Before Submitting News - Please Read These Instructions

Before submitting news

Check these three breaking news forums to see if the news item has already been submitted:

Breaking Alternative News Forum Link

Breaking Political News Forum Link

Breaking General News Forum Link

Copy Paste Source Material in News Submissions

You may or may not have noticed that there is a character meter in the news submission form field for snippet material from your selected news source. That is set at 500 characters. Many are ignoring this and posting much larger portions of copy paste material, in some cases news submissions have the entire news article copied.

If you are unable to estimate the number of characters in your copied text, simply hit the "backspace" key on your keyboard after pasting it in the story snippet field and it will remove any text that is over the limit. Or simply paste the first paragraph of copied source text only.

Please, when submitting news try to keep your copied text from external sources within the 500 character limit. Members who read your submission can simply click the source link you have provided to read the full news article. Also when possible try to provide additional source links in the appropriate form fields, as well as relevant or related ATS discussion thread links.

Most important is the comments section, what you write there is very important, your take on the news item, additional information, opinion and commentary can make your news submission become an interesting discussion and encourage many replies.

In the following post you will find the guidelines for news submissions that are in place below the news submission form fields and perhaps some of you have missed or are not aware of.

Additional News Submission Guidelines for BTS and AP:

Breaking General News Posting Guidelines...

Breaking Political News Posting Guidelines...

[edit on 13-10-2007 by UM_Gazz]


[edit on 24/11/2007 by Mirthful Me]

[edit on 1/27/2008 by Gools]

It is what we do with the news that sets us apart from the rest of the world wide web, not necessarily what news items we post. So get busy and submit news and comments relevant to this community, put your own spin on it and above all get involved in your followup news discussions.

Limit the copy paste source material.


News Submission Form Link

From News Submissions Guidelines Found Below The Submission Form:

"Breaking News: This form is for the submission of breaking news articles that are no older than 48 hours.

Immediate Posting: News submissions are now immediately added to the board for discussions. Please make sure your submission is unique, and check the board to ensure the story you plan to submit is not already discussed.

Headline: Please use the original story headline from your source. If the headline is biased or otherwise inappropriate, provide a descriptive headline that is accurate and reflects the article you're submitting. Submissions with inaccurate, biased or otherwise deceptive headlines may be removed.

Posting Your Opinion: Use the comments field for your opinion, spin, or other commentary on the news article. Opinions posted in the snippet section may cause your submission to be deleted.

Variety of Sources: Most important news stories have multiple sources of coverage. It's a good idea to provide our members with a deeper information experience by providing additional links to other sources covering your story.

Related Threads: Many times, there are threads on ATS that provide a historical or preliminary backdrop related to the subject of the news story you're submitting. It helps our members understand a deeper context if you find a few older threads and include those with your submission.

Points: You will no longer receive a points bonus for creating a submission in the news forum, however, you will gain more points from replies to your news thread than any other ATS forum.

Quality: As always, there are more strict expectations of quality authorship and civility within the threads of our Breaking News Forum."


[edit on 13-10-2007 by UM_Gazz]

Remember to always check to the best of your abilities to see if a story is already covered before submitting news, although duplicate submissions will happen, do not be discouraged from submitting news. I've had my own duplicate submission closed by another staff member recently, it happens!

Another factor that is important when submitting news is where to post a news item. We have three breaking news forums to submit and discuss news in. This forum (Alternative Breaking News) is for the submission of conspiracy themed or other "alternative topic" news and breaking current events that fit within the topical theme of AboveTopSecret.com.

For political news submissions:

Submit Political News Link

For general news submissions:

Submit General News Link

Have an exclusive article you'd like to share with ATS and the world?

Submit Email Newsletter Article Link

Looking for a good source for a wide range of top breaking news from around the world that updates as soon as breaking news hits the web?

Top Breaking News Headlines Link

For top breaking political news:

Top Political News Headlines Link



[edit on 13-10-2007 by UM_Gazz]

For reference, and for those seeking breaking news discussions:

Breaking Alternative News Forum Link
(ATS Log in required to post replies.)

Breaking Political News Forum Link
(Log in with current ATS screen name and password may be required to post replies.)

Breaking General News Forum Link
(Log in with current ATS screen name and password may be required to post replies.)


[edit on 13-10-2007 by UM_Gazz]

One other problem that seems to be continuing, is that a few are submitting old news.

Remember that news submissions in the breaking news forums, must contain breaking news items that are no more than 48 hours old.

You can simply check the source page for date and time of publishing.

edit: emphasis

[edit on 10/12/2007 by Gools]

To All Members Submitting News, Please Take the Time to Read the Above Posts.

Threads will continued to be trashed and closed if the above rules are not followed.

To Summarize: Do not get creative with the title. Use legitimate or multiple sources. Use the Search Feature or simply scroll the news forum for existing articles before posting. Do not post old news. Do not copy too much of the original article. Do not forget to give your opinion. Try to use proper spelling and grammer, you're covering a news story.

Thank You.