The Stute
Purpose, Values, Policies, and Practices
Last revised: Saturday, October 30, 2021
Purpose (as stated in our Constitution)
The purpose of The Stute is to advance the knowledge and practices of journalism by producing a newspaper and maintaining a website. The physical and digital paper shall inform and influence the student body and act as a medium for student expression so as to further evoke and foster the true spirit of Stevens.
Values
While we aim to follow The Elements of Journalism by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel, the following list is our own list of values that is heavily based on those elements, but has been edited to fit The Stute.
1. Our first obligation is to the truth — our first priority is to establish what truly happened before rushing to get the information out there.
2. Our first loyalty is to the community we serve — in specific, students of Stevens Institute of Technology.
3. We follow a discipline of verification. This means that we make every effort to verify with our writers that quotes are in the correct form and context, that information hasn’t been rearranged, and that every effort is being made to portray the truth.
4. We maintain an independence from administration, and we avoid conflicts of interest at all times.
5. We serve as a monitor of power, and aim to uncover wrongdoing within the Stevens community.
6. We aim to provide a forum for public criticism and compromise. The Stute Executive Board is open at all times to discuss with readers their concerns or questions.
7. We strive to make the significant interesting and relevant.
8. We strive to present the news in a way that is comprehensive and proportional.
9. We strive to create community by uplifting underrepresented voices and highlighting all aspects of the Stevens experience.
10. The Stute is composed fully of students, from staff writers to Editors — we value the notion that citizens have rights and responsibilities when it comes to the news as well. Our job as news reporters differs from our job as students, and we value that fine line in our levels of professionalism.
Policies
Accuracy checking:
Requests from sources for writers to change quotes said on the record will not be granted. In the event of clarifying context or fixing something inaccurate in an original quote, situations will be discussed by editors and requests to change may be granted.
Furthermore, writers should refrain from sending a finished story back to sources before it’s published. This practice relinquishes press freedoms and will only be granted on a case by case basis with a discussion among editors. However, writers are permitted to send specific, individual quotes being used in a story back to sources upon request from the source.
Anonymity:
The Stute does not allow quotes to be left anonymous unless obtaining the news could not have been done any other way. Granting anonymity to sources is not done casually or automatically. However, The Stute recognizes that in some circumstances granting anonymity is the only option. Those situations are discussed on a case by case basis.
In the case of unsigned Op-Eds or Letters to the Editor, the identity of the writer must be made known to the Editor-in-Chief. In the case of anonymous sources in all other content, the identity of the writer must be made known to at least two (2) editors to allow for a discussion.
Conflicts of interest:
The Stute strives to avoid conflicts of interest at all times. If there is any actual or possible conflict of interest when a writer takes on an article, the writer or others must declare such conflict to the Executive Board. The Executive Board discusses all declarations of conflicts of interest, and will vote on the legitimacy of conflicts when the situation permits. If there is a conflict of interest, or after a certain point it is evident to the Executive Board that the article written is not as objective as it should be, the article will not be published. Additionally, a writer who has written an objective news piece on a certain topic who wishes to write an opinion piece on the same topic must consult the Executive Board.
Corrections:
In the event of a mistake or error regarding the contents published in The Stute, corrections should be submitted by emailing eboard@thestute.com. We will publish a correction in the following week’s paper in the corrections box (when applicable), and a correction will be inserted in the website version of the article. To preserve the consistency of what is published in print, we do not edit articles on the website after they are published.
Letters to the Editor:
All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a Letter to the Editor to be published in The Stute. Letters must refer either to a piece published in The Stute or to The Stute in general and must be between 400 – 800 words in length. Submit letters to editor@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form. For writers who wish to write a Letter to the Editor anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to publish a submitted Letter to the Editor based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit letters for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the final version, The Stute reserves the right to edit letters according to our copy editing procedures, defined below.
Op-Eds:
All members of the Stevens community are able to submit a standalone opinion piece (otherwise known as an Op-Ed) to be published in The Stute. Op-Eds must be between 400 – 800 words, but longer submissions will be considered on a case-by-case basis. To submit an Op-Ed please email eboard@thestute.com with your name and title (when applicable) or using our Google form. For writers who wish to write an Op-Ed anonymously, please see our policy on anonymity.
The Editorial Board reserves the right to choose whether or not to publish a submitted Op-Ed based on a majority rule vote, and additionally reserves the right to edit Op-Eds for clarity or request authors to revise. Provided that the author approves the final version, The Stute reserves the right to edit Op-Eds according to our copy editing procedures, defined below.
