Network Guidelines

Anything goes. Almost.

Teen Voices of Democracy and the Youth Issues Forum invite ... WE ENCOURAGE ... students to send us their opinions, essays, articles, blogs, photos and videos.

The themes of this content are the issues that affect their lives today and their future as American citizens. Coverage of political campaigns and politicians is a vital part of Teen Voices of Democracy and Youth Issues Forum content.

We have only two rules:

1. Only content that includes correspondent's name (byline), age or year in school and how others may respond to his or her content will be published. E-mail addresses and/or Twitter and other social-network account names are required. This will encourage others to contribute to Teen Voices of Democracy and the Youth Issues Forum with their opinions that may be the same as or different from those expressed on our Web pages. We value all opinions from students who are 19 years old or younger.

2. We WON'T publish on our Web pages any content that is obscene, libelous, disruptive of schools or other public or private institutions, or in any way invades the privacy or personal lives of private individuals. All content will follow the ethical guidelines ... Codes of Ethics ... set forth by professional journalism organizations such as the American Society of News Editors, the Radio-Television Digital News Association and the Society of Professional Journalists.

We encourage vigorous reporting about the public lives and careers of politicians and other local, state and national officials and celebrities. That includes anybody who has been the subject of news articles or has been quoted in the print and broadcast media.

That is FAIR GAME and is not considered an invasion of their privacy as long as the content centers on information the public should know about in order to assure they are receiving truthful and open information that affects the general welfare of the community, state and nation.

That is democracy in action.

Please see the "procedures" page of this Web site for instructions on how to send content to Teen Voices of Democracy and the Youth Issues Forum.

These guidelines are subject to change as deemed necessary by the management of the Institute of Democratic Education.

Content published on the Teen Voices of Democracy and Youth Issues Forum Web sites is based on work supported by a grant from the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Any opinion, findings, conclusions or recommendations expressed on this Web site are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the EAC or the Institute of Democratic Education. Youth correspondents are encouraged to freely express their opinions and must abide by the guidelines posted on this Web site. Professional editors will monitor all submissions to assure they follow recognized journalistic standards and ethical codes before content appears on this Web site.