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ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL AND ADVERTISING POLICIES AUGUST 1, 2023

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 1 Election season is an important and amazing part of the democratic process. GOOD Morning Wilton is excited to cover events in Wilton for another year. We’ve outlined some of our policies and guidelines for how we’ll cover the elections and work with the campaigns. Please feel free to direct any questions or discuss things with our editor and publisher, Heather Borden Herve. She can be reached at editor@goodmorningwilton.com. For Election 2023 coverage, GOOD Morning Wilton will prioritize five races for the four main elected boards/commissions. Those races are: • First Selectman/Selectwoman • Board of Selectmen • Board of Education • Board of Finance • Planning & Zoning Commission Coverage of other races will be determined by GMW editors on an as-needed basis. This includes news, letters to the editor, op-eds, and any other areas. GMW welcomes candidates in municipal races other than the five listed above to reach out to Wilton residents via GMW. Those candidates are welcome to submit materials for consideration for publication. Any submissions will be subject to the same guidelines and deadlines outlined by the policies explained herein.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 2 IMPORTANT General Reminders In order to maintain an equitable approach for all candidates, ALL DEADLINES will be observed as specified in these policies. GMW can make no exceptions. Candidates, their representatives and campaigns, and Wilton Town Committees are solely responsible for meeting all deadlines specified in this document. Please read our Terms of Use regarding the tone of any communication from candidates and their supporters. We will not publish any letters, opinion pieces or editorial material that we feel deviates from that editorial policy. As we’ve made clear in our Terms of Use, we encourage writers, be they candidates or voters, to focus on ideas and issues, not the person or the personal. Our policies make clear that personal attacks will not be published. If any materials are submitted by a candidate, town committee or individual about any candidate, town committee or party, we reserve the right to seek independent confirmation, fact check all assertions, and offer the subject an opportunity to respond at GMW’s discretion. This applies to Letters to the Editor sent by readers as well as all other categories of submitted materials. All materials submitted should withstand fact-checking. Materials found to contain untruths or assertions that are not factual will be rejected and returned to the individual who has submitted them. We reserve the right to reject any submission of material we feel violates our Terms of Use. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 3 *Regarding the use of ‘Democrat’ vs. ‘Democratic’ and ‘democratic’: GOOD Morning Wilton follows Associated Press style, which uses the words ‘Democrat’ as a proper noun for a registered member of the Democratic political party; ‘Democratic’ as an adjective to describe a noun related to the political party, as in Democratic Party, Democratic voters, Democratic ideology, Democratic candidate, etc.; and ‘democratic’ with a lower case ‘d’ as an adjective to describe the system of government in a democracy. The words Republican and Democratic are capitalized when referring to the parties’ political philosophies. Aside from being grammatically incorrect, using the noun ‘Democrat’ to modify another noun (leaders or caucus) is historically viewed as a slight or pejorative by most nonpartisan sources. Refer to FactCheck.org (a website from the Annenberg Public Policy Center) as a starting reference. GMW will reject any submitted material that fails to follow this style and reserves the right to publish an explanation as to why material was rejected. We reserve the right to revisit and/or amend these guidelines if we feel it’s necessary. We encourage any reader — candidate or voter — to contact us and discuss anything related to our stated policy. We can be reached by email at editor@goodmorningwilton.com.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 4 Letters to the Editor *Policies for Letters to the Editor are the same for any possible primary and the general municipal election unless otherwise specified. • GMW welcomes Letters to the Editor. • GMW prioritizes Letters from Wilton residents over letters from non-residents. GMW will consider Letters from non-residents if space permits and if the subject impacts Wilton. • Writers must sign Letters with their full names and include a verifiable address and phone number; GMW does NOT publish anonymous letters or letters signed with a pseudonym. • GMW will publish Letters regarding Election 2023 and candidates on Fridays as part of a single article with all letters received during the week. o IF there is a PRIMARY 2023, GMW will publish letters to the editor regarding primary races ONLY, before Primary Day, SEPT. 12, 2023. Letters about primary races will run every Friday beginning Aug. 11 through Friday, Sept. 8, 