Editorial Guidelines

The Observer is an entirely student-run newspaper and is not affiliated with the administration of Fordham University.

Submissions

You may email [email protected] with general inquiries or to join the paper. For section-specific questions, you may find the contact information for editors on the masthead.

The Observer meets every Monday during the academic year at 5:30 p.m. Attendance at weekly meetings is not required to join; editors will also send pitches and deadlines via email. Any and all Fordham students may contribute to any section and may pitch their own story ideas.

The Observer reserves the right to edit for content, clarity and length. The Observer also has the right to withhold any submissions from publication for any reason. The Observer does not accept guest posts, sponsored content or submissions on-spec.

Comment Moderation

Users must adhere to The Observer’s community guidelines. We reserve the right to delete any comments, posts and/or messages on our website and on our affiliated social media platforms that contain any of the following:

Threats or harassment aimed at other users or staff of The Observer
Hateful language and/or slurs for any reason, in particular concerning any race/ethnicity, age, color, creed, religion, gender, sexuality, or political beliefs
Spam (including advertisements unrelated to the topic of a given post)
Incoherent phrasing

The Observer moderates comments posted to stories on the website and on The Observer’s social media platforms. Questions about The Observer’s moderation policies and decisions should be directed to [email protected].

Comments, posts and messages issued by The Observer’s staff members on their personal social media accounts are not affiliated with and do not reflect the views of The Observer.

Corrections and Removal Policies

Modifications

The Observer will accept changes in an article, as long as making the change does not affect the reporting in the article.

For minor inaccuracies, such as misspelling of names, titles or dates, The Observer may issue a correction statement after careful review.

The Observer will always update content to reflect chosen names and pronouns of sources and editors. These modifications are made without a correction statement.

The Observer has very strict requirements for unlisting, much less removing, content published with consent on fordhamobserver.com. Content must be libelous, unlawful, inaccurate or misleading for it to undergo a takedown review process — these are the standards across most news outlets on the collegiate and professional levels.

Any concerns about content removal and modification processes can be made to [email protected].

Opinions Policies

Opinions

Articles in the Opinions section, including those categorized under columns and The Rubberneck satire section, represent the view of their individual authors. All Fordham undergraduate and graduate students are invited to submit Opinions articles on topics they are passionate about, especially ones with relevance to student life at Fordham. Alumni and faculty may also contribute Opinions articles in certain circumstances; those interested should email the Opinions editors with a pitch. The Observer requires that Opinions articles be attributed to individuals and will not accept anonymous articles or articles submitted by an organization as a whole. Opinion articles do not reflect the views held by the editorial board of The Observer or by Fordham University.

Staff Editorials

Staff editorials represent an opinion held by a majority of The Observer’s editorial board. The purpose of the staff editorial is to highlight an issue relevant to the university and, as the student voice of Lincoln Center, affect change or a call to action in the interest of the student community.

Opinions editors lead the research and writing of each editorial, assisted by a small group of editorial board members with the exception of News editors. The whole editorial board is invited to contribute feedback at the next meeting prior to publication. Staff editorials do not reflect the views held by Fordham University.

Letters to the Editor

Anyone may submit a letter to the editor; no Fordham affiliation is required. Letters to the editor should be typed and emailed to [email protected] or sent to The Observer, Fordham University, 140 W. 62nd St., Rm. G32, New York, NY 10023. Length should not exceed 200 words unless given permission by the Opinions editors, who oversee letters to the editor as they would any other article. All letters must be signed and include contact information, official titles, and year of graduation (if applicable) for verification. If submitters fail to include this information, the Opinions editors will do so at their own discretion. Opinions editors reserve the right to make stylistic edits on any submission and withhold any submission from publication, and will not consider more than two letters from the same individual on one topic.

Advertisements on all Observer platforms are clearly identified as such and do not represent endorsements by The Observer or Fordham University. Advertisements are required to conform to the ethical standards of The Observer, Fordham University and the Fordham University Student Handbook. Advertisements found to be in conflict with these standards will be taken down.

Copyright

No part of The Observer may be reprinted or reproduced without the written consent of The Observer’s editorial board. Please contact [email protected] with any inquiries about the use of our content.