What is 'news' at NowPublic?

What is News on NowPublic?

Everyone within the NowPublic community is encouraged to play a part in the newsmaking process. The very people who consume the news on NowPublic also work together to produce it. Here are some tips on what makes a story newsworthy.

News should be current, and it must mean something to people. A story about a storm in your neighborhood or the opening of a blockbuster movie can both be newsworthy, but each needs to be put into context to be meaningful to others.

NowPublic provides coverage of major news events worldwide, but we're particularly interested in discovering and reporting on stories not covered by the mainstream media - whether those are local, national, or international issues.

Bring your own personal perspective to a story to inform and provide context for NowPublic readers. If you are highlighting external sources within your story, be sure to include your own original commentary or introduction. Writing in your own words is what really makes your contributions valuable.

What is Spam?

Spam is content that promotes a product or service, regardless of the product or service that is being offered. This includes posts that link directly to external commercial websites, and commercial press releases.

Stories are evaluated individually by Editors and Staff Editors and content that is identified as having a commercial purpose will be flagged as Spam and deleted from the site for violating NowPublic's Code of Conduct. Members who consistently post spam risk having their accounts blocked without warning.

Getting on the Front Page

When a valuable story is submitted to NowPublic, the community promotes it through recommendations. The more recommendations your story receives, the more likely it is to move up within the hierarchy of stories and appear on the front page.

If you want to increase the likelihood your content will be recommended it should have the following qualities:

• A clear and accurate headline
• Tight and concise copy
• You’ve explained how the story is newsworthy and why it matters to people
• The content is at least partially original and contains your own thoughts and perspective
• Source material is limited and clearly identified using NowPublic’s Highlight tool
• Relevant photos, videos and interactive widgets are used where appropriate

More guidelines for writing great stories can be found within our J-Tips section.

Working with Editors

Staff Editors are part of NowPublic’s Editorial Team and are here to ensure that the site runs smoothly by managing the site's content, encouraging members’ contributions, promoting quality reporting, and making suggestions for improvement where necessary.

Have a great story idea or need some help developing a big news story? Contact the Staff Editor for the relevant channel and they will gladly assist you.

If your story is flagged as “Needs Improvement,” it is likely because it was incomplete, not newsworthy, plagiarized, or violated another guideline within our Code of Conduct. Remember that Editors are here to help and make everyone’s experience a positive and enjoyable one. If you have any questions about a “Needs Improvement” flag, simply ask us and we’ll be happy to clarify and help you to improve.

If you run into a technical issue or have a concern regarding NowPublic’s policies or community dynamics, be sure to have a look in the Forums; our staff work to address site glitches and member feedback as fast as possible, so if there’s a fix for your problem you’ll find it there.

If you don’t find the answers you’re looking for in the FAQ or Forum , contact Amy Judd for Community Relations or Jordan Yerman for Technical Assistance, or feel free to start a new forum discussion and allow other members to weigh in.