Armenian News Network / Groong

Posting Rules

Rule #1: ANN/Groong's administrator has final say on whether or not an item goes on GROONG.

Here's an incomplete guideline for what is appropriate for posting on GROONG, and what is not:

Rule #1
We prefer submissions in PLAIN TEXT. but HTML is fine, and included images are fine.
Items must be emailed to GroongNews@googlegroups.com
The primary text of the article or PR must be included in the BODY of the email. It is OK to attach it as a document AS WELL, but we want the content readable as text in the email.
We generally can't use material in a language we can't read.

If your submission fails to meet our guidelines, we will simply ignore it, or point you to this `page, to indicate why it was ignored.

WARNING: Most of the material on GROONG is already available to our readers on the Internet. Still, we urge contributors to make certain that they have permission from the authors and/or news agencies to redistribute their material. Groong is not responsible for improper or illegal postings. That responsibility rests with the sender.

Having said this, here are some types of submissions which are acceptable for posting on GROONG:

News about, or relevant to, current Armenian issues or events. It should be of reasonable quality -- not trivial or anecdotal news. Generally speaking, if the piece would be appropriate material for printing in a major newspaper, and if it is deemed to be of reasonably wide interest to the Armenian public, then it's probably appropriate for GROONG.
Press Releases from known organizations. PRs must start with an "Electronic Letterhead" of one or more of the involved organizations, and it should include information that can be used to contact the organizations, such as Tel/Fax/Email/URL/Address. Here is an example letterhead in Plain Text:

PRESS RELEASE

Organization of Important Matters

123 4th Street, Suite 567

Springfield, SI 01234

Contact: Joe Armenian

Tel: 123-456-7890

Fax: 123-456-7890

E-mail: info@oim.org

Web: http://www.oim.org/

Zoom: <link>

A PR is used to convey information about the organization and its activities. It is not an editorial space. We do not accept "Press Releases" from individuals or corporations. Those are considered "Letters". Please read the current guidelines for submitting Letters to Groong. We consider most PRs from companies as advertisements and we generally don't accept them, unless it's an announcement for a free public service or event or some such. But see Rule #1.
Public Service Announcements (PSAs)of wide Armenian public interest -- and not commercial in nature. Examples of a PSA might include announcements for events or functions either open to the public or available for a nominal/trivial fee.Note that our notion of a commercial event is much more expansive than the standard notion.
Dinners, dances, banquets, galas, fundraisers, popular singers/kef nights, and most events with more than a few dollars for an entry fee or donation: forget it. GROONG is not an ad-space. Very rarely, a ticketed event might be considered, but on a case by case basis, in which case see Rule #1 above.
Critical Reviews of cultural products of wide Armenian interest, such as books, music, art, etc. are the only form in which we will announce the product. We will accept quality reviews from major publications or by an independent and objective authority in the field. We don't consider complimentary sound bites about a product, or a listing of its contents to be a "critical review”, we consider those advertisements. Buy one in an Armenian newspaper and support their business. GROONG is always looking for quality content, and a meaningful Critical Review is considered a fair exchange for the announcement.
Items posted to GROONG must have something related with Armenian life around the globe. News about random world events are discouraged unless they are related or relevant in some fashion to Armenian issues.
Job Ads are borderline acceptable Press Releases. We'll accept simple, informational PRs from well-known organizations about major positions open, and a reasonable likelihood to find a qualified applicant among Groong readers. If you're advertising for a routine job, please consider an ad in an Armenian newspaper. If you're seeking a candidate for a faculty position, or an high level NGO exec, or a C-level exec, we'll work with you.

What is NOT appropriate for Groong?

Here's an incomplete idea of the type of material which are INappropriate for posting on GROONG.

Rule #1.
Generally we do not accept unsolicited original material for publication, such as opinions, editorials, speeches, discussions, polemics etc. We may consider some items which fit our guidelines as a "Letter to Groong."
Commercials, Advertisements, etc. No chance.
"Announcements" or "Press Releases" about products, events, publications, or websites of limited Armenian public, or largely private interest. We consider these to be ads.
No new publication or new website announcements, or new issues or website updates.
We don't "announce" events with an entry fee/donation/tickets. The "Nominal fee" mentioned above is a few dollars max, with special consideration. If the event carries more than a nominal fee, not mentioning the fee doesn't help, the issue is that the event has a fee. We suggest an ad in an Armenian newspaper.
We do not post repeat articles and PRs, unless the already posted version contains significant errors. Additions and updates will only be considered in the context of a developing, ongoing, "breaking" news story. We also do not post repeat announcements and reminders of posted announcements. This is why the Calendar of Events exists, each thursday 8am Pacific Time. We suggest that you notify us of your event as early as possible for inclusion in the Calendar, then a week or two before the event send us a full Press Release about the event for maximum impact.
We do not accept Campaigning, advocacy, lobbying, etc. for elections. We don't post "PRs" from organizations specifically created for a campaign effort (eg_ "Johnny for Mayor").
No Dinners, dances, banquets, galas, fundraisers, solicitations, cocktails, mixers, calls to action, surveys, BBQ's, etc. Again, we may make rare exceptions for major pan-Armenian events at our discretion and on a case by case basis, but even then: rare.
No Speeches, sermons, lectures, polls, Q&A, etc on GROONG. Whatever we accept for posting will probably go in the Letters.
No Cheerleading and boosterism, of either people or products or events on GROONG. We want to hear about the benefit to Armenians and humanity in the form of critical reviews of products. No hype.
Absolutely no vitriol. No Anti-Armenianism.

We remind you again that this is an incomplete guideline for what is appropriate for posting on GROONG, and what is not. If you find a loophole to argue for material that's not in our spirit, we'll add it on this page and point you to it.