How to Send a Letter or Essay — The Weber County Hive

IN PLAIN WORDSWrite about a public decision, official, bill, budget or project. Sign it with your real name and city. Link any fact you state to where you found it. We check the facts and publish the rest in your words.

How to send

Letters

Up to 400 words
One topic
Responses to a Hive case file or article are welcome; name the page you’re responding to

Essays

Up to 1,500 words
A longer argument, a first-hand account of a public process, or an explainer from your own work or field
Include links for every fact you rely on

What every piece needs

Your real name and city. We confirm you’re a real person before publishing. Pieces aren’t published anonymously.
A public subject. Officials, candidates, government bodies, PACs, companies and public projects.
Links for your facts. Vote records, meeting minutes, budgets, disclosure forms, court records, news reports. It speeds up checking and lets readers follow your trail.
Your own words. Not written for or paid for by a campaign, PAC or company. If you work for, volunteer for or have given to a group involved in your subject, say so; it goes in a note at the end.

What won’t be published

Names, addresses or details about private people, including family members and neighbors
Claims about a named person or group’s conduct that can’t be confirmed in a public record
Threats, slurs or personal attacks
Endorsement or fundraising appeals for a campaign
Pieces sent to other outlets at the same time (tell us if it has run somewhere else)

What happens after you send it

We confirm who you are.
We check each factual statement against public records (how).
If something can’t be confirmed, we send it back to you to add a source or cut it.
We may trim for length. We don’t change your argument.
You see the final version before it’s published.
It goes up with its published date, the list of what was checked, and a change log if anything is corrected later.

If you’re the subject of a piece

You can reply the same way anyone else can, with a signed letter. It is checked and published on the same terms. Conversations about published pieces stay public.