Welcome to the Pembroke Citizen Journal ("PCJ," "we," "us," or "our"). PCJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, volunteer-operated online newspaper serving Pembroke, Massachusetts and surrounding communities. By accessing or using our website at pembrokecitizenjournal.com, you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use. Please read them carefully.
If you do not agree to these Terms, please do not use our website.
1. About the Pembroke Citizen Journal
PCJ is a community-based news organization operated by volunteer reporters and editors. Our mission is to deliver accurate, balanced, and independent coverage of issues that shape life in Pembroke and the surrounding area. PCJ does not endorse candidates for public office, accept payment that influences editorial decisions, or represent any political party or ideology.
2. Acceptable Use
You may use our website for lawful, personal, and non-commercial purposes consistent with these Terms. You agree that you will not:
- Use the website for any unlawful purpose or in violation of any applicable local, state, or federal law or regulation
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any portion of our website, our systems, or any accounts belonging to other users
- Scrape, crawl, harvest, or collect content or data from our website using automated tools without our prior written permission
- Reproduce, republish, distribute, or commercially exploit our content without proper attribution and our express written consent (see Section 4 on Intellectual Property)
- Post, submit, or transmit any content that is false, defamatory, harassing, threatening, obscene, or invasive of another's privacy
- Impersonate PCJ, any of our reporters or volunteers, or any other person or entity
- Introduce viruses, malware, or any other harmful or disruptive code or material to our website
- Interfere with or disrupt the integrity or performance of the website or its underlying infrastructure
- Use our website to send unsolicited communications (spam) to any person
We reserve the right to terminate or restrict access for any user who violates these Terms.
3. User Accounts and Newsletter
To access certain features of our website or to subscribe to our newsletter, you may be asked to create an account. When you do, you agree to:
- Provide accurate and complete information
- Keep your login credentials confidential
- Notify us promptly at privacy@pembrokecitizenjournal.com if you believe your account has been compromised
- Take responsibility for all activity that occurs under your account
You may request deletion of your account at any time. We will remove your personal information from our active systems within a reasonable time, except where retention is required by law. For full details on how we handle your personal information, please review our Privacy Policy.
4. Intellectual Property
4a. PCJ Content
All original content published on this website — including articles, photographs, graphics, headlines, and editorial commentary produced by PCJ volunteers — is owned by the Pembroke Citizen Journal and protected by applicable copyright law.
You are welcome to share links to our stories and to quote brief excerpts for news commentary, criticism, or educational purposes, provided you clearly attribute the content to the Pembroke Citizen Journal and include a link to the original article. Any other reproduction, republication, or commercial use of our content requires our prior written consent.
4b. Third-Party Content
Some content on our website may be sourced from other media organizations, press releases, government records, or public documents. We clearly identify such content per our editorial policies. Rights to third-party content remain with the respective owners, and any use of that content is subject to their applicable terms.
4c. Your Submissions
If you submit content to PCJ — such as letters to the editor, tips, photographs, or comments — you grant PCJ a non-exclusive, royalty-free license to publish, edit, and display that content on our website and in associated communications. You represent that you own or have the right to submit such content and that it does not infringe the rights of any third party. PCJ reserves the right to decline, edit, or remove any submission at its sole discretion.
5. Editorial Independence and Accuracy
PCJ is committed to factual, fair, and independent journalism. All reporting is subject to our Editorial Ethics and Policies. We do not allow advertisers, donors, or sponsors to influence our editorial decisions.
While we make every effort to ensure accuracy, PCJ makes no warranty that all content on our website is complete, current, or error-free. When we discover errors, we publish corrections promptly. If you believe we have made an error, please contact us at the address listed in Section 10.
6. Third-Party Links
Our articles may include links to third-party websites, government portals, or external resources for informational purposes. PCJ does not endorse, control, or take responsibility for the content, privacy practices, or accuracy of any third-party sites. We encourage you to review the terms and privacy policies of any external sites you visit.
7. Disclaimer of Warranties
The Pembroke Citizen Journal provides this website and its content on an "as is" and "as available" basis, without warranties of any kind, express or implied. To the fullest extent permitted by law, PCJ disclaims all warranties including, but not limited to, implied warranties of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, and non-infringement.
PCJ does not warrant that the website will be uninterrupted, error-free, or free of viruses or other harmful components. Use of the website is at your own risk.
8. Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Pembroke Citizen Journal, its officers, volunteers, contributors, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising from your use of — or inability to use — this website or its content, even if PCJ has been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Because PCJ is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit volunteer organization operating without commercial revenue from its journalism, this limitation reflects the nature and resources of the organization and is a reasonable allocation of risk between PCJ and its readers.
9. Indemnification
You agree to indemnify and hold harmless the Pembroke Citizen Journal and its volunteers, officers, and contributors from any claims, damages, losses, or expenses (including reasonable legal fees) arising from: (a) your use of the website in violation of these Terms; (b) your submission of content to PCJ; or (c) your violation of any applicable law or the rights of any third party.
10. Governing Law and Jurisdiction
These Terms of Use are governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, without regard to conflict of law principles. Any dispute arising under these Terms shall be subject to the exclusive jurisdiction of the state and federal courts located in Plymouth County, Massachusetts.
11. Changes to These Terms
We may update these Terms of Use from time to time as our website and services evolve. When we make material changes, we will notify newsletter subscribers by email and post the updated Terms on our website with a revised effective date. Your continued use of the website after changes are posted constitutes your acceptance of the updated Terms.
We encourage you to review these Terms periodically.
12. Contact Us
If you have questions about these Terms of Use, please contact us:
Pembroke Citizen Journal Email: privacy@pembrokecitizenjournal.com Website: https://pembrokecitizenjournal.com
The Pembroke Citizen Journal is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, community-supported, volunteer-operated publication.
