The stories we include in On the Ground Colorado are meant to be republished (including use in videos) freely, with some constraints, which are listed here. (Much of the following was copied directly from INN’s On the Ground guidelines, which were copied directly from ProPublica and The City’s republication guidelines.) If you have any questions, contact COLab at info@colabnews.co.

License type

• Content is made available under the BY-NC-ND 4.0 Creative Commons license. This means the content can be freely republished in any medium or format, so long as it’s attributed, and not remixed or altered — except for the headline, which can be rewritten. 

Republication Process and Terms

How to Republish

1. Copy and Paste
   • Use the supplied plain text and paste it into your Content Management System (CMS).
2. Credit Requirements
   • Attribute the producing news organization and any co-reporting partners.
   • Preferred byline format: “Author Name, Outlet.”
   • At the top of the story text (or in a broadcast script), include:
     “This story was originally produced by {news organization}.”
3. Linking Back
   • If republishing online, link to the original story URL on the producing organization’s website.
   • Use the producer’s URL for canonical metadata. Learn more about canonical metadata here.

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Permissible Edits

1. Adjustments Allowed
   • Modify the headline or align text with your in-house style (e.g., “%” vs. “percent,” honorifics, etc.).
   • Adjust for context, such as changing “yesterday” to “last week” or “Ridgway, CO” to “Ridgway” or “here.”
2. Prohibited Changes
   • Do not edit the material’s content beyond the above allowances.

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Monetization and Attribution

1. Advertising Rules
   • Stories can appear on web or print pages with ads but cannot be paired with ads specifically sold against the producing organization’s content.
   • Do not state or imply that contributions to your organization support the producing organization’s work.
2. Rights and Limitations
   • Do not sell, license, syndicate, or represent the material as your own.
   • Do not actively submit stories to syndication platforms like Apple News or Google News, though passive crawling by third parties is understood.

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Usage Guidelines

1. Selective Republishing
   • Do not republish material wholesale or automatically. Each story must be individually selected.
   • Do not use stories on websites that exist solely to boost search engine rankings or generate ad revenue.
2. Translations
   • Translating stories into another language is encouraged. Please share translated versions with the original producer.
3. Social Media Sharing
   • Tag the producing news organization when sharing republished stories on social media.
4. Contact Information
   • Any website where the stories appear must include a clear and accessible way to contact you.

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Images and Graphics

1. Access
   • You may not automatically republish any photos and/or graphics included in the On the Ground Colorado content newsletter or Slack feed or in the story asset emails. This is to prevent accidental sharing of images without cleared rights to share.
   • COLab will provide each participating partner outlet with a Google Drive folder (here) in which the outlet may upload cleared images and graphics. The photos and/or graphics shared via that folder are eligible for republishing, according to the terms below. 
   • If a photo or graphic is not found in the folder, then you must get permission directly from the originating outlet to use any photos or graphics featured in the story. 
2. Legal Use
   • By uploading to the Google Drive folder, the participating partner confirms that the originating outlet has full rights to offer republication and other use permissions of images/graphics submitted, free of royalties or other licensing payments. 
3. Attribution and Caption
   • Images and graphics must be republished with the provided attribution and captioning.
4. Adjustments Allowed
   • Images and graphics may be cropped for size, but may not be altered in any other way.

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By following these terms, you ensure proper attribution, legal compliance, and respect for the producing organization’s work.