The news and features desk here at the Town and County continue to get flooded with requests for stories, event coverage and reviews every week.  It is a tribute to the importance that readers place on a local newspaper and we thank them for that.  Our readership and coverage area has grown steadily over the last four years.

                Unfortunately, time and print space are still major adversaries that challenge those local newsworthy requests for publication.  Time to gather information or take photographs and pen and edit the story or caption.  Then, of course, we need to find room to place the items on the page and get them to the printing press.  Both are tasks that take on a whole new level of urgency when dealing with deadlines.

                A major element that has found its way into the decision making process is liability.  In our litigious society, we are ultimately responsible for everything we print.  No matter how innocent a story or photograph may appear to the submitter, it must be “cleared” before we put it on the page.

The recent snowstorms brought a plethora of requests for photographs and we would love to be in the position to take every shot and publish it for everyone to see and enjoy.  In some cases, there just wasn’t enough time to get all the photos.  In other cases, there was no room to print them.  It’s not just a matter of putting it on the page – it also has to “fit.”

Some things you can do when submitting a press release:

Always include a contact name and phone number; Releases must always report actual events.  Opinions should not be expressed within the release; Because we can’t guarantee a press release will publish on a specific week, those with date-sensitive information should be submitted as an advertisement to ensure the message gets to the intended audience on time; News releases that, in the editor’s opinion, specifically promote a commercial enterprise or product will be considered for the Business Page section of the publication; Advertorials are press releases that promote a commercial enterprise, business or product and may be limited to the Business Section;  Press releases must be less than 300 words;   If a photo is to be published with the promotional information, the release must be less than 250 words;  Press releases will be published as space is available, and priority may be given to regular advertisers and businesses new to the area;  Press releases can be e-mailed to This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .  Email is preferred but releases can be faxed to (215) 679-5077, or dropped off at our office; When e-mailing photos, attachment them in TIF or JPG format, at least 200 DPI.  Photos can also be brought into our office at 2508 Kutztown Road, in Upper Hanover Township, for scanning.

The full policy for submitting press releases to the Town and Country can be found at www.upvnews.com under the “Contact Us” tab.

Following these guidelines will help your press release or photo through the process.  As much as we’d like to, we can’t guarantee that every item sent to the Town and Country newspaper will be published but we’ll do our best.