Contributors and Editorial Guidelines

For contributors, please make sure you read Daily Contributor’s Editorial Guidelines and instructions for contributed content:

Before You Start:

Please fill out your information using this contact form.

Professional headshot photo (.jpg or .png) and

  • Professional byline that complies with Daily Contributor’s formatting and
  • Best email address to associate with Daily Contributor’s back-end content management system.

Sample Byline:

Wonder Woman is a Columnist at Daily Contributor. Based in _________, she …include some information about you.

Editorial Guidelines: 

 
1. Original Content Only. 

Daily Contributor maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward plagiarism and checks both staff and contributor content for such offenses.

4.   Subject Matter

Daily Contributor is a news outlet, therefore every story should surround some form of trending news (max four (4) days). Thus, full-on investigative reporting is welcome.

Remember: Daily Contributor is the premier startup news hub— startups, women entrepreneurs, women-led brands, tech, fintech, funding, social media, and of course men are always welcome. In contrast to evergreen content, Daily Contributor covers news and “news follow-ups,” including op-eds on breaking startup news topics.

5. Expert Opinions

If you are a subject-matter expert, you are more than welcome to analyze a particular news story, providing your own opinion and take-away from the piece. If you’re an expert you can “analyze it.” Daily Contributor may add an “Opinion” disclaimer to some pieces. 

6. Grammar Usage
  • Avoid exclamation points (!),  ellipses (…), slashes (/) and ampersands (&)
  • Common nouns, adjectives, adverbs, and verbs should be lower case.
  • Remember we are a news outlet.
7. Linking Out 

Each news story requires at least one (1) link to another reputable news source with respect to any research.

No affiliate or promotional links, as they are not reliable and only hurt the outlet’s ranking, indexing, and of course, credibility (including yours). For affiliate links, please see Daily Contributor’s Advertising Page.

8. Internal Links

Ever notice when you read Bloomberg, Forbes, ABC, CNN, TechCrunch, Mashable, USA Today, etc. why they are always linking to internal stories that other writers from their outlets have done?

Always use internal links. Each story requires at least one (1) link that points to another page on the same news site– in this case, that “same news site” is Daily Contributor. Usually, the best route is to link back to your own latest article on Daily Contributor.

9. Conflicts of Interest

Daily Contributor may not accept certain content that would otherwise serve as an advertisement. Contact our editorial team for more information. 

10. Using WordPress to Publish Your Article

Please email your editor for the WordPress Instructions and our associated guidelines with publishing to the platform. Your content may not publish automatically as it must be approved by an editor beforehand. 

Associated Press Editorial Guidelines

For all other editorial guidelines, we follow Associated Press — or AP — style.

For more assistance, please visit the “AP-style cheat sheet” here.

Daily Contributor’s Fact-Checking Policy

Staff writers at Daily Contributor conduct their own fact-checking and adhere to our ethics policy. Editors are also responsible for assuring that content from their assigned writers is factual and used in the appropriate context. Daily Contributor and its staff are dedicated to responsible journalism, which means not only doing due diligence in fact-checking information but analyzing the sources from which information comes and being precise and intentional with the words we write. We may do additional fact-checking from time to time.

Corrections Policy

Daily Contributor may issue a correction or update from time to time as necessary. Such instances will be clearly marked at the bottom of the article that was updated with new information or issued a correction.

Ethics Policy

This policy applies to all members of Daily Contributor’s staff, and in some parts of its contributor program.

Daily Contributor maintains a dedication to reporting ethically and truthfully. Reporters are required to fact-check their work and report without bias to assure their reporting is fair and objective. Daily Contributor is dedicated to avoiding conflict of interest, whether financial or personal and will clearly disclose any possible conflicts when they cannot be avoided.

Finance

Daily Contributor staff is not allowed to accept any financial trade in exchange for positive reporting. On occasion, writers will be given special access or product in exchange for coverage.

Writers are required to disclose any product they may have been given in exchange for coverage and are required to get this type of coverage approved by an editor beforehand, with exceptions to press passes at events or early access to film, music, or television for review purposes.

Staff is not allowed to resell items that have been gifted.

Daily Contributor staff cannot accept financial or product compensation in exchange for endorsing a product either through their coverage at Daily Contributor or on social media.

Daily Contributor will clearly mark any sponsored content or links that have been added to its website for promotional purposes.

Campaigns and Politics

Daily Contributor staff is encouraged to withhold bias when possible, though we do not want to dissuade our staff from participating in elections or civic duty on all levels.

Social Media

Staff is asked to remember that social media content is a reflection of Daily Contributor as a company. Daily Contributor, therefore, asks that its staff practice good judgment in using social media. As a member of the Daily Contributor staff you are encouraged to use it to your advantage—we believe social media is a fantastic tool for journalists—but understand that your actions on social media reflect your work as a professional.

In the age of misinformation, many may look to your social media accounts for guidance and truth. Be careful when posting or reposting content and remember that your social media content is a reflection of your journalism. Avoid circulating information that has not been proven true, or could imply an inherent bias in a way that may compromise your reporting as a whole.