Editorial Policy
The Thunderbeat is an official publications of Bellevue Public Schools and are a part of the learning curriculum of the Communicative Arts Department.
The Thunderbeat is a member of the National Scholastic Press Association.
The Thunderbeat, a nonprofit newspaper, accepts advertising, letters, and other contributions.
Inquiries should be addressed to: Bellevue West High School, Journalism Department, 1501 Thurston Ave., Bellevue, NE 68123. Phone: (402) 293-4068. Email: [email protected]
Content
The role of The Thunderbeat is to inform students and others in the community of events that pertain to student life at Bellevue West.
The Thunderbeat Editorial Board may consist of the following editors: Editor-in-Chief, Business Manager, Front Page Editor, News Editor, Focus Editor, Commentary Editor, Entertainment Editor, Sports Editor, Features Editor, Photography Editor, advisers Julie Rowse and Aaron Stueve, and principal Kevin Rohlfs.
The Thunderbeat will not print material when information is limited or can be obtained from only one party or viewpoint so that the information cannot be verified.
Only material that is clearly substantiated will be printed.
Obscene language or profanity will not be used in The Thunderbeat. Profane words will be edited from all direct quotations unless decided upon by the Editorial Board.
Material that violates the privacy of a person or that is libelous will not be printed.
Material that may disrupt school, as judged by the adviser or principal, will not be printed in the publications.
Articles, editorials and advertising dealing with areas prohibited for study in schools by the Board of Education will not be printed.
All stories, unless it is a staff editorial, will be identified by a byline and all photos with a photo credit.
The Thunderbeat will not endorse or show preference for any political candidates or party.
Statements that could be logically assumed to be derogatory to ethnic groups will not be printed.
The Thunderbeat will report fairly, and without bias, differing sides of any controversy relevant to the school and to the students.
Publication staffs reserve the right to review school productions.
Individuals involved in skill endeavors will not be criticized for poor performance.
Any student appearing in a public event such as sports, contests, or music concerts may be photographed without violating the privacy of the individual. Also, students who agree to be interviewed or photographed on the record may appear in the school publication without the threat of invasion of privacy.
Commentary
All unsigned editorials in The Thunderbeat will represent the opinions of the student Editorial Board.
Opinions represented in personal columns are those of the author’s and might not reflect the opinions of other staff members or school district.
Letters to the Thunderbeat editor are welcome, but because of space limitations the staff reserves the right to edit letters for length, grammar, and punctuation. All such letters must be signed; they will not be printed anonymously. If one feels strongly enough to write a letter, one should feel strongly enough to sign one’s name.
Letters or guest editorials for the Thunderbeat will not be printed if they contain libelous, obscene or profane statements. The Thunderbeat is under no obligation to print all letters.
Advertising
The Thunderbeat reserves the right to reject any ads.
Ads containing poor taste, invasion of privacy, libel, products illegal for the majority of the student population, sexist or racist comments or representations, encouragement to break laws, regulations, or ordinances will not be printed.
Staff
The Thunderbeat does not necessarily represent the views of Bellevue Public Schools, and the staffs strive to promote the publications through the sale of advertising. To achieve the optimum learning situations, as well as serve the audience to the best of the staffs abilities, the publication staffs believe that content decisions should rest primarily with the student editors and adviser according to the standards of journalism and keeping in accordance with the established Bellevue School Board policies.
The publications have the right to dismiss any student staff member from his or her job due to lack of responsible behavior or journalistic performance.
The adviser and principal have the final decision on questionable material.