Opinion columns:
All opinions and editorials published in The Stute reflect the views of the respective writer and do not reflect the views of The Stute as an organization or any others involved in making The Stute. If factual information is included in an Opinion column, it will be fact-checked by Editors of The Stute. Writers who choose to include factual data or information in opinion writing are required to have links to sources in the online versions.
Columnists are appointed after emailing a sample column to eboard@thestute.com and a majority rule vote by the Editorial and/or Executive Board confirms their appointance. At any time after a columnist is appointed, the Executive Board reserves the right to terminate a columnist from their position, for reasons such as not meeting expectations or requirements, or other rational justifications.
Profanity:
Profanity is allowed in all pieces published in The Stute but only within reasonable terms. Pieces with a level of profanity that raises concerns by Editors will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis.
Take down / “unpublish” policy:
Due to the nature of content published online, the occasional request to take down pieces from our website will arise. The Stute does not grant these requests often and it is considered a last resort; any situation in which take down requests arise will be discussed by The Stute Executive Board. In the event of taking down a piece, we will contact the writer before the decision is made and discuss the situation with them, but The Stute reserves the right to take down a piece before discussing it with the writer, if the situation permits.
Practices
Conduct:
The Stute requires its staff members to behave in a professional manner and adhere to industry-standard guidelines for reporting. We aim to follow the Society for Professional Journalists code of ethics as a baseline, and in doing so The Stute seeks to serve as a news outlet that finds the truth and reports on it.
Copy editing:
All pieces published in The Stute will be edited by trained copy editors. Any member of The Stute will qualify as a trained copy editor under the discretion of the Head Copy Editor. Our rules for copy editing are outlined in The Stute Copy Editing Bible. Writers are encouraged to review their piece after it has been edited to ensure the changes made do not change the original intention of the writer. Any writer who has questions or problems with changes made should voice their concerns to the Head Copy Editor. Changes that are deemed as mistakes by the Head Copy Editor and the Executive/Editorial Board will be changed online, and a correction can be made in the next print issue (when applicable) or on our website.
In regard to standards on Style, The Stute reserves the right for trained copy editors to edit all pieces for style. This means editing pieces for word choice, clarity, organization, etc. Any dramatic change an editor makes in the style of a piece will be discussed with the writer. For The Stute’s editorial style standards for all sections of our paper, please consult the Copy Editing Bible linked above.
Co-writing:
Two or more writers may work on a piece together under the discretion of the Managing Editor and on a case-by-base basis. Even if the work was not divided equally, all writers involved will be credited with a byline in the paper and/or on our website. Situations where one writer believes they should receive full credit will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis and will be decided by the Executive Board.
Editor’s notes
In the event that The Stute needs to clarify editorial decisions, address whether an article did not meet our standards, or respond to ethical problems that may arise, editor’s notes may be inserted into pieces by the Editor-in-Chief. The goal with editor’s notes is to ensure trust between The Stute and readers and practice a quick way of clarifying any issues.
Objectivity of method:
In our news reporting, we strive to pursue an objective method of obtaining the truth, which includes but is not limited to:
• Making an active effort in reaching out to all parties involved in a news story for information and comment
• Allowing ample time for all parties to respond to requests for comment
• Creating an equal distribution in how we promote pieces on our social media profiles
Social Media:
The pieces published in The Stute that are posted to our social media profiles are decided by the Editor-in-Chief and the Digital Manager. Priority is given to timely and informative news articles; opinion pieces are posted rarely and at the discretion of the Editor-in-Chief. The Stute aims to provide each writer an equal opportunity to have their piece posted to our social media profiles.
When faced with a correction, a factual error, or anything a reader has a question about, The Stute does not rely on comment sections or direct messages (DMs) on social media as a main source of communication. We will respond to inquiries through these channels when deemed necessary, but we encourage readers to email us at eboard@thestute.com for questions, concerns, or comments.
Updating a digital report
Due to the nature of content published online, the occasional request to edit pieces after they’ve been published will arise. Reasons can include adding more context or changing a quote, among others. The Stute does not grant these requests and believes in preserving print versions of content with digital ones. In the event of a factual error, please see our policy on corrections.
Disclaimer: No part of The Stute may be reproduced in any form, in whole or in part, without the written consent of the Editor-in-Chief. Cited references of The Stute are permitted.