Policies
Editorial Policy
The Piedmont Highlander, a publication conceived, planned and produced by students, is also the product of an academic elective program. Certain guidelines must be put into practice ethically and legally.
Journalistic in nature, TPH attempts to inform and entertain its audience in a broad, fair and accurate manner on all subjects that affect the readers in the areas of academics, clubs, sports and all other aspects of student life. The entire student body of Piedmont High School constitutes the target audience of the newspaper with secondary audiences including school personnel, community members and other journalism groups. Content focuses on coverage that will meet the wants and needs of the majority of the student body.
The staff not only allows but also encourages constructive criticism of any part of the newspaper before or after distribution, but final decisions will be made by the editorial board and adviser.
If deemed necessary, the administration will be consulted concerning questionable material. No material, opinionated or otherwise, that is libelous, irresponsible, advocates an illegal activity or which the editorial board or adviser deems in poor taste will be printed.
Comment Policy
TPH encourages feedback from students, parents, faculty and others. However, we reserve the right to remove website comments at our discretion. Grounds for removal include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Hateful or libelous comments
- Posts that specifically reference the author of a story but not its content
- Falsely assuming the identity of a Piedmont student, faculty member, or others related to a story’s content
- Unrelated comments, spam, or other unauthorized advertising
Equity Policy
TPH maintains a policy not to discriminate through published material against any person or group on the basis of race, gender, nationality, religion, creed, age, sexual orientation, profession or disability. If you feel TPH has strayed from this policy, please contact Faculty Adviser Beth Black.
Advertising Policy
TPH has the right to accept, reject, edit or cancel an advertisement at any time. If already paid, the payment will be refunded in full. Advertising shall be free of all offensive statements, illustrations or implications, Advertisements that are sexist, racist or offer an illegal product for sale will not be published. Ads accepted by TPH are not an endorsement from the staff, adviser, administration, or the PUSD. TPH is a ROP program through Contra Costa Country.
Correction Policy
In the case that TPH has published incorrect information on tphnews.com, Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram , a correction will be made with a note of what was changed at the bottom of the story or attached to a social media post.
