The Byzantine Catholic WORLD
PUBLISHING POLICIES AND GUIDELINES
 BCW Publication and Submission Schedule for 2016
The following Policies and Guidelines have been prepared and updated for the information of our readers and contributors. They are intended to keep The Byzantine Catholic World (The BCW) consistent with the standards expected of Catholic newspapers. As always, we welcome suggestions and look for ways to improve the quality of our newspaper while maintaining professional standards.
Timeliness remains a key factor in considering your material for publication.
All materials submitted are subject to the editing process in order to conform to our publishing style, industry standards, and the space limitations of each issue.
These policies also are meant to serve as a helpful aid for parishes to properly prepare material to submit for publication. If further explanation regarding any of the policies or guidelines is needed, please contact:
The Byzantine Catholic World
66 Riverview Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA, 15214
412-231-4000 ext. 20
412-231-1697 (fax)
bcw@archpitt.org
 WHAT TO SUBMIT
Announcements: Information for promoting upcoming activities should be e-mailed at least six weeks before the event will take place for the best opportunity to be included in the issue prior to the event. See issue date and submissions deadline schedule.
Advertisements: Currently, The BCW does not accept paid advertising, but will publish notices and/or announcements of upcoming events and specialty items offered for sale by parishes and organizations of the Metropolitan Church of Pittsburgh, with first preference for available space given to those within the Archeparchy of Pittsburgh.
Feature articles: Feature articles are always welcome, provided they are knowledgeably written and deal with a relevant topic that would be of interest to BCW readers. For assistance submitting a feature article, call or e-mail The BCW office to discuss and refine the topic or to inquire about submitting the completed work.
Graduations, special academic achievements, awards: Articles regarding college graduations and post-graduate degrees of parishioners (and in some cases, former parishioners) are most welcome for publication. Do include a digital or scanned image (see “SUBMITTING IMAGES” section) and brief biography including career intentions or future plans. General elementary, middle and high school graduation photos and/or articles will not be accepted for publication unless the subject has received special recognition (valedictorian, scholarship, etc.). All materials should be submitted in a timely manner, ideally within two weeks after the graduation occurred or the degree was conferred.
Also eligible for publication are news articles about individual awards given for special service, recognition or achievements in academic, military, civic or business fields, such as volunteerism, Eagle Scout, etc.
Ideas/tips: Story ideas and tips are also welcome and encouraged. Please write, fax or e-mail The BCW office with your suggestions.
Obituaries: Currently, the only obituaries that are printed in The BCW are those of clergy, religious, their parents, their spouses, and – depending on tenure – parish cantors and Archieparchial Choir members. Please include an accurate account of the parastas and funeral services. Also list the main celebrant, concelebrants, and homilist (when applicable). A concise biography should be included along with any personal achievements. A clean recent image (see “SUBMITTING IMAGES” section) also should be submitted.
Opinion/commentaries: The BCW does not usually publish letters to the editor or unsolicited op-ed commentaries.
PARISH NEWS: The pastor or designated parish representative must approve all parish news items sent to The BCW office. Please include verification of approval with by including the following sentence at the bottom of your submission:
(Pastor’s name) of (Parish Name) approved this story for publication on (date).
Parish news may be published as an announcement (informing before the event) and/or as a follow-up (reporting after the event), and includes several categories:
- Parish-sponsored activities – such as dinners, summer picnics, bazaars, anniversary celebrations, church or community service projects, pilgrimages, etc.
- Special achievements by parishioners – consider reporting on outstanding professional, academic, civic or personal achievements, special recognition conferred by religious or civic organizations. Although of interest to the local parish, the election of new officers for parish organizations, the appointment of parish committees or routine participation of parishioners in parochial activities may not be of general interest to our general readership.
- Education & Catechetical – Eastern Christian Formation (ECF), Youth Group, Bible studies, special programs, etc.
Sacramental Mysteries: Marriages, Baptisms, Passings, etc. – These life events are very important to the life of the Church, however, due to space limitations, regular coverage of these events for every parish in the Archeparchy is not possible. It is possible though, to find a unique “angle” and submit a story/photo of the event for consideration. Be creative! Many items are newsworthy and quite interesting to the general readership, if treated with the appropriate perspective and focus. If in doubt, submit the article and let the staff decide.
Although “First Communion” photos are no longer requested for publication (in accordance with the re-establishment of simultaneously conferring upon infants the Mysteries of Baptism, Chrismation and Holy Eucharist), consideration may be given to group photos of ECF students on the occasion of their first reception of the Mystery of Reconciliation and/or subsequent first “solemn” reception of the Holy Eucharist.
Coverage of events by The BCW staff:
We are always happy to publish news of Archieparchial parish and organizational events. However, although The BCW may, upon request and availability, be able to have a staff member present at an Archieparchial event to provide coverage, it is strongly advised that each parish designate a reporter and photographer to cover events for submission to The BCW.
WHEN TO SUBMIT
Materials must be received as soon as possible: ideally no later than six weeks before an event and no later than three weeks after an event. Remember, old news is not news! We will make every endeavor to tell our readers about your events, but keep in mind that timeliness is important.
An article about an event or activity which already has been covered in the BCW will not be printed again. Generally, the first article received is the only one that will be printed.
Contributors are urged to use The BCW publication schedule as a guide for submissions to ensure compliance with deadlines and timely receipt of materials for optimum coverage and promotion of events.
HOW TO SUBMIT TEXT
All text – articles, features, event information, etc. – submitted to The BCW office on behalf of a parish MUST have prior approval by the pastor/administrator or designated parish representative for content and accuracy. Please include verification of approval with by including the following sentence at the bottom of your submission:
(Pastor’s name) of (Parish Name) approved this story for publication on (date).
