Some Differences In The Rules Of Medium Versus NewsBreak
NewsBreak has more regulations
Some people are writing for Medium and NewsBreak
It seems to me that ANYTHING GOES on Medium (well, almost anything). Some writers regularly use profanity and all manner of swear words generously sprinkled into their stories. There are very personal and revealing stories that mention people by name or relationship.
Since NewsBreak made a number of changes in its policies in the past year, there have been several people who have written articles on Medium saying that they have left NewsBreak. Some were by their own choice while others had received three strikes so they were OUT.
NewsBreak started to give strikes without warning if they decided that there was a violation of one of their policies. That could mean that the writer unknowingly did something wrong when writing their articles. It might be retelling a violent action, being too graphic in a description, or giving what was considered to be misinformation or infringing on intellectual property. If a person received three strikes, they were eliminated from the program.
Some people found the strike system and the new rules to be problematic. They did not want to deal with NewsBreak any longer so they quit.
It seems that almost anything can be accepted for publication with Medium. In addition to profanity, the stories include violence, sex, shootings, murders, and mayhem told in detail. In fact, a leader in Medium once made the suggestion to put “sex” in the title to get more readers and earn more money.
Writers on Medium often get very personal with sharing their own stories of discord, racism, politics, hate, abuse, drugs, divorce, and all manner of family problems. Writers on NewsBreak generally need to write more objectively like journalists without inserting their own feelings and experiences.
NewsBreak implemented three levels of contributors. They are journalists, subject matter specialists, and community voices. Most contributors are likely to fit in the category of community voices. Although NewsBreak wants local news, they have professional journalists who report the news. Ordinary contributors cannot report on news unless they are directly involved. They want all original content submitted.
Fact checking and documentation are advised and required on both platforms. Quoted material must be acknowledged.
While there are articles on Medium advising writers to use clickbait in their titles, the use of clickbait is not allowed on NewsBreak. They consider clickbait to be a headline or photo that deliberately teases or misleads to get people to click on it. Making promises is not allowed.
NewsBreak released new or updated Content Policy, Requirements, and Editorial Standards and Guidelines. Many of them are the same as previously. The main topics and requirements for writing stories are:
No violence and gory content. No graphic details.
No dangerous and illegal content.
No harassment and hateful content.
No nudity or sexual content.
Nothing that could endanger minors.
Those listed topics are often included in Medium stories.
Although some writers on Medium have written about submitting to publications which do not respond quickly, people can publish on Medium without going through a publication. It seems to be much easier to get stories published on Medium than NewsBreak.
There is less worry and stress for writers in submitting stories to Medium rather than NewsBreak. That may be one reason some people left NewsBreak.
Everyone writing on Medium, NewsBreak, or other platforms is trying to find success. Whether money is an issue or not, everyone would like to succeed.
Do writers care about the different regulations and requirements? People need to decide for themselves what works for them.
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