2023. o GMW will publish Letters regarding the 2023 GENERAL MUNICIPAL ELECTION every Friday beginning Friday, Sept. 15 through Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. • GMW will publish only 15 letters each week in the chronological order they were received. GMW will hold any letter not included one week for consideration the following week(s). GMW reserves the right to increase the number of letters published weekly if necessary. • There is a 200-word limit for letters regarding candidates and election issues. Letters exceeding the word count will be rejected and returned to the author for revision. Letters will not be considered for publication until meeting the limit. • Please read our general policies and guidelines regarding content and comments. We reserve the right to reject a letter or request edits based on our Terms of Use. This includes the requirement that information be factual with substantiating proof provided upon request, and the possibility that GMW will contact the subject of the letter for comment or response at our discretion. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 5 Letters to the Editor (continued) • (IF there is a primary): While we encourage as much participation in the democratic process as possible, GMW will only publish more than one letter from the same writer before the Sept. 12, 2023, primary if space permits. The counter resets after the primary. • GMW will only publish more than one letter from the same writer during the general municipal election season if space permits. We can only publish one letter per writer each Friday. We reserve the right to ‘bump’ letters from repeat-writers in preference for letters from first-time letter writers. • GMW prioritizes Letters regarding local Wilton candidates, races and local Wilton-specific issues, especially if we near our 15-letter limit. • Endorsement vs. Letter to the Editor: Other than extraordinary circumstances, GMW defines endorsements as supportive communications written by a town or public official, or an official representing a public organization. GMW considers submissions by all other writers as Letters to the Editor. GMW reserves the right for final determination of how submissions are classified, and how letter writers are identified. (For more information on Endorsements, see the next section.) • If we feel a letter does not fit our general editorial or election policies outlined here, we’ll do our best to contact the author to request changes or suggest alternative approaches. We reserve the right to reject a letter if we feel it does not follow our guidelines or our editorial mission. • We reserve the right to edit letters for grammar, spelling and GMW editorial style standard. We will NOT change letters for content. • We will make a best faith effort to print all letters but cannot guarantee that all letters received will be published. Submitting a letter does NOT guarantee it will be published. • Email letters to editor@goodmorningwilton.com before Thursday at noon of each week.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 6 Endorsements • GOOD Morning Wilton will not make any endorsements. • Endorsement vs. Letter to the Editor: Other than extraordinary circumstances, GMW defines endorsements as supportive communications written by a town or public official, or an official representing a public organization. Submissions by all other writers are considered Letters to the Editor. GMW reserves the right to determine how submissions are classified. (For more information on Letters to the Editor, see the previous section.) • Endorsements in support of candidates can be submitted by candidates, campaign representatives, and the organization or official making the endorsement. • GMW will publish endorsements from pertinent third parties, which we define as public officials, civic organizations, interest groups and similar established, recognized figures. • GMW will publish third-party endorsement announcements once per week, where appropriate. Every effort will be made to confirm information and quote accuracy. • GMW will publish candidate endorsements on Tuesdays as part of a single article with any endorsements received the prior week. Endorsements will run: o Tuesday, Aug. 15 through Tuesday, Sept. 5 — IF there is a PRIMARY 2023 o Tuesday, Sept. 19 through Tuesday, Oct. 31 for the Nov. 7 municipal election • GMW will publish endorsements in the chronological order they were received. GMW will hold any endorsement not included one week for consideration the following week. • Please read our general policies and guidelines regarding content and comments. We reserve the right to reject an endorsement or make edits based on our terms and editorial style. • We reserve the right to edit endorsements as we do for any other press release — for grammar, spelling, brevity and GMW editorial standards. We will NOT change content. • Unless there are extenuating circumstances, GMW limits endorsements to 500-words. GMW reserves the right to determine if an endorsement exceeding 500 words will be published. • Email all endorsement announcements to editor@goodmorningwilton.com before Monday at noon each week.