NOTE: Every submission must include the author’s name, title/position, affiliation, contact information, AND the following:
1) The full name and title of the person submitting the materials (if other than the author);
2) Address (number, street, city, state, zip)
3) E-mail address
4) Phone number
5) Arch/eparchy, church and/or organization affiliation
E-mail text submissions are highly preferred. Due to limited staff and resources, electronic submissions will be given greatest consideration. Handwritten submissions no longer will be accepted. All hard-copy or typewritten submissions must be received by the BCW staff no later than the Friday prior to the regular Tuesday submission deadline.
Handwritten and faxed submissions no longer will be accepted due to the poor quality of most faxed copies and the various difficulties presented by handwritten submissions, both of which make the convenient use of OCR (see below) quite difficult, if not impossible. Generally, if an article is being submitted by FAX or by postal mail, chances are that someone had to type it on a computer to begin with, and it is just as easy – if not easier – to e-mail the submission to The BCW directly.
All original hard-copy or typewritten submissions must be received by the BCW staff no later than the Fridayprior to the regular Tuesday submission deadline. Hard-copy news submitted after this deadline can not be formatted for publication in the upcoming issue, and depending on the timeliness of the news, possibly may not be held over for the subsequent issue.
Hard-copy documents received in The BCW office are usually re-entered by hand or scanned via flatbed scanner for OCR (Optical Character Recognition, which converts hard-copy print to electronic text), so it is important that submissions be accurate, clean, dark and case-sensitive (NOT all in CAPITAL letters!). This is done to save time in the editing and placement process, as hard copy/typewritten pages require considerable additional time for processing.
Please note that previously published materials cannot be accepted unless written permission from the author and/or original publisher (such as a newspaper or magazine) is obtained. Likewise, re-writing/re-working of such articles or copyrighted materials cannot be considered.
When Submitting Text:
By e-mail: Computer-generated text submissions are encouraged and preferred, e-mailed to bcw@archpitt.org. Use a standard PC-compatible word processing program such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect with a “Times” or similar font in 12-point size when sending attachments. Additionally, “cut and paste” the article directly into the body of the e-mail just in case the attachment fails. Submitting computer-generated text that can be copied/pasted supports a greater degree of accuracy and saves time.
By postal service: Save all files (text and images) to a CD-R and postal-mail along with a hard copy to The BCW office. As with all materials, these articles are subject to approval and editing, and may not be returned.
SUBMITTING IMAGES
Good photos add color and interest to articles; try to include them if possible.
Digital images are accepted via e-mail or via postal mail on CD by the submission deadline. Printed images no longer will be accepted*; again as with text submissions, going through the additional step of printing an image which is in digital format to begin with, then sending the print through the mail and our ultimately having to scan and re-format the photo is redundant, and unnecessarily adds time to the publishing process.
Images should be of good quality and composition – action or candid shots are the most interesting – and MUST be accompanied by the following key identifying information:
1) date and location of the event
2) sponsoring parish, organization, etc.
3) names and positions/titles of all individuals in the photo
4) highlights, interesting information about the activity/event
5) photographer’s name for photo credit – IMPORTANT!
Please note that photos and storage media such as CDs cannot be returned.
Additionally, it is presumed by The BCW staff that the following responsible actions have been taken:
• All photos submitted have been approved by the pastor of the submitting parish;
• Clearances and permissions (verbal or written) from the subjects pictured have been obtained by the individual making the submission, including parents of any children involved.
Also, just as restrictions are applicable to text materials, please note that previously published photos and graphics cannot be accepted unless written permission from the photographer, designer, and/or original publisher is obtained. Many such images and graphics may be copyrighted and cannot be considered for publication without permission.
SENDING YOUR IMAGES
Digital image submissions are required; images are acceptable in the following formats:
Set digital camera to high quality, or scan the existing photo (usually necessary for historic photos if a digital version does not exist) at 300 ppi (pixels per inch). Save images and scans as JPEG files (yields a smaller, compressed file size); images should be no less than 3 inches wide for single-subject images, and no less than 5 inches wide for horizontal group shots. Pixellated images (those with visible pixel squares) indicate low resolution and are unacceptable. Generally, a higher resolution will allow a better quality newspaper reproduction.
NOTE: please do not submit photo images which are embedded into e-mails or into Word or other text documents. ALL photos must be attached SEPARATELY. Also, please do not submit photos with date-year-time stamps if possible. The stamp detracts from the photo, and if usable, takes extra time to cosmetically repair.
Photo files may be mailed to The BCW office on CD-R or preferably e-mailed to bcw@archpitt.org. If e-mailing multiple images, limit each e-mail to no more than 3 MB (megabytes) of information (for example, if sending 6 images at 1 MB each, send three images in two separate e-mails).
*NOTE: The BCW no longer will accept “hard-copy” photo prints. If the photo is a one-of-a-kind, historic one (for example, if the story it accompanies is about a parish anniversary, and an image of the parish 100 years ago is desired, but all that is available is an old photo print), we prefer and recommend that the image be scanned and submitted digitally (jpeg), as photos may not be returned.  Please scan the photo at minimum 300 dpi and send via e-mail (preferred) or CD. If the digital file is unavailable to you, or if you do not own a scanner, please visit one of the many retail stores with digital photo printing services that offer scanning as well (Wal-Mart, FedEx Office, Office Max, etc.). Also follow the above guidelines in regards to minimum image dimensions. If none of these options are possible, we may consider accepting an archival or historic photo on a per-case basis, but cannot guarantee the safe return of the original photo.
