The Daily Beacon: Editorial Policy
The UT Daily Beacon is the student newspaper of the University of Tennessee and is normally published five times a week during the regular academic term. It publishes twice weekly during summer term.
Its aims and purposes are:
- To report and interpret news events of specific interest to all students, faculty, administrators, and alumni of the University and to give a voice to the views and opinions of these groups.
- To report news that is pertinent to campus interests but not limited to campus events.
- To maintain and aid in maintaining, over the interests of particular groups, factions or individuals, the public welfare of the University by maintaining and helping maintain a rising level of intelligence, independent thinking, and cultural achievement at the University.
- To act altruistically in supporting programs of public service within the University community.
The information from news sources should be clearly attributed to those sources. The editor may use discretion in withholding sources of information, should the editor deem it necessary. The editor should approve the final story and should receive first-hand information as to the source or sources before such information is printed. The editor will be bound to the local, state and/or federal statutes regarding the disclosure of information or the source of any information procured for publication.
Interpretive news accounts should be accompanied by the author's by-line.
Anonymous letters to the editor will not be published. Published letters must be signed by the writer (as verified by the editor) unless the writer thereby would be placed in jeopardy and the letter contains information that should be made available to readers. Unsigned letters will be published only on the request of the author and on the authorization and confidence of the editor in the need for such. Such letters should be signed "signature withheld" or a similar phrase.
If a letter or editorial criticizes an individual or group, that individual or group should be given an opportunity to answer the criticism in a comparable manner. Editors and reporters are cautioned against being influenced by their personal political alignments, both on the campus level and on the local, state, national and international levels, when those issues are relevant enough to campus interest for reporting or comment.