THE LINEWAITERS’ GAZETTE
The Linewaiters’ Gazette publishes new content every three weeks by the Park Slope Food Coop, Inc., 782 Union Street, Brooklyn, New York 11215, 718-622-0560.
Opinions expressed here may be solely the views of the writer.
SUBMISSION GUIDELINES
Park Slope Food Coop members can contribute to the Gazette in one of two ways: letters to the editor and member-submitted articles. (See deadline dates at the bottom of this page.)
The Gazette welcomes Coop-related articles and letters from members that follow the published guidelines and policies.
All submissions must include author’s name, phone number and e-mail address, conform to the following guidelines and to the Fairness, Anonymity and Respect policies. Editors will reject letters and articles that do not follow the guidelines or policies.
For topics that generate a large number of submissions serially or continuously over many issues, editors will use discretion to select a small number of representative submissions (whether letters or member-submitted articles).
LETTERS AND ARTICLES SUBMISSION POLICIES
Letters should be no more than 300 words in length. The Letters Editor reserves the right to run a representative selection of letters on any given topic, in the event multiple letters make identical points.
Letters must be the opinion of the letter-writer and can contain no more than 15% non-original writing.
All submissions must be original; we will not accept form, chain, or template letters for publication. Nor will we accept missives prepared by someone other than the submitting member. Please also refrain from including links to websites, individuals, and organizations in your letter.
Letters and articles must adhere to the Fairness, Anonymity and Respect policies. They cannot be hateful, needlessly inflammatory, discriminatory libelous, personal attacks or make unsubstantiated claims or accusations or be contrary to the values of the Coop as expressed in our mission statement.
The Gazette will not knowingly publish letters or articles that are hateful, racist, sexist, otherwise discriminatory, inflammatory or needlessly provocative.
All submissions must be legible, intelligible, civil, well and concisely written with accurate, attributed, easily verifiable statements of facts separated from opinions.
Letter and article writers are limited to one letter or article per issue.
Editor-Writer Guidelines: All submissions will be reviewed. Those that do not abide Gazette policies will be rejected. Writers are responsible for the factual content of their stories. Editors may lightly copy edit letters to conform to the Gazette style guide (AP style). Editors will not revise or suggest improvements for grammar; writers are responsible for writing intelligible prose. Letters and articles must contain a salutation (“To the Editor”) and a suggested title. Letters or articles without a title will be given one by an editor.
Member-Submitted Articles
A member-submitted article (formerly called a “voluntary article” or “member submission”) is held to a higher standard than a letter to the editor. To be considered for publication, it must meet the following criteria:
- It must analyze its topic rather than simply express an opinion.
- It must present accurate, verifiable information and include corroboration for factual assertions. That means the writer attributes statements to their source, such as “the apples were 55 percent bigger, according to data from Farmer Max.” Sources must be credible and not, for example, an anonymous post from Reddit.
- It may criticize Coop practices or policies, but may not include personal attacks on Coop members or staff.
- If critical, it should offer constructive or positive solutions.
- It must demonstrate reporting—such as interviews, research, or other fact-gathering—and seek to make a meaningful contribution to readers’ understanding of the topic.
- 500 words or less
Articles based primarily on personal opinion or experience will not be accepted as member-submitted articles. Such pieces may instead be shortened to 300 words or fewer and submitted as letters to the editor. Submissions that serve primarily as advertisements for member businesses (or those of family or friends), consist mainly of opinion, or otherwise fail to meet these standards will be rejected.
FAIRNESS, ANONYMITY AND RESPECT POLICIES
In order to provide fair, comprehensive, factual coverage:
Fairness
1. The Gazette will not publish hearsay—that is, allegations not based on the author’s first-hand observation.
2. Accusations will not be published. Naming of Coop members in polemical letters and articles will lead to the letter being rejected. Writers must address ideas.
3. Submissions that make substantive accusations against specific individuals necessary to make the point of the submission and within the Fairness, Anonymity and Respect policies will be shared with those named to enable them to write a response, and both submissions and response will be published simultaneously. This means that the original submission may not appear until the issue after the one for which it was submitted.
