Grafton Common: Frequently Asked Questions
Who is writing this site?
Jennifer Lord Paluzzi is a Grafton-based journalist with more than 30 years of experience at newspapers around Massachusetts. She spent the bulk of her career at the MetroWest Daily News before starting the Greater Grafton Blog in 2008. The following year, she teamed up with Jack Schofield to launch GraftonTimes.com/The Daily Grafton/The Grafton Daily Voice and the Central Mass News hyperlocal network. Following the sale and subsequent closure of the Massachusetts sites by The Daily Voice chain, she joined the Lowell Sun as a digital editor and, later, editor of the Nashoba Valley Voice.
She’s won a bunch of awards and stuff.
How do I submit items to the site?
We accept press releases, brags about how well your kid is doing in college, event posts, photographs, letters to the editor, and welcome articles and columns. Anonymous contributions are not accepted.
All may be emailed to jennifer@graftoncommon.com.
Can I submit by mail?
No.
Can I call you and dictate my items?
No.
Can I ask you to cover my event?
Yes! Please email me, in a timely fashion, at jennifer@graftoncommon.com. I am not always available, so I may ask you to send photos.
Can I buy photos?
This may be an option at a later date, but shoot me an email if you see a photo you like and, if I shot it myself, I can send you a copy.
What is your letters to the editor policy?
Letters to the editor will generally be posted in the order in which they come in, with the occasional exception for timeliness and variety. All letters must be signed with your real name. If possible, include a photo of yourself.
During an election season, candidate endorsements will not be accepted after noon on the prior Friday. These letters may be posted in batches if there are excessive submissions.
What is your commenting policy?
Please use your real name. This is especially important for Grafton officials, candidates, and employees. Name-calling, bullying, swearing, personal attacks, threats, and gas-lighting is not allowed. Multiple accounts (“sock puppeting”) are not allowed.
DO NOT POST IN ALL CAPS PLEASE.
This site is meant for respectful conversation. Comments are set, for now, to post without editorial approval but will be moderated and removed if necessary. Commenters may be banned for behavior.
What about my right to free speech?
You still have that right. As owner of the site, I have the right to control what goes on it.
Where’s the sports section?
I do not plan to cover sports. Let me rephrase that — I do not plan to cover games, except on rare occasions. There is only one of me, and game coverage takes too much time with too little reward.
Plus, my zoom lens fell victim to an overly enthusiastic Rob Gronkowski fan at the Patriots Super Bowl parade in 2015 and was crushed beneath a Duck Boat.
Want to contribute sports coverage? Email jennifer@graftoncommon.com.
Are there plans to make this a pay site?
Yes… and no. Right now, I’m focused on getting Grafton Common up and running to my standard. In the future, I do plan to offer paying options.
What are your ad rates?
This is another option I plan to offer in the future. I’d prefer to set rates when I can give businesses solid numbers on site views and other metrics.