing staff, along with the purpose of use (including Grammarly, spell check, etc)
- Any use of AI must be double-checked by the reporter to make sure no errors were made
- Grammarly should be allowed for grammar and spelling errors, and also for rearranging individual sentences
- AI may not write anything for staff, unless it is summarizing scores/data/statistics for sports teams, and using AI for this purpose must be approved by the editor-in-chief
- AI should be allowed to transcribe interviews
- AI tools in Photoshop should be allowed to improve photos
- No AI-generated images should be used unless the story is directly related to AI and its ability to generate images
Letters to the Editor:
The Valhalla will generally publish as many letters as space allows each issue. Letters must include the author’s name, signature, and class or position relative to the school. Typed, double-spaced letters or legible, handwritten letters are acceptable, but none should be more than 300 words. The Valhalla reserves the right to edit all letters for space, accuracy, spelling, and grammar. We reserve the right to refuse to print any letter. Submit letters to room 303, or email them to [email protected]. Any letter submitted by email should be in the body of the message, not in an attachment.
Editorial Cartoons:
The Valhalla will consider publishing comics and cartoons based on their appropriateness, size, and clarity.
Obituary Policy:
In the event of the death of a current student or member of the LSHS staff, Valhalla will publish an obituary. If a death of a current student or staff member occurs during the summer, the obituary will be published at the beginning of the next school year. The parameters of the obituary will be as follows:
Placement: In regular issues, the obituary will appear in the News section of the website; in the Senior Issue, the obituary will appear on either page one or two of the paper.
Content: The obituary will include a picture of the individual. If a picture is not provided by the family, then the school picture of the individual will be used. The full name and birth and mortality dates will be used. The advisor will contact the family and ask for one portrait-oriented image and a quotation or note. In the event that a note is not provided, the staff will use “We will miss you.” In the space provided and the picture will be sized to fit the space.