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 7 Campaign News Coverage & Op-Eds • GMW will cover news as warranted. Should any candidate participate in any activity that is deemed newsworthy by GMW — whether or not it is campaign related — coverage will follow accordingly. We will continue to monitor and assess our coverage from standards of fairness and equal access, acknowledging that those are different yet related. • When a candidate is covered in editorial reporting by GMW, he or she will be identified as being a candidate for election when news merits, regardless of whether the news event is campaign related. • We will not run any advance notices, calendar listings or editorial coverage of fundraisers. Any candidate or campaign wishing to have fundraisers listed in GMW should read the information on political advertising on p. 13. • We ask candidates and their campaign staff/volunteers to read our policies and guidelines when drafting statements, submissions, letters, etc. • GMW editorial staff will review any written, recorded or photographic material submitted for publication by a candidate, a campaign or a party/town committee regarding matters outside of the election to determine if that material should be considered election-related, and therefore counted as part of the candidate’s submission limits (i.e., one published op-ed/editorial statement). For example, GMW will review any statements/articles/etc. submitted for publication by candidates who currently serve in public office regarding activities or policy discussions related to the election, to determine if the submission promotes the candidate-author and could possibly constitute unequal coverage. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 8 Campaign News Coverage & Op-Eds (continued) SPECIAL PRIMARY ISSUE • IF THRE IS A PRIMARY ON SEPT. 12, 2023, GMW will run a special “Primary Issue” on Friday, Sept. 8, the Friday before the Primary. We will run short bios of each candidate who appears on the primary ballot. We are collecting these photos and bios well in advance of the special “Primary Issue.” • GMW invites candidates/campaigns (if they wish) to submit photos as well as a short, written bio, no longer than 125 words. Deadline for submitting any photos and bios for the Primary Issue is Friday, Aug. 18 at 5 PM. • Each municipal primary candidate will be able to submit one candidate statement or op-ed on behalf of themself, for publication in the Friday, Sept. 8 special Primary Issue. This submission can be no longer than 500 words. The deadline for submitting any candidate statement/op-ed material for the Sept. 8 special Primary Issue is Tuesday, Sept. 5 at noon. • There will be no party/town committee op-eds published for the Primary Issue. • Please read the General Guidelines — they all apply to the Primary Issue. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 9 Campaign News Coverage & Op-Eds (continued) SPECIAL GENERAL ELECTION ISSUE GMW will run a special “Election Issue” on FRIDAY, Nov. 3. • Candidate bios/photos: GMW will run bios of ALL candidates in ALL races. o We collect photos and bios well in advance of the special “Election Issue.” Candidates/campaigns are asked to submit photos as well as a short, written bio, no longer than 125 words. o GMW will not write bios for candidates that do not submit anything; the space will appear blank next to the candidate’s name. o Deadline for submitting photos and bios is WEDNESDAY, Sept. 13 at 5 PM. GOOD Morning Wilton will prioritize coverage of the five races for the four main elected boards and commissions: First Selectman/Selectwoman; Board of Selectmen; Board of Education; Board of Finance; and Planning & Zoning Commission. GMW editors will determine coverage of other races on an as-needed basis. • Candidate Op-Eds: Candidates in the five main races should submit one op-ed apiece for publication in the FRIDAY, Nov. 3 Election Issue. All candidate op-eds run the same day in the Special Election Issue. GMW runs no candidate op-eds after that date. o Candidates will be identified as candidates. o Word count is limited to 800 words. o The deadline to submit op-eds for consideration is Friday, Oct. 27 at noon. o The only races for which candidates are invited to submit Op-Eds are: - First Selectwoman/Selectman - Board of Selectmen - Board of Finance - Board of Education - Planning and Zoning (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 10 • Wilton Town Committee Op-Eds: Each political party/town committee will be able to submit one op-ed on behalf of its candidates running to represent Wilton, and/or platform, for publication in the FRIDAY, Nov. 3 special Election Issue. o This op-ed can be no longer than 600 words. o Deadline for submitting any slate/platform op-ed material for the Nov. 3 special Election Issue is Friday, Oct. 27 at noon. • Other Candidate Op-Eds: Unaffiliated/petition/other candidates who are NOT affiliated with a political party/town committee are able to submit a separate second op-ed as well (in addition to their candidate op-ed). o Candidates will be identified as candidates. o This op-ed word count is limited to 600 words. o The deadline to submit op-eds for consideration is Friday, Oct. 27 at noon. • Candidate Video Interviews: As in years past, GOOD Morning Wilton will conduct video interviews with the candidates via Zoom. o The races for which candidates will be invited to sit for a video interview are: - First Selectman/Selectwoman - Board of Selectmen - Board of Finance - Board of Education o Questions will not be shared with the candidates ahead of time. o GMW will schedule interviews to take place between Sept. 15 and Oct. 13. More information will be forthcoming regarding interview scheduling details. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 11 Campaign News Coverage & Op-Eds (continued) General Submission Guidelines • IMPORTANT: Word count limits are strictly enforced. Any submission exceeding a limit will be rejected and returned to authors for cuts and won’t be considered for publication until meeting the limit. Deadlines are firm for all returned submissions. • If we feel the material submitted does not fit our general editorial policies or those outlined here, we will do our best to contact the author and request changes or suggest alternative approaches. We reserve the right to refuse publication based on our current policies. • We reserve the right to edit all submissions for grammar, spelling and GMW editorial style standards. We will NOT change material for content or meaning. • All photo files should be sent as separate JPEGs. File sizing should be no smaller than 500 pixels, and hi-res photos are preferred. Do not embed photos in a document. • Please read GMW’s policies and guidelines regarding content and comments. We reserve the right to reject an op-ed or request edits based on our terms of use. We also reserve the right to refrain from publishing comments or quotes from candidates or campaign officials if we feel they are not in line with our policies. • Op Ed/Endorsement vs. Letter to the Editor: Other than extraordinary circumstances, GMW considers Op Eds to be opinion pieces written by candidates; and Endorsements to be pieces written by a public official, or an official representing a public or civic organization. Submissions by all other writers are considered Letters to the Editor. GMW reserves the right for final determination of how submissions are classified. • GMW will review any submissions by a candidate for publication regarding matters outside of the election to determine if that material is election-related, and therefore considered part of the candidate’s submission limits (i.e., one published op-ed/editorial statement). For example, any statement/article/etc. submitted for publication by candidates who currently serve in public office regarding official activities or related to campaign issues or public policy will be reviewed to determine if they promote the candidate-author and possibly constitute unequal coverage. (continued)

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 12 Campaign News Coverage & Op-Eds (continued) General Submission Guidelines (continued) • Any materials submitted by a candidate for publication regarding another candidate running in the election will be reviewed by GMW editorial staff to determine if that material should be considered and counted as part of the candidate/author’s submission limits (i.e., one published op-ed/editorial statement). This includes Letters to the Editor submitted for publication by one candidate “as a Wilton resident” in support of another candidate. Such a submission would be counted as the submitting candidate’s one allowed Op-Ed.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 13 Advertising The following pertains to both banner advertising and sponsored posts. All our advertising information (reader stats, demographics, positions, rates, etc.) is now available online. All ads need to be submitted in advance for review and approval before publishing. Candidates and campaigns are responsible for submitting advertising materials at least 48 hours (or more) before an ad is scheduled to begin running to guarantee the ad can begin on time. If candidates/campaigns submit materials late and the paid-for reserved time period starts, GMW will not add the lost time onto the end of the ad’s insertion period. This includes any time required to review and approve ads for publishing. All political advertising should hew to the spirit of GMW — ads should emphasize the positive and not the negative; we will carefully review and consider advertising that compares differences between candidate stances and positions. GMW will not run “attack ads” and reserves the right to reject advertising we determine to be in disagreement with our Terms of Use and policies. Advertising must comply with all SEEC rules. It is the responsibility of all candidates and campaigns to ensure that their advertising materials meet SEEC rules and regulations. Ad space is reserved on a first come, first reserved basis. Space is not considered reserved until payment is tendered. Candidates and campaigns are responsible for submitting all creative materials on time and in the right format. We accept .jpeg, .pdf and .png files, preferably hi-res. Additional conditions apply, reach out to advertise@goodmorningwilton.com for contract information.

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 14 CALENDAR/DUE DATES August Aug 10 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Aug 11 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor published Aug 14 PRIMARY* Endorsements deadline—NOON Aug 15 PRIMARY* Endorsements published Aug 17 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Aug 18 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor published AUG 18 DEADLINE FOR PRIMARY* CANDIDATE PHOTOS AND BIOS — 5 PM Aug 21 PRIMARY* Endorsements deadline—NOON Aug 22 PRIMARY* Endorsements published Aug 24 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Aug 25 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor published Aug 28 PRIMARY* Endorsements deadline—NOON Aug 29 PRIMARY* Endorsements published Aug 31 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON *If there is a primary **Even though GMW offices close early, timestamps will be noted for any deadlines

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 15 September Sept 1 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor published SEPT 4 LABOR DAY, GMW Editorial Office CLOSED** Sept 4 PRIMARY* Endorsements deadline—NOON** Sept 5 PRIMARY* Endorsements published SEPT 5 DEADLINE FOR PRIMARY* CANDIDATE STATEMENT/OP-EDs — NOON Sept 7 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Sept 8 PRIMARY* Letters to the Editor published SEPT 8 SPECIAL PRIMARY* ISSUE PUBLISHED TODAY SEPT 12 PRIMARY DAY SEPT 13 DEADLINE FOR CANDIDATE PHOTOS AND BIOS — 5 PM Sept 14 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Sept 15 Letters to the Editor published SEPT 15 ROSH HASHANAH, GMW Editorial Office CLOSES EARLY — 3 PM** Sept 18 Endorsements deadline—NOON Sept 19 Endorsements published Sept 21 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Sept 22 Letters to the Editor published SEPT 24 EREV YOM KIPPUR, GMW Editorial Office CLOSED SEPT 25 YOM KIPPUR, GMW Editorial Office CLOSED** Sept 25 Endorsements deadline—NOON** Sept 26 Endorsements published Sept 28 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Sept 29 Letters to the Editor published *If there is a primary **Even though GMW offices close early, timestamps will be noted for any deadlines

ELECTION 2023 EDITORIAL and ADVERTISING POLICIES 16 October Oct 2 Endorsements deadline—NOON Oct 3 Endorsements published Oct 5 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Oct 6 Letters to the Editor published Oct 9 Endorsements deadline—NOON Oct 10 Endorsements published Oct 12 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Oct 13 Letters to the Editor published Oct 16 Endorsements deadline—NOON Oct 17 Endorsements published Oct 19 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Oct 20 Letters to the Editor published Oct 23 Endorsements deadline—NOON Oct 24 Endorsements published Oct 26 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Oct 27 Letters to the Editor published OCT 27 LAST DAY TO SUBMIT CANDIDATE OP-EDs — NOON OCT 27 DEADLINE FOR Party/Town Committee/Other OP EDs — NOON Oct 30 Endorsements deadline—NOON Oct 31 Endorsements published November Nov 2 Letters to the Editor deadline—NOON Nov 3 Letters to the Editor published NOV 3 SPECIAL ELECTION ISSUE PUBLISHED NOV 7 ELECTION DAY