ARRLSTX Publishing Guidelines

Thank you for contributing to the STX Amateur Radio public news and blog feed as a Publisher! To maintain the consistent, professional, and community-driven standard that our readers expect, please adhere to the following guidelines when reviewing and publishing posts:

1. Review and Quality Assurance

Content Review: Ensure both the writing and graphics adhere to the ARRLSTX standards. Check for proper spelling, grammar, and a professional, welcoming tone. Ensure that call signs correctly follow names without commas or parentheses.

Featured Image: Ensure the image is relative to the article content, and the image fits our overall look and style of the site. The image must have a proper aspect ratio of 100:67. Ensure the image has a width from 600-1000 pixels wide. Make sure the ARRLSTX watermark is in the lower right corner.

2. SEO and Categories

Optimization: Though the categories are locked and you cannot add new categories, this makes your job as the publisher even more important. You must choose an appropriate category. If the article needs a different category, that is what we use the tags for—use the tags. Add relevant meta descriptions, tags, and keywords. Ensure the article is categorized properly so readers can easily navigate our content library.

Word Count Constraints: As a publisher, it is also your responsibility to ensure the article length falls within our strict constraints. Please verify that the total word count does not exceed the maximum limit of 450 words before scheduling the post to go live.

3. Layout and Formatting

Visual Harmony: Ensure the text flows well with the graphic design assets. Check mobile responsiveness and layout spacing before hitting publish.

4. Understanding the Content Workflow

As a publisher, you are the final crucial piece of our content engine. Understanding where your article comes from will help you collaborate effectively with the rest of the team:

• Phase 1: Contributors (The Spark)
  Our Contributors scour the internet for interesting news and updates, submitting the best links via the Submit Inspiration module.
• Phase 2: Writers (The Storytellers)
  Our writers take the raw inspiration provided by Contributors and craft it into a compelling, locally relevant article.
• Phase 3: Graphic Designers (The Visuals)
  Our designers read the written work and create tailored, high-quality feature artwork and graphics specifically to elevate the message.
• Phase 4: Publishers (The Polish)
  This is you! Finally, the completed article and its accompanying artwork move to you. You handle the final polish—optimizing for SEO, tweaking formatting, assigning categories, and ultimately scheduling the article to go live for the public to enjoy.

5. The Publishing Widget

As a final note, all publishers will have exclusive access to a pool of completed drafts and artwork ready for final review. You can easily browse these pending items by using the Publishing Widget, which is conveniently located in the bottom footer section of the website. Through this widget, you can choose to accept or decline the various publishing tasks that come in. This means there will almost always be an article waiting for your final polish when you are ready to tackle the task!