Contributor guidelines

The Rochester Beacon welcomes articles written by members of the Rochester community. Please read the following guidelines before sending a submission.

  • We publish articles submitted exclusively to the Beacon.
  • The Beacon’s mission is to explore the complex challenges facing Rochester through informed opinion, analysis and commentary that is insightful and diverse. We are nonideological. Contributors are welcome to present ideological views, if they are supported by facts. 
  • Submit an idea or pick a topic that addresses a challenge that impacts the Rochester community, offering a solution(s), if possible. The topic could connect to an issue recently in the news, for instance, or it could be a systemic issue that the community has been struggling to address. The idea also might focus on an innovation or a breakthrough in the community or highlight a problem or news that has been largely underreported.
  • The Beacon publishes fact-based opinion. While we understand that you arrive at your views based on your experience within a given field, we would like our readers to know your information is based on facts. Accordingly, with your submission, please include links (URLs) to the source(s) of factual material presented in your article. These links should take readers to the original source (such as a research study or government data), not to a news article that cites the source. For example, instead of linking to a New York Times article citing Study X, we want to be able to link to Study X. These URLs can be included at the top of your submission or as comments within the text.
  • Submissions may be strongly worded, but they should address issues, not individuals. Ad hominem attacks will not be published.
  • Graphs and charts are welcome. Please cite sources of these charts, unless you created them yourself and the text refers to the information you use in the chart.
  • If you include photos with your submission, please ensure the Beacon can use that material. If it requires a photo credit, please provide the name of the individual or organization.
  • Each post runs with a headshot of the author; please provide that with your submission.
  • A contributed piece should be no longer than 1,000 words.