Submission Guidelines
Submissions are open to currently enrolled students from all academic disciplines. All work must be student-produced.
We accept a range of journalistic work, including reported news articles, feature stories, opinion columns, photojournalism and multimedia packages. Include a headline, byline and at least one news image with each submission.
Stories may originate as a course assignment, and instructors may recommend graded work from class for publication. However, faculty members do not have the authority to authorize stories for publication and cannot require a student to publish as part of their coursework. Course grades are not impacted positively or negatively by publication in the Mānoa Mirror. Additionally, students are welcome to independently pitch their story ideas to the Mirror. Pitches should include a clear news angle, key sources and a proposed reporting timeline. Send all pitches in Word format to the Mānoa Mirror staff at [email protected]. Pitch submissions that do not follow these instructions will be rejected.
Draft submissions should adhere to AP style unless otherwise noted, and they must be timely and locally relevant. Articles must be double-checked for factual accuracy, proper sourcing and clarity. Always attribute sources clearly, using their full names and other relevant details (titles, locations, relevance to story). Work that requires extensive editing or proofreading may be rejected.
Anyone quoted or paraphrased in a story must be aware that their words and information may be used for publication in the Mānoa Mirror, a publicly accessible online news site. It is the student contributor’s responsibility to establish informed consent with all sources prior to publication.
Students are also encouraged to submit multimedia journalism content for the Mānoa Mirror Instagram account (@manoamirror). This may include breaking news photos, short video updates, or longer edited reporting clips. Submissions must include at least one multimedia element (photo or video) and a caption of approximately 100 words written in a clear, journalistic style. Captions should provide relevant context, identify sources when applicable, and follow basic AP style guidelines. All multimedia submissions must be original, accurate, and locally relevant.
Use of multimedia elements must comply with copyright law. Students must ensure that all photos, video, and audio are either self-produced, used with explicit written permission from the owner, or properly licensed for reuse. All sources must be attributed accurately. For more information on copyright and attribution, refer to the following guideline by SNO Sites.
Plagiarism, fabrication, or manipulation of information or images will result in immediate rejection. Our editorial decisions are guided by the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics.
Submitted work generated by AI would constitute plagiarism and would not be acceptable and considered a violation of the Student Code of Conduct. All work submitted should be original student work—their words, their thoughts, their reporting, writing and/or commentary.
Editorial Process
Submissions will be reviewed by the editorial team, which will decide if the story meets the Mirror’s needs and standards.
If selected for publication, it is the student’s responsibility to participate in the editorial process with the Mānoa Mirror staff, which may involve multiple rounds of revisions and additional reporting.
Upon request, student contributors must be prepared to provide source material, such as interview transcripts, notes, source contact information or audio recordings.
Publication is not guaranteed. The editorial team reserves the right to edit for length, clarity, grammar, and legal considerations, while striving to preserve the author’s voice and intent. Significant edits will be discussed with the contributor.
An advisory board made up of full-time Journalism faculty members and the department’s educational specialist will advise and oversee the editorial team.
