10+

James
Editor-in-Chief

NORTH NEWS

Contributor & Staff Agreement

Document ID: NN-STA-2026-V1

In Effect Date: 24/5/2026

Applicability: All Volunteer Reporters, Editors, Media Team, and Staff

This Contributor and Staff Agreement (the "Agreement") is entered into and made effective as of the date of execution below, by and between North News (hereinafter referred to as the "Organization") and the individual volunteer executing this document (hereinafter referred to as the "Staff Member" or "Contributor").

1. Volunteer Status & Compensation

North News operates strictly as a non-profit, volunteer-led media organization. By signing this Agreement, the Contributor explicitly acknowledges and agrees to the following terms regarding their service:

No Financial Compensation: All services, reporting, writing, editing, photography, management, and administrative work performed by the Contributor are rendered strictly on a voluntary basis. No monetary compensation, salary, hourly wage, or future financial remuneration is promised, implied, or expected.

No Employment Relationship: This Agreement does not create an employer-employee relationship, joint venture, or agency partnership between the Contributor and North News. The Contributor is not entitled to any employment benefits, including but not limited to health insurance, paid leave, worker's compensation, or unemployment benefits.

Independent Discretion: Contributors retain the flexibility to choose their volunteer hours and assignments in coordination with the editorial team, provided they meet agreed-upon publishing deadlines.

2. Complete Transfer of Content Ownership

To ensure the long-term archival integrity, distribution, and operational flexibility of the media organization, North News requires full ownership of submitted materials.

 1. Transfer of Intellectual Property:

Upon the submission of any content including but not limited to written texts, articles, reports, interviews, photographs, audio recordings, video footage, graphics, or code (collectively referred to as the "Work")-to North News, the Contributor hereby completely, irrevocably, and unconditionally transfers, assigns, and conveys all rights, title, and interest in the Work to North News.

2. Termination of Individual Ownership:

Once a Work is submitted, it is immediately recognized as the exclusive property of North News. The Contributor acknowledges that they no longer own the Work and retain no copyright over it under this agreement.

Waiver of Control: The Contributor waives any right to demand the removal, deletion, modification, or retraction of the Work from North News platforms or subsequent licensed channels once submission has taken place.

Important Property Notice: Once your written text or media asset is submitted to the editorial queue, it becomes the sole legal property of North News. Individual creators do not retain personal copyrights or veto power over publication.

3. Licensing, Commercialization, and Syndication Rights

The Contributor explicitly grants the Editorial Leadership of North News full commercial and operational authority over all submitted works.

 Editorial Authority: The Editorial Leadership, including the Editor-in-Chief and designated LeadershipMembers, holds the absolute right to sell, license, lease, distribute, syndicate, or gift any submitted texts or materials to third-party media outlets, databases, publishers, or partners.

Revenue and Allocation: Any financial proceeds, royalties, licensing fees, or donations generated from the sale, syndication, or licensing of submitted texts shall belong entirely to North News. These funds will be used solely to sustain the volunteer organization's infrastructure, overhead, and community missions. The individual Contributor waives any claim to a revenue share or financial cut from such distributions.

4. Editorial Right to Alter, Adapt, and Credit

North News reserves the right to maintain journalistic standards and adapt content to changing formats.

Modification Rights: The editorial team retains final authority to edit, trim, restructure, re-title, translate, or adapt any submitted Work to conform to the North News Style Guide, legal requirements, or space constraints.

Author Attribution: While North News makes a good-faith effort to credit the original Contributor with a standard byline, the organization reserves the right to publish, anonymize, or combine works into staff-wide reports without individual attribution when necessary or appropriate

5. Content Warranties and Plagiarism Prohibitions

The Contributor assumes legal responsibility for the integrity of the content they provide. The Contributor warrants that:

The submitted Work is entirely original and created solely by the Contributor.

The Work does not violate, infringe, or misappropriate any third-party copyrights, trademarks, or proprietary rights.

The Work contains no libelous, defamatory, plagiarized, or knowingly false statements.

The Contributor has obtained all necessary consent and media releases for recorded interviews or identifiable photography prior to submission.

6. Confidentiality and Codes of Conduct

In the course of volunteering, Contributors may gain access to non-public organizational communications, strategic plans, unreleased stories, or source identities.

Non-Disclosure:The Contributor agrees to maintain strict confidentiality regarding all internal editorial discussions, sensitive source information, and non-public organizational assets.

Journalistic Integrity: All staff must adhere to basic ethical standards of journalism, remaining fair, independent, and avoiding conflicts of interest that could tarnish the reputation of North News.

7. Termination of Relationship

Either party may terminate the volunteer relationship at any time, with or without cause or prior notice. Upon termination, the provisions governing intellectual property (Section 2), licensing rights (Section 3), and confidentiality (Section 6) shall remain in full force and effect indefinitely. Content submitted prior to termination remains the property of North News.

8. Entire Agreement & Governing Law

This document constitutes the complete and entire agreement between the parties regarding content submissions and volunteer terms, superseding any prior verbal or written understandings. This agreement shall be governed by and construed in accordance with applicable standard legal frameworks governing non-profit operations and intellectual property assignments.

*By reacting to this message on discord or accepting and sending a form of acceptance you ACCEPT this document.