Stanford Report content and placement guidelines

Stanford Report (website and morning emails) is an official university communications channel offering high-quality news, storytelling, and information to both the campus community and members of the public. It is produced by University Communications, in the Office of External Relations.

Content in Stanford Report comes from a wide range of campus units – including our seven schools, major offices, and interdisciplinary institutes as primary contributors – and University Communications teams.

How we select content for inclusion in Stanford Report

University Communications exercises discretion in determining which content appears in Stanford Report. This process involves rigorous editorial review during which a variety of factors, including university policies, are carefully considered. As a result, not all content suggested for publication is accepted.

Many, but not all, considerations involved in this decision making process are outlined below to assist members of the university community in: (a) recommending content for Stanford Report; and (b) clarifying why particular submissions may not be accepted by the Stanford Report editorial team.

Baseline considerations:

  • The submission must be high-quality, timely, relevant to the university’s core teaching and research missions, and reflect a level of rigor consistent with university practices
  • Stanford must be substantively, and not merely incidentally, connected to the topic
  • The material must be written in a way that is appropriately framed for the intended audience. For example, if a piece of content is directed at students, it should match student news-consuming behaviors in tone, voice, and length.

We do not accept content that:

  • Violates any of the policies outlined in the university’s Administrative Guide by, for example:
    • Creating the appearance that Stanford is engaging in political activity or endorsing a commercial partner
    • Raising actual or apparent conflicts of interest or commitments
    • Falling short of code of conduct values (integrity, diversity, respect, freedom of inquiry and expression, trust, honesty, and fairness)
  • Places undue emphasis on incidentally or unaffiliated individuals, particularly where such emphasis could constitute a commercial or political endorsement as above
  • Is prima facie offensive or counter to Stanford’s culture
  • Solicits donations for third-party or unaffiliated organizations
  • Inserts the institution into public debate where there is no direct scholarly, clinical, or operational interest, or is otherwise not deemed to be in service of Stanford’s mission

How we determine which events to cover

Stanford Report features a range of event coverage as part of our editorial strategy, including the “Big 5” (Convocation, Commencement, Admit and Family Weekends, and Reunion Homecoming); governance proceedings (e.g., faculty senate and board of trustees meetings); performances and exhibits; conferences; policy summits; lectures; dialogues; and conversations with significant public figures.

In deciding which events to feature in Stanford Report, we apply the same considerations and criteria listed above.

We additionally avoid drawing attention to events that:

  • Are hosted by student groups not officially recognized by VPSA or the Office of Student Engagement
  • Are overly technical or would not be sufficiently relevant to Stanford Report’s internal or external audiences
  • Provide an inappropriate platform for an individual or organization (for example, a commercial enterprise), especially those with non-Stanford interests
  • Engage with contentious issues in a manner not consistent with community standards
  • Feature uncivil, inaccurate, or unbalanced debate
  • Fail to comply with Stanford’s event policies

Please note that because of the large volume of events on campus, and in order to present a compelling variety of content to our various audience segments, we are unable to feature all events that are organized within the university.

Contact information

Stanford Report is managed by the Marketing & Digital Strategy Team within University Communications. If you have any questions related to these guidelines, or wish to discuss an item for potential inclusion in Stanford Report, please complete a ServiceNow request using this form.