Submit a Story to HappyNews

Story Submission Form

What You Get

As a Citizen Journalist on Happy News you can share your news with a international audience, build a bank of writing samples, gain experience as a reporter, make a little money, and make people smile in the process!

• Journalism experience and bylines that come with the title of Citizen Reporter - This includes experience interviewing, researching, and writing articles for an international news audience.
• An opportunity to build a strong journalism portfolio writing stories that appeal to you.
• A Tip Jar and link to your Web site - This can mean additional $ payments and further exposure of your talents.
• Pay for your work - HappyNews.com does not currently pay for freelance content. We add tip jars and a link to the writer's Web site on each Citizen Journalist article. A tip jar allows our readers to support your contribution to HappyNews. All Tip Jar payments will be made automatically into your PayPal account.
• A Link to Your Web site - This equals further exposure of your talents.

• Happy News is looking for any and all types of happy news. We recommend you begin with short pieces about local events or heroes. We are looking for professionally researched and reported stories that are fair and accurate to all parties involved. To insure that we adhere to the highest journalist standards, we ask that you follow certain guidelines when submitting a story.
• Longer Articles - If you wish to write a long article, contact us first, with a proposal. We'll then give you information on whether we're interested and how to best go about approaching the story. We may even give you some tips that you hadn't thought of!
• What Goes Up - Many factors determine appearance on the web site, including quality, length, timeliness, and of course, whether or not a story is happy. If we reject your story, don't give up - it may mean that someone else has already covered the topic and we just don't want to duplicate material.

For More Information - Check out the Electronic Freedom Foundation's media law guide for bloggers. Although it's written for bloggers most of the information provided there holds true for journalists as well.

How To Submit Your Story

• Spell Check - While we copy-edit all submissions for grammar and AP style, stories rife with spelling errors will not be accepted under any circumstances.
• Provide List of Source Contacts - We will fact-check your story, please include the full name, phone numbers, e-mail addresses, and other contact information of all sources interviewed for the story - even if you did not use them in the story.
• Keep it Original - Submissions to Happynews.com must be original work. Original work is that which has not been sold to another publication or published elsewhere, including on your own web site. Once you submit the story to Happynews.com, you grant Happynews.com all commercial and non-commercial copyrights. However you are welcome to provide a hyperlink on your web site back to your article on HappyNews.com
• Use the Online Form

Information for Photographers

• Photographs should be, if possible, exactly 400 pixels wide, and no taller than 650 pixels.
• Photographs should not be faked or manipulated. You are allowed to make simple edits in Photoshop that do not distort the content of the image, specifically, you are allowed to straighten and crop a photograph so that it shows the information that needs to be shown (although important information should not be cropped out.) You are allowed to adjust the brightness, contrast, levels, and saturation of the piece.

Journalistic Ethics

• Always Identify Yourself as a Reporter - When conducting interviews person to person, by phone, or by e-mail, The Citizen Journalist must identify himself or herself as a reporter at the beginning of the conversation. A phrase like "Hello, my name is [your name,] and I am a citizen-reporter writing for happynews.com, a news web site" is most appropriate. You are only "on the record" after identifying yourself as a journalist.
• Stay On the Record - Material "off the record" or from an "anonymous source" may not be included in an article submitted to Happy News. If the person you interview asks to go off the record, politely decline and say that you cannot accept information off-the-record. If the person you interview asks not to be named, explain politely that you cannot use that information as a source.
• Attribute All Information - All information gathered for a story must be attributed to the source. Use "... [Name of source] said." or if you're getting the information from a publication, press release, or web site, use "... according to [name of publication]"
• Remain True and Accurate - You are at particular risk for libeling someone if the material harms the reputation of another person, and is a false statement of fact. To avoid libel, all material must be true and accurate. Libel laws vary from state to state and country to country, but there are some key commonalties. In the United States, truth is always a defense for libel.
• Read and adhere to the Society of Professional Journalists ethics code. Public figures, such as government officials, celebrities, and other famous individuals, such as people involved in specific public controversies are required to prove actual malice - that you printed the material with the intent to harm. Private figures - or average people who are not famous, are only required to prove that the reporter (you) and the editor (us) acted with negligence.
  • The best defense against libel is truth.
  • Journalists are expected to adhere to professional journalistic ethics when reporting.
  • Even if material is true and accurate, you can get into trouble with privacy issues. Specifically:
    • You are not allowed to trespass on anyone's private property without permission.
    • You must leave private property when asked to leave even if you had prior permission to be there or the event is open to the public. No one, however, may confiscate your notes or, if you have it, recording equipment or tapes.
    • You are not allowed to unreasonably interfere with someone's seclusion.
  • You should not publish information about a person's private affairs that a reasonable person would find objectionable and for which there is no legitimate public interest.

Watch Out for Copyrighted Info - You are allowed to use some copyrighted work in your article - that work must be attributed to the original author, and must be of a compelling public interest. The law regarding copyright and fair use, however, is much more complex than that. We suggest that if you plan to use copyrighted work in your article or photograph, you contact us first.

If It Becomes An Issue - If you are contacted by someone accusing you of libel or copyright infringement, do not apologize or make any statement about the case - that can be construed as an admission of guilt. Immediately tell them you cannot comment on the matter, and tell them to immediately contact us. You should also contact us.

Story Leads: If you aren't interested in writing an article, but know of a good story we should follow up on, please send your ideas to newseditor@happynews.com.

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