Policies

Social media and comments

1. Social media will be used to promote appropriate media, to promote published content, and to engage in the community of Pascack Hills High School, as well as the communities of Woodcliff Lake, Montvale, River Vale, and Hillsdale.

2. The Editorial Board reserves the right to remove comments deemed inappropriate, offensive or threatening.

3. The information posted on social media platforms (i.e. Twitter) should be held to the same standard as all other reporting in terms of information gathering and fact-checking.

Bylines

1. If more than one person works on a story or an editor has to rewrite a significant portion of a story (as determined by the editor), all names of contributing writers will be listed on the byline of the article.

2. All articles, graphics, photos and other media, with the exception of staff photos, will be bylined with the photographer or contributor’s name.

3. All bylined writers will be held accountable for their work and the information contained within.

Editorial 

1. The Trailblazer will not print anything in our publication (online or print) that is deemed libelous, obscene or otherwise offensive or inappropriate, in accordance with the Supreme Court’s justified standards.

2. Rights are reserved to postpone, edit or withhold from publication anything submitted which does not meet the specifications.

3. Unsigned editorials represent the view of the Trailblazer Editorial Board. It does not necessarily represent the view of other Trailblazer staff members.

4. The Trailblazer refuses to print criticism which is not constructive and not supported by facts or evidence. The editors and advisor will make the final decision on all material appearing in Trailblazer. 

5. The Trailblazer will not intentionally invade the privacy of any person or publish facts and quotes given off the record.

6. Opinions will be clearly marked and found on the editorial pages or as designated on other pages (i.e.- front page).

7. Opinions and commentary are the expressed opinion of the author and not of Trailblazer and its editorial board, adviser, or Pascack Hills High School’s faculty or school board.

8. Members of the staff are guided by the Canons of Journalism of the American Society of Newspaper Editors, a code of ethics that outlines the principles of responsibility, fairness, and accuracy.

9. Any published transcript of an interview will not be reworded unless it is because of an error on the part of the writer (eg. a typo). The writer may make the judgment to clarify part of the transcript. If an interviewee wishes to restate a certain thought, they must do so in full.

Corrections

1. Corrections will be printed when brought to the attention of the staff. Original stories will carry bylines but additional contributors to a story will be listed at the end.

Policies were crafted with the help of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association and FHN Today.