What are the Chapter News submission guidelines?

Want to submit Chapter News? Fill out the online submission form.

Editorial Policy

You must submit Chapter News submissions by the 20th of the month two months prior to print publication date. (Click here for specific deadlines). For example, if you want a submission to appear in the January issue, you must submit it by November 20. Your submission will appear online within five business days of you submitting it. The Chapter News editor edits Chapter News submissions according to SIGNAL style for clarity, length and quality.

Chapter News submissions can be up to 150 words and can have up to 3 photographs per submission. The most successful Chapter News submissions are ones that discuss in detail:

• guest speakers and their presentations
• innovative chapter activities, such as a chapter’s use of online or Web 2.0 capabilities
• and special chapter focus groups, such as a Web support committee or a Women in Intelligence group.

Focus on events that other chapters can learn from or even adapt into their own plans.

Submissions about sports tournaments and social events can be published if the events benefitted a scholarship fund or a chapter-related committee. Symposia and conferences can receive extended coverage.

Filling out the online submission form

The best way to ensure that your write-up is published on time is to completely fill out the online submission form. Filling in each field ensures that your write-up is complete and that important information isn’t left out.

Key details that are often excluded and can prevent publication include:

• someone’s military rank and branch of service
• spelling out acronyms
• and including the names of every individual in all photos and providing directionals (for example, l-r or 2nd from l) to identify the individuals.

These may seem like minor details, but submissions cannot be published without this information.

What kind of photographs can I submit?

You can include up to 3 photographs for each Chapter News submission. A total of 4 photos can be published in the print magazine for all of your submissions. For example, if you submit 1 Chapter News submission, you can also include 3 photographs for that submission. If you turn in 2 submissions, you can include 2 photographs from each submission for a total of 4. You can always submit 3 photographs per submission on the Chapter News Web site.

Additional guidelines regarding photographs include:

• Submit clear, sharp, high-resolution color or black and white digital photos of at least 200 dots per inch. SIGNAL will accept photos in JPEG, GIF, BMP or TIFF format.
• Do not submit photographs featuring the same subject matter. For example, group award winners together for one quality photograph to avoid redundancy.
• Captions must include full name, rank, branch of service or affiliation of the individuals in the photograph. Identify individuals as left or right, center, standing, etc.
• Be as detailed as possible to avoid mix-ups.
• Photographs in which drinks are within view will not be published.
• SIGNAL will not run photographs if the quality is poor, if identification is incomplete or if photographs fail to comply with editorial policy and/or publication standards.

How can I advertise my chapter's events?

Each chapter is entitled to have a black and white 1/3-page ad in one issue of SIGNAL Magazine. These ads can run in up to three issues based on space availability.

You can use these advertisements to promote a chapter-related event, including promoting a fundraiser, advertising an upcoming conference or announcing an upcoming special guest speaker. You can create your own advertisements, or you can e-mail the information to the Chapter News editor, and SIGNAL's art director can design an advertisement for you.

If you want more space for an advertisement, you can purchase advertisements at a discounted rate. Contact Marsha Carpenter for paid advertising.

How can my chapter's event receive more coverage?

You can receive more coverage—250 words and 5 photos—for conferences and symposia, such as a TechNet show or a C4ISR conference. This is a great way to publicize the quality shows your chapter sponsors throughout the year. This extended coverage depends on space availability and editorial discretion.