Newsroom Policies and FAQs
Use the links below to jump to a specific section of our Newsroom FAQs.
- Arrests & Police Logs
- Conflicts of Interest
- Corrections
- Event/Calendar Listings
- Opinion, Editorials & Columnists
- Letters to the Editor
- Paywall & Subscriptions
- Times Weekly Publications
- The Day’s Coverage Area
Arrests and Police Logs
Publication of arrest logs and police news
The Day regularly publishes arrest logs and police news from our coverage area, which includes East Lyme, Groton City, Groton Town, Ledyard, Lyme and Old Lyme, Montville, New London, Norwich, Stonington and Waterford. We occasionally publish arrests and police news from other areas if the information is relevant to our readers.
The Day publishes newsworthy information from police as a matter of public safety and police accountability.
In general, we publish all felonies and all Class A and Class B misdemeanors listed in the Connecticut Penal Code.
Police Logs and crime stories
The Day recognizes that people make mistakes or sometimes are not guilty as charged. We recognize that not providing arrest log information to major search engines may be helpful to those who are trying to secure employment or move on with their lives.
As of June 1, 2021, The Day will not provide police logs to Google or other search engines. We will continue to publish them in our print newspaper and on theday.com. This policy applies only to police logs published after June 1, 2021.
Upon request, The Day will add an editor’s note to arrest logs and police-related items if the person making the request provides written proof from the court that the charges were dismissed.
In those cases, we also will consider asking Google to remove arrest-related briefs and stories from its search engine by a process known as de-indexing.
The Day has no control over how long it takes Google to remove items. The length of time it takes for an item to be removed from the search engine may vary.
Police logs and police-related stories that have been de-indexed from Google will remain searchable on theday.com so that the paper maintains a historically accurate record. We remain committed to covering the community fairly, fully and accurately.
We will make every attempt to apply this policy consistently but reserve the right to depart from it at our discretion based on the facts of individual cases.
This policy will apply only to arrests published on or after June 1, 2021.
Social Media
Upon request from those who can provide written proof from a court that their charges have been dismissed, we will consider updating with an editor’s note or comment police-related items that have been posted on our Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
Booking photos
The Day publishes photos of suspects charged with major crimes as a matter of newsworthiness and public interest. This includes booking photos provided by police departments and photos of court appearances taken by Day photographers or those made available by the Associated Press and other wire services.
As a rule, we consider “major crimes” those defined by the Connecticut General Statutes as Class A and B felonies. Generally, we do not publish photos of those charged with lesser crimes even if they are provided by police. But we judge each news story on its individual circumstances and reserve the right to depart from this guideline if events warrant. If, for example, police are seeking a suspect who has not been charged, we will consider publishing a photo or sketch if the person is considered an imminent threat to public safety.
Juveniles
As a rule, we don’t publish the names of children under the age of 18 who have been arrested unless they are charged with a major crime.
Sexual assault victims
We do not publish the names of victims of sexual assault unless they agree to be named for the purposes of telling their story.
Suicides
In general, The Day does not report on suicides unless they are carried out in a public place or involve a public figure.
Conflicts of Interest
Conflicts of Interest
Paraphrased from the employee handbook:
Employees of The Day should not accept outside employment or serve on boards or committees that affect the performance of their responsibilities with The Day. The goal is to avoid not only conflict itself, but also any situation that might raise questions about the company’s credibility, impartiality or integrity. Newsroom employees may not accept gifts or sample products of any kind and may not use their position with The Day to receive any benefit or advantage in commercial transactions or personal business for themselves or their family, friends or acquaintances. Press passes should not be used for entry into an event unless the employee is required to attend for business reasons. Employees may not contribute to, advise, work for, or campaign for political parties, causes or candidates.
Corrections
Corrections policy
The Day’s policy is to correct errors and clarify misunderstandings. Mistakes are corrected immediately online and a note is attached to the article explaining the correction. In print, the correction appears on Page A2, except for mistakes on the editorial or sports pages, which are corrected on those pages.
Event/Calendar Listings
How do I get a notice published in the events calendar?
Items for all Day and Times calendars should be emailed to neighbors@theday.com and times@theday.com at least two weeks before the event or RSVP date if applicable; they can be sent as far in advance as you want, but no later than two weeks. Submissions will be edited to fit our space requirements but should include the name of the event, date, time, location, relevant details about the event, target age group (all ages, kids in certain grades, 18+, etc), ticket cost, whether registration is required and a phone number or email for people to contact if they have questions. Most of The Day’s calendars run Thursday to Wednesday, and events will only run the week that they occur.
Reunion listings should be emailed to times@theday.com with the school class, date, time, location, ticket cost, RSVP date and a contact name and phone number/email. Reunions only run once as a brief and only in the Times, and they must be submitted at least two weeks before the RSVP date.