Anonymity
Unattributed letters will not be published unless the Gazette knows the identity of the writer, and therefore must be signed when submitted (giving phone number). Such letters will be published only where a compelling reason is given to the editor as to why public identification of the writer would impose an unfair burden of embarrassment or difficulty. Such letters must relate to Coop issues and avoid any non-constructive, non-cooperative language.
Respect
Submissions to the Gazette must not be hateful, racist, sexist, otherwise discriminatory, inflammatory, or needlessly provocative. They may not be personally derogatory or insulting, even when strongly criticizing an individual member’s actions.
The Gazette is a collaboration among Coop members. When submitting, please consider the impact of your words on the writers, editors and production staff who use our limited workslot time to try to produce an informative and cooperative publication that reflects the values of our Coop community.
HOW TO SUBMIT
All submissions should be emailed to GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop. Please include your name, member number and best email address and phone number to reach you.
WORD LIMITS
Letters: Maximum 300 words
Member-submitted articles: Maximum 500 words
Committee reports: 750 words
SUBMISSION DEADLINES*
(*Please note submission dates for letters and articles are different.)
Letters deadlines:
For the Dec 30 issue, letters are due on Dec 12 at 12pm.
For the Jan 20 issue, letters are due on Jan 2 at 12pm.
For the Feb 10 issue, letters are due on Jan 23 at 12pm.
Member-submitted articles, committee reports/events deadlines:
For the Dec 30 issue, submissions are due on Dec 8 at 12pm.
For the Jan 20 issue, submissions are due on Dec 29 at 12pm.
For the Feb 10 issue, submissions are due on Jan 19 at 12pm.
JOIN THE GAZETTE
Are you interested in fulfilling your Coop work credit by writing for the Linewaiters’ Gazette? We have openings from time to time, and keep appropriate applications on file. Send a letter, résumé and work samples to GazetteSubmissions@psfc.coop.
The Gazette looks for writers who can generate crisp, clean, compelling copy. For those interested who do not have a background in journalism or relevant clips, consider writing a voluntary article as described above.
For members interested in joining the Gazette art or production staff, please send a letter, résumé and work samples. Prerequisite: Must be a member at least six months before joining the Gazette.
GAZETTE MASTHEAD
Coordinating Editors
Eric Baldwin
Lily Rothman
Whitney Wimbish Curry
Teams Manager
Ishah Janssen-Faith
Development Editors
Cliff Levy
Lauren Mechling
Petra Lewis
Michal Hershkovitz
Reporters
Dan Bergsagel
Zach Schiffman
Kayla Levy
Susannah Jacob
Liz Welch
Anita Bushell
Leila Darabi
Emmett Lindner
Femi Redwood
Kim Velsey
Kemi Aladesuyi
Lora Kelley
Development Art Directors
Fanny Chiari-Gotschall
Isaac Jonas
Debbie Urra
Adam Selbst
Illustrators
John Donohue
Steven Savage
Olexa Hewryk
Fran Meneses
Caty Bartholomew
Deborah Tint
Maggie Carson
Photographers
Zachary Schulman
Azikiwe Aboagye
Jackson Krule
Jennifer MacFarlane
Caroline Mardok
Michael Berman
Rod Morrison
Kate Previte
Puzzlor
David Levinson Wilk
Image Prep
Claudia Wolter
Aurora Andrews
Content Editor
Becky Cassidy
Chialin Chou
Mia Tran
Kristin Lilley
Production Editors
Kat Aaron
Patrick Cranston
Helena Boskovic
Steven Li
WordPress Producers
Ian Douglas
Ehud Tal
Kerrie Mitchell
Julia Holmes
Proofreaders/Traffic Managers
Brett Berman
Cynthia Lawson
Dilhan Kushan
Production Art Directors
Weronica Murray
Brooke Singer
Elizabeth Hart
Final Proofreaders
Rachel Ossip
Leslie Cuyjet
Email Outreach Manager
Josh Ascherman