@CSPN policies

Facts about @theCSPN:

It’s our most popular single news source. We have over 1,000 followers. We are followed by nearly every news outlet in the city, and also by reporters personally. We’re followed by JCPS officials and city officials of all kinds. It’s followed by journalism educators elsewhere (colleges, high schools, etc.) The account is so well known, we are often asked by administration to push out announcements through CSPN. When errors go out on CSPN, they are noticed right away. Triple-check your tweet for accuracy & spelling. If possible, have a second person look at it before you send it. You get one shot at controlling CSPN. Unfortunately, we’ll revoke access over small problems because the magnet’s credibility is on the line.

DOs and DON'Ts of using @theCSPN Twitter

• Don't use retweet button on any accounts except other official Manual J&C publications, and do so sparingly (example: RT’ing a significant One Blue Wall deadline 1-2 times a week is okay.)
• Don’t use manual RTs either.
• Don’t use abbreviations, slang, or other informal language.
• If you must draw attention to someone else’s tweet (such as @ManualAthletics, @dupontmanual, @courierjournal, etc.), summarize the tweet and then embed a link to their tweet in yours. For example:

Manual 9th grader wins Tiger Run: https://twitter.com/ManualAthletics/status/505920442121482240

• Do not engage in informal conversations with your audience. You can answer direct questions (is tomorrow a red day? is there a pep rally this Friday? what time is the game tonight?) but that’s it.
• It is especially important that you do not use @theCSPN as a personal platform, a forum for disputes, partisan politics, sports fandom, etc.
• Do not tweet “Go Crimsons,” “Beat Male,” or anything along those lines.
• It’s crucial to maintain the CSPN’s voice as a neutral disseminator of information, but clever or interesting phrasing of headlines are encouraged.
• Craft your tweets to maximize audience interaction. You can use questions, listicle-style headlines, etc.
• When posting links to articles, don’t put all the important info in the tweet text, because then there will be no reason to read the actual article.
• By that same token, don’t force them to click a link just to find simple info, like a name or a date. (“Coach Lucas reveals date of Back to School Dance,” for example.)

• You can follow current Manual students, teachers, student organizations, and publications. We try not to follow anybody who doesn’t fit into that category.

• Don’t use Favorites, unless you are favoriting someone's reply, manual RT, or other interaction with or acknowledgement of @theCSPN. For example, if anyone compliments our reporting on a topic, it's OK to favorite that.
• We don’t promote anyone’s project that’s for personal gain. For example, if someone is selling duct tape purses, we wouldn’t announce it. However, we would do so for ring light selfies and other J&C or school-related fundraisers.
• We report on upcoming events, projects, etc. but we do not promote them. For example, if the Key Club is organizing a fundraiser, we could report it this way: “The Key Club is selling homemade pies in the courtyard after school today until 2:45 PM.” But we would not report it this way: “Get your DELICIOUS homemade pies in the courtyard after school today!!! Only $5!!!”
• We do promote ourselves: the latest Off the Record or Manual AM, yearbook & One Blue Wall sales, etc.
• If you would like to tweet something related to Manual students, ask your CSPN representative to do so.
• If you are in a unique situation where you can take pictures/live tweet an event, text Miller or Kate Hatter to get access and make sure there is no one already covering the situation.