Opinion, Editorials & Columnists
What’s the difference between news reporting and editorials?
Editorials are the opinion of The Day’s editorial board. The editorial board is composed of the publisher and four journalists of varied editing and reporting backgrounds. The board’s discussions and information gained from its meetings with political, civic, and business leaders drive the institutional voice of The Day, as expressed in its editorials. The editorial department operates separately from the newsroom.
Do editorial opinions extend to reporting in the newsroom?
In a word, No. The newsroom and the editorial board are independent of each other and neither influences the other in terms of coverage choices or editorial voice.
Why do David Collins’ opinion columns appear in the news section and not on the Opinion page?
David Collins is a columnist who works out of the newsroom. Though he expresses his opinion in his columns, they are his alone, and not the opinions of either the newsroom or the editorial page.
Letters to The Editor
What’s the policy on Letters to The Editor? And how do I submit one?
The Day welcomes original letters not sent to other publications. Letter length is limited to 200 words and writers are limited to one submission every 15 days. The Day will edit letters for clarity, length, grammar, style and taste. Writers are urged to cite the source of factual claims. The Day does not publish eulogies to the dead, poetry, thank-you notes, letters of dispute with businesses or anonymous letters. Letters must include name, address and phone number.
You may submit via our online letters form or via email at letters@theday.com.
What if I have a point to make that can’t be made in 200 words?
The Day also will consider the publication of longer commentaries submitted by its readers. Such commentaries are generally limited to 650 words and are only accepted in an electronic format. Whether to publish is up to the discretion of The Day. Proposed commentaries can be sent to letters@theday.com.
Paywall & Subscriptions
Why do I have to pay to read the news?
You must have a home delivery or digital-only subscription in order to get access to all of our online content.
While advertising revenue helps fund much of our business, we increasingly rely on subscription revenue. Local advertising continues to be strong, but not enough offset the loss of national advertising dollars as national chains continue to close or shrink. To cover the cost of providing local news and information with a team of experienced and dedicated journalists, we rely on support from our readers, primarily through subscription dollars.
Why is Breaking News behind a paywall?
When a breaking news is related to public safety during a natural disaster, weather-related event or a large emergency situation, we will allow it to be freely available to all readers and not subject to our paywall.
Times Weekly Publications
What are The Times weekly papers?
The Times community newspapers, owned and operated by The Day, are published weekly on Thursdays and sent free to subscribers and nonsubscribers of The Day who have physical mailing addresses (not post office boxes) in the following communities: Lyme, Old Lyme, East Lyme, Niantic, Salem (Lyme Times); Oakdale, Uncasville, Montville (Montville Times); Quaker Hill, Chesterfield, Waterford (Waterford Times); New London (New London Times); Groton City and Town (Groton Times); Mystic, West Mystic, Old Mystic, Groton Long Point and Noank (Mystic Times); Stonington, Stonington Borough, Pawcatuck and North Stonington (Stonington Times); Preston, Gales Ferry and Ledyard (Thames River Times); Norwich (Norwich Times). To inquire about home delivery or opt out of receiving the paper, call (860) 701-4271
People in the community are encouraged to contribute to the Times papers in a variety of ways, by emailing stories, columns, photos and story ideas to times@theday.com. For calendar items, email neighbors@theday.com. Keep in mind that the Times papers, because of its early deadlines, require notices to be sent at least two weeks in advance of an event.
Contributions are encouraged for a variety of regular features: My Pet Pal (stories about pets, with photos); Kindness in Real Life (stories about good deeds); Be An Angel (requests for help from the community); Friends & Neighbors (new jobs, awards, retirements and transitions); Let’s Go (local event previews); In the Galleries (art show openings) and Your Turn (reader columns and opinions). The Times papers regularly carry library calendars, event calendars, brief notices, classified advertising and news and feature stories.
To reach the community editor, Lee Howard, email l.howard@theday.com or call 860-701-4356. Times assistant editor Owen Poole can be reached at o.poole@theday.com. For advertising information, check your local paper or call 860-701-4203.
The Day’s Coverage Area
What towns does The Day cover?
The Day covers the following cities and towns: East Lyme, Groton, Ledyard, Lyme, Montville, New London, Norwich, Old Lyme, Stonington and Waterford.
What if my town isn’t covered?
While our priority remains within our coverage area, that doesn’t mean we wouldn’t consider writing an important or interesting story outside of it. Please send your story ideas to tips@theday.com
The Day also has reporters who cover the following topical beats: business, education, courts, police and fire, casino, tribes and gaming, health and hospitals, military, Millstone and the environment. View our news staff listing.