The Tattler is IHS’s school newspaper that any student can write for! Writing for The Tattler is a great way to engage yourself in the school environment and show off your work to the community. Here’s how to get involved.
Writers’ Meetings
The Tattler hosts a Writers’ Meeting where prospective writers can share ideas on the first Tuesday of every month. Our section editors will be prepared with article ideas that are open to all to write. Writers are strongly encouraged to take up investigative or News-related articles, which we present extensively at each meeting.
If you have your own article idea, please share it with the section editor it is most relevant to (News, Opinion, Features, Arts, Sports). In most cases, we will be glad to add it to the section.
Meetings are after school on Tuesdays once a month in H-Courtyard. An email will be sent out with details every month.
Signing up to Write
Signing up is as simple as talking to a section editor or sending an email to a section editor or the Editor-in-Chief before the writers’ deadline. Expect a prompt response.
Writing and Submission Process
Writers typically have nine or 10 days after the Writers’ Meeting to finish the articles they signed up for. Deadlines are announced at the meeting and through a recap email sent out to the writers’ list. Writers are free to email their section editor for advice or help concerning their article any time before the deadline. If you signed up for an article but aren’t sure you can finish before the deadline or want to opt out, contact the Editor-in-Chief or your section editor as soon as possible. Late articles may be accepted if we receive advance notification.
Finished articles should be shared or sent, preferably through Google Docs, to the Editor-in-Chief or your section editor. Although your section editor will have three or four days to work with you on making revisions to the article, writers do NOT have input past that stage. The Copy Editor, Editor-in-Chief, and Advisor will edit articles for grammar and clarity as they see fit.
The Literary Section, where we display the creative writing of our student body, is an exception. You do not have to sign up to write articles for the Literary Section. All creative works should be sent to literary@ihstattler.com and will be considered as long as they are submitted before the deadline. There is minimal editing for creative works, but not all submissions will be accepted.
You can expect to see your article in print during the first or second week of the following month.
Contacting Us
If you are unable to make the Writers’ Meeting or aren’t sure about anything, you can always contact us by email. The Tattler has a writers’ list that you can request to join by emailing editor@ihstattler.com. By being on the writers’ list, you will receive all Writers’ Meeting recap emails with article ideas and deadlines.