About OHS Magnet & Editorial Policies
We, the Magnet staff, would like to state the editorial policy. Magnet’s responsibility is to provide Owatonna High School’s students and staff with informative, educational and entertaining news and student opinions.
Our goal is to report the news accurately, honestly and fairly. All material in Magnet will be bias-free with the exception of clearly marked editorials and columns which are found categorized as opinion or on the opinion page and elsewhere in the paper.
Magnet is a newspaper by and for the students of OHS. We welcome your opinions and ideas. We encourage you, the students and staff of OHS, to use this paper to your advantage. If you have any suggestions, questions or concerns please contact Ms. Polly Shives, the Magnet adviser, or any of the members of Magnet staff at [email protected].
However, we will not publish anything obscene, degrading or offensive. Nor will material, opinionated or otherwise, that is libelous, irresponsible or advocates any kind of illegal activity be published. We will not exercise prior restraint, but we do reserve the right to edit materials as we see fit.
In order to be published, all letters to Magnet must be signed by the person or persons who write them. Letters may be placed in Ms. Shives’ mailbox or given to a member of Magnet staff or submitted as a “Letter to the Editor” emailed to [email protected].
High school journalists are guaranteed First Amendment protection for what they write. Along with this freedom, we understand that we have an obligation to serve our readers responsibly and respectfully.
Magnet Editorial Policies
Staff editorials in Magnet reflect the opinions of Magnet staff and may not reflect the views of the adviser or the school administration. The column is the opinion of the by-lined writer. All other statements on the opinion page are the opinion of the writer and are not necessarily reflective of the viewpoints of Magnet staff.
Corrections
Errors will be corrected in the next issue or online when they are brought to the attention of Magnet staff. Errors will be corrected in the article and republished online. The Magnet is a free newspaper distributed to students. Print Publications are published up to three times a year. Our online newspaper, ohsmagnet.com, is updated multiple times a week.
Take down
Magnet prides itself on being journalistically correct, as well as communicating the events, news and opinions of OHS. There is a standard set to have all facts correct, quotes correct and information communicated correctly in a timely manner. Magnet staff has decided that it will accept take-down requests as they happen, but will take it with journalism consideration. As long as the article is journalistically correct, unbiased, does not cause unnecessary harm OHS students or staff membersand does not break new First Amendment rights, Magnet would prefer to preserve the articles published. According to the SPJ Code of Ethics, Magnet does not have to take down anything upon request. We may deliberate and do so on our own terms. If the quote would like to be rescinded, it may be an option to remove the quote over removing the whole article.
Social media comments
Magnet’s goal is to cover the events, news and stories of Owatonna High School. We believe in the freedom of speech, but we do reserve the right to delete comments on our social media posts that we deem offensive, inappropriate, disrespectful or inflammatory. We will also delete comments that make personal attacks against OHS students and staff.
Photo
Magnet prides itself on taking its own quality photographs. These photos may be published with a watermark either on our website, or on our various social media outlets. If the photos on ohsmagnet.com are not taken by Magnet photographers, the image is a fair use image or press release and will be credited with the source it was taken from. All photos submitted will be marked giving credit to the photographer or photo submitted. All illustrations and graphics published by Magnet are protected by this policy.
Video and podcast
All podcasts are regarded as editorial content and will be filed under the editorial/opinion category. The content in these podcasts follows the same regards as an editorial/opinion story. They are the opinions of the Magnet staff. These opinions do not always pertain to the views of the entire staff, but to the opinion of the person who is speaking. Podcasts and video content will be under direct scrutiny and will not be published if they do not meet Magnet’s standards.
Advertising
Magnet does not advertise online nor in print.
Submitted stories
Magnet does not accept submitted stories, however, we will accept story ideas as long as they align with our goals and content. Story ideas must directly pertain to OHS students.
Death
In the event of the death of an OHS student or staff, upon receiving the news, Magnet will honor them on the splash page in a timely manner. Due to the sensitive nature of death, Magnet will not publish anything further at the time of death.