This Standard is to be consistent with the Inglewood Communication League’s Communication Policy as adopted on January 11, 2017 and any subsequent amendments.

Purpose

  1. This standard provides guidelines to the League in posting League Communications as well as other community organizations, individuals, and companies in posting Neighbourhood Communications.
  2. The goal of all these communications is to provide information that is relevant and meaningful to the members of the Inglewood community and which would either:
    1. Not be easily or readily available from other sources, or
    2. Warrants additional coverage, context or amplification because of its relevance to the residents of Inglewood.
  3. All communications issued, sponsored, or shared by the League are, as much as reasonably possible, to be factually accurate and respectful of the diversity of residents in terms of their gender, ethnicity, religiosity, culture, citizenship, country or place of origin, sexual orientation, or language.

 Responsibility

This Standard is the responsibility of:

  • The Communications Director

Standards

The following standards are required for all communications distributed by the League on behalf of community groups or other organizations:

    1. Person: Only League Communications can use generic or abstract references or pronouns in the 1st person (eg. I, we, us, our, my). Sponsors or writers of Neighbourhood Communications must refer to themselves or their organization in the 3rd person (eg. They, it, them, their). Writers of either type of communication can refer to the reader in the 2nd person (eg. You, your).

Rationale: Because all communications will be hosted by the League over its channels, inappropriate use of first person pronouns is likely to confuse the reader and imply that the story, event, or source of information is from the League when it is not.

    1. Diversity: All communications should use diversity neutral references or terms unless the story relates specifically to a particular social demographic or group. The use of words like “mankind”, “men”, “he”, or “Canadian” should be replace with equivalent generic terms like “humankind”, “people”, “person” or “individual”, or “resident” respectively. Of course if the story relates to an event specifically for Canadians (like voting in an election), or men (like a men’s hockey game), then the more precise term is appropriate.

Rationale: Communications should be precise in their language and not offensive, discriminatory, or prejudicial in their intent or impact on readers.

    1. Headlines: All headlines should be short phrases intended to entice the reader to understand why the article might be relevant for them. The use of evocative and emotive language is encouraged provided it is factually accurate and relates to the content of the story or article. Appropriate examples of headlines include: “Looking for a local care provider for your children?” or “Get active and meet your neighbours”. Inappropriate headlines could include “Check out this once in a lifetime offer” (Is it really the only chance in your lifetime?) or “Join Edmonton’s favourite Aquafit class” (What proof do you have to make this claim?).

Rationale: Headlines should entice readers to the article or story but not at the risk of undermining trust between the reader and the League.

    1. Graphics: If graphics are included with articles, the author or sponsor of the article must ensure that the graphic is not reasonably offensive to the reader* and that the author or sponsor has permission to publish or share the graphic for its intended purpose.**

Rationale: It is the League’s objective to support community groups as a means of informing the public of available resources and fostering a stronger sense of community cohesion. Social norms are evolving and the League seeks to encourage positive social change, inclusion, and diversity of opinion. However, authors and groups are encouraged to adopt verbiage and strategies that rely on an evidence-based, articulate, informed, and mutually respectful approach in challenging these norms.

    1. Verbiage: Text in the article, event or posting must not be reasonably offensive to the reader.* If the person or group submitting the content is not the originator of the content, then the submitter agrees that he or she has secured permission from the copyright holder to reproduce the content in the League’s media.

Rationale: The League will not assume responsibility to verify the copyright of submitted content. This responsibility belongs with the originator of the content.

Guidelines

The following guidelines are included as a reference to help writers attract and interest their readers:

    1. Graphics: Graphics can accompany articles and are encouraged, however the author or sponsor of the article must ensure that the graphic is not reasonably offensive to the reader* and that the author or sponsor has permission to publish or share the graphic for its intended purpose.**
    2. Verbiage: Text should be written with the needs or questions of the reader in mind. Ask questions such as:
      1. Why would the reader be attracted to this event or interested in this posting?
      2. Are the details I’m sharing the ones that the readers will care about?
      3. Have I shared everything the reader needs to know?

For example, have you included the date, time and location of the event? Is the location easy to find? If not, have you included directions? Is the event child-friendly and an accessible location for those with mobility issues? Do people need tickets or to RSVP? Do children need to be accompanied by their own adult?

Phrases such as “Be sure to attend the opening ceremonies at 1:00 pm when many invited dignitaries will give speeches” may not give you the results you expected.

  1. Reading Level: Write in short sentences and small words. Not all of our readers have a university education and for many, English is a foreign language. Keeping your message short,  brief, and readable will help you attract and interest readers.

Notes:

  • *Reasonably offensive means that the item would be offensive to the cultural norms and sensitivities of the general population. Reasonably offensive items in terms of the League’s communications would normally include nudity, brutality, explicit or vulgar language or wording, or gratuitous images or content unrelated to the story or posting. The fact that a story or posting may be deemed offensive by a few members of the community does not make it “reasonably offensive”. For example, a story, article or advertisement by a faith community may be felt to be offensive by some individuals who are of a different faith or non-faith perspective but this does not inherently mean that the story is reasonably offensive.
  • **Pictures must have the implied consent of the subjects to be shared over the internet and other media. It is the view of the Inglewood Community League that the authors or sponsors providing stories, articles and postings containing images have secured this permission. Stock photos from www.bing.com can be filtered by license type.