How to Submit a Shout Out or Photo to Crestview News Bulletin

Updated

Crestview News Bulletin accepts reader submissions through two separate on-site prompts: a "Have a Shoutout to share?" section with a submission button, and a "Submit Your Photo" section. Both are community-contributed content, so what you send may be published alongside the outlet's regular news, sports, and advertorial coverage. The site does not spell out word limits, photo specs, or review timelines, so treat the on-page instructions as the authority and keep your submission short, local, and clearly your own.

What you can submit

The homepage shows two distinct submission types:

  • Shout Out — a short written note recognizing a person, business, or group. A published example thanks Annabelle Donuts for giving a child a free order of donut holes after church, and another is a student's first-person account of growing a school medical club's CPR outreach.
  • Photo — a reader image submitted through the "Submit Your Photo" section.

Both appear to be reader-generated community content rather than staff-reported news. If your item is really a news tip, a correction, or a press release, it belongs with the newsroom rather than the Shout Out or photo forms.

How to submit a Shout Out

  1. Go to the Crestview News Bulletin homepage at crestviewbulletin.com.
  2. Find the "Have a Shoutout to share?" block.
  3. Click the button below that prompt to open the submission form.
  4. Write your shout out. Follow the style of the published examples: name the person or business, say what they did, and add one concrete detail (when, where, why it mattered).
  5. Include your name as you want it credited — the published student example signs off with a first name and last initial.
  6. Submit and watch for it to appear in the Community section.

Expected result: your note may be published in the Community area of the site. There is no stated guarantee of publication, and no stated review time.

How to submit a photo

  1. From the homepage, locate the "Submit Your Photo" section.
  2. Open the photo submission form.
  3. Upload your image and add any caption or context the form asks for.
  4. Submit.

Because the site does not publish file-size, format, or resolution requirements in the material available, check the form itself for any limits before uploading, and