EDITORIAL POLICY STATEMENT

True to its Catholic tradition, the Prairie Messenger seeks to mirror for the church on the Prairies the whole reality of the pilgrim People of God as they seek to better understand, make present and judge themselves by the kingdom of God as announced in the liberating and merciful news of Jesus Christ.

In order to reflect truly the total mystery of the church, the Prairie Messenger offers opportunity for dialogue and discussion, knowing that the Word of God can be expressed only in limited human words, which means that disagreement, dissent and diversity will accompany all human efforts to reflect the unity, the faith and the charity the Spirit offers to the people the Father calls.

Guided by the church's pastoral teaching office, and alert to the signs of the times, the Prairie Messenger helps to make the People of God aware of their local, national and international presence and responsibilities, and to keep them informed of the concerns of all the church -- its laity, teachers, scholars and pastors.

In its traditional concern for social justice, the Prairie Messenger will continue to reflect upon economic, political and social processes in the light of the Gospel and of the teachings of the church. In a non-partisan approach, it will challenge its readers to know and live their communal and personal responsibilities in church and society.

In obedience to the Spirit's continual call to reform and renewal, the Prairie Messenger places special emphasis on exploring the riches of the Scriptures and of the liturgy, with committed concern for ecumenism and the full catholicity of the Christian message.

To accomplish these goals most effectively, the Prairie Messenger will maintain liaison with the dioceses and communities it serves, their people, their organizations and their leaders, that communication, charity and truth can best be served in justice and honesty.

Writers' Guidelines
2010

The Prairie Messenger is a 20-page tabloid newspaper covering local, national and international religious news and current affairs.

Three pages are regularly devoted to international news, most of which comes through our international news services. Four pages are devoted to Canadian and local news.

We have regular writers for news features for much of the paper and therefore accept very few freelance items. We carry no fiction and little poetry, and any material we use must have relevance to a Prairie readership. Because of government regulations concerning our postal subsidy, we are currently unable to accept freelance material from non-Canadian sources.

Given those limitations, we are interested in well-written and tightly written human-interest stories that we could carry on our feature pages. These could be about a person, program, place or experience. They should be no longer than 2 1/2 pages of double-spaced copy or 800 words, and should be accompanied by several good photos.

At times we have an ecumenical page and comment and analysis or feature pages. We would consider the occasional freelance item for these pages if it is relevant, well-written and no longer than three pages of double-spaced typed copy or approximately 900 words.

Seasonal material, features relating to Christmas, Easter and so on would be considered but, again, they must be tightly written and of relevance to a Prairie readership. We accept very few of these and must arrived several months in advance.

On rare occasions we carry centrespread features, and these can be on a wide range of issues or topics. They are usually done by journalists here or by our writers in the local regions, but if you have several smaller items or one larger one -- 2,500 words maximum -- that you believe would be of real interest to a Prairie Catholic readership you may wish to submit a suggestion or proposal to the editor. These items also require a good selection of related photos.

We also accept good feature photos.

Poetry submissions are accepted. We pay $20 per published poem.

We pay $55 for well-written comment and feature items, $75 if accompanied by a good photo. Reprinted articles are paid $25. News articles and very short features are paid $3.00 per column inch (11.6 pica column) -- less if extensive editing or rewriting is required. For photos we pay $20 per print.

We respond to material mailed to the office only if accompanied by a stamped (Canadian) self-addressed envelope or an international postal note. We respond to faxed or e-mailed material only if we accept it for publication.