Monmouth Now Editorial Guidelines

Before submitting content to Monmouth Now, please take a moment to consider whether it is the right platform for your story.

Monmouth Now publishes timely university news and feature content that informs, educates, and engages readers across and beyond the Monmouth community. The strongest stories highlight meaningful developments, accomplishments, and ideas that reflect the life of the University and offer clear value to a broad audience.

Stories on Monmouth Now often include noteworthy achievements, awards and honors, research and publications, major campus developments, educational content, and media coverage involving Monmouth students, faculty, staff, and programs.

Because Monmouth Now serves a broad readership, not every worthy accomplishment will be the right fit for this channel. Some submissions may be better suited to a departmental newsletter, social media, Monmouth Family Connection, The Outlook, Monmouth Magazine, a calendar listing, or another platform. Our team is happy to help find the best channels for your content.

What Makes a Strong Monmouth Now Story?

In general, Monmouth Now works best for stories that:

• Highlight a recent development, ideally within the past 30 days
• Feature an accomplishment, event, or idea with significance beyond routine campus activity
• Offer educational, informative, or contextual value beyond a basic recap of who, what, when, and where
• Present information that has not already been fully shared in a campuswide email
• Appeal to readers beyond a single class, office, department, or event audience

For example, a faculty member’s attendance at a conference or a student group’s participation in a field trip may be meaningful within a department or program, but those activities do not always translate into a Monmouth Now story on their own. A stronger submission might explain the research presented, the ideas explored, the broader importance of the experience, or the outcomes for students and faculty. Supporting materials such as presentation slides, posters, photos, video, or links to related resources can also help readers better understand the story.

Submitting Content

When you are ready, please use your Monmouth University login credentials to submit a post. All posts are reviewed by members of the editorial team before going “live” on the Monmouth Now website.

If you need help with the submission process, our team is glad to assist. You may email now@monmouth.edu with questions, draft copy, images, or other supporting materials, and we will work with you to prepare your story for review.

How We Can Help

Our editorial team can help you strengthen your submission and prepare it for publication. We can assist with:

• Editing for clarity, grammar, AP style, and University editorial style
• Reworking copy into a stronger news or feature format
• Identifying opportunities to add context, background, or supporting detail
• Editing images, designing graphics, or coordinating a photo shoot with the University photographer
• Assisting with the WordPress submission form, tagging, and attachments

If your story is not the right fit for Monmouth Now, we will gladly help you identify a more appropriate channel.

Other Possible Avenues for Sharing Your Content

Depending on the nature of your submission, another platform may serve your goals more effectively. Possibilities may include:

• Social media
• Monmouth Family Connection
• The Outlook
• Monmouth Magazine
• A departmental or program newsletter or website
• A calendar listing or event promotion channel

You may also wish to share information through the University Story Bank. The Story Bank helps marketing and communication staff identify ideas for future coverage in Monmouth Magazine, Monmouth Family Connection, social media platforms, fundraising and advancement materials, student recruitment materials, alumni communications, advertising, and other long-range storytelling projects. Content submitted to the Story Bank is best suited for stories and information that remains useful beyond the immediate news cycle.

Understanding the Categories

Please select the category that best fits your submission. If you are unsure, we can help. In some cases, more than one category may apply.

Awards, Honors, and Appointments

This category includes student, faculty and staff recognition, whether internal or external, as well as professional appointments, promotions and selections to boards, task forces, and other organizations. Interim appointments generally do not appear on Monmouth Now unless they carry broader institutional significance.

Campus and Community

This category includes noteworthy developments, events and accomplishments across campus, as well as stories about student organizations, University initiatives and community engagement. Monmouth Now generally focuses on coverage after an event or development has occurred, rather than advance promotion. Events that are open to the public should be submitted to the calendar of events. Fee-based ticketed events and routine announcements may be better suited to calendars, newsletters, social media or other promotional channels. Major philanthropic news may also warrant a different communications approach depending on the scale and purpose of the announcement.

Monmouth in the News

This category highlights earned media coverage involving the University or quoting Monmouth students, faculty, staff, or spokespeople in external news outlets.

Perspectives, Publications, and Research

This category includes faculty, staff and student work that contributes meaningfully to public understanding or scholarly conversation. Examples may include published research, books, substantial creative work, expert commentary, opinion pieces, conference presentations with a clear educational angle, or other authored work related to an individual’s academic or professional expertise.

Before You Submit

Before sending your story, please consider the following questions:

• Does the submission explain why this news matters to a broad audience?
• Does it include enough context or background for readers who may be unfamiliar with the subject?
• Have you included professional headshots, event photos or other strong visuals when available?
• Are there relevant links, PDFs, poster images, slide decks, or other materials that would help readers better understand the story?
• Is Monmouth Now the best platform for this content, or might another channel reach the intended audience more effectively?
• Still have questions? Contact now@monmouth.edu for assistance!