Questions, questions, questions

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Fran Ostendorf, EditorIf you have more nights than usual scheduled with meetings that you absolutely have to attend this month, then you know it’s annual meeting season. Geraldine Foster wrote about the history of these annual meetings in our last edition.

More often than not, these meetings come with an interesting speaker or program. And on the days without an annual meeting, there’s often a day or evening gathering to honor a deserving community member as well.

Despite my short tenure as editor, I already recognize the spring meeting season because my calendar is overfilled with events to cover and meetings to attend. Everyone wants to know how we make a decision about what events we attend and don’t attend. There are a few other questions I’ve been asked quite a lot lately. So here are five questions from the editor’s desk.

How do you decide what to cover?

Since we are a biweekly newspaper, we look for events and news with timely and timeless community interest. If it’s news from within our community, we try to do as much as we can with our limited resources. Sometimes there are multiple events at the same time. We hope community members will help out by submitting news and photos from events they attend or are involved in. News that has been covered by other media and is old by the time our paper comes out is really not something that we can cover with our resources. We’re trying to cover some of the things happening in our community that the mainstream media doesn’t.

Where does your national and world/Israel news come from?

We get articles from news services including the Jewish Telegraphic Agency (JTA) and JNS.org. They have reporters across the U.S. and around the world. We strive to provide a balanced news report. Again, if it’s news you’ve seen in other papers, you will probably not see it in the Voice. We would look for features and analysis of the event that would add to what you’ve already read elsewhere. As a biweekly, our goal is to supplement or go deeper.

How do I submit an obituary?

Obituaries are very important to us. And they can be sensitive. To help ensure accuracy and balance, our local obituaries come from the funeral homes. The funeral directors work with the family to write an obituary that’s acceptable to everyone. We publish that free of charge. If a family member has a problem or correction, we ask that they go back to the funeral home to update the obituary. Out-of-town obituaries should have some tie to our area. Feel free to call us with questions.

Can I submit a photo?

Readers love photos and so do we. If you are submitting the photo electronically, which is our preferred method, please send us a high-resolution image. If you want to get technical, it should be at least 300 dpi. If technical stuff is not your thing, send the largest size file possible. If the photo is from your phone, choose the option that allows you to download the largest file possible. What looks good on your computer, phone or tablet screen can look awful in print, which requires more detail and resolution.

Can I send you an item by mail or does it have to be submitted electronically?

Again, an electronic submission is best. It cuts out the middle person who could introduce mistakes. But if you do not use a computer, mail your submission to us: Editor, The Jewish Voice, 401 Elmgrove Ave., Providence, R.I. 02906. Type it, if possible, or please make sure your handwriting is legible and that there is contact information just in case we need to ask you a question.

If you are sending a photo, please try to send copies or pictures you don’t need back. Of course, we’ll try to be careful with your pictures, but can’t guarantee they can be safely returned.

Any other questions? Feel free to contact me at fostendorf@jewishallianceri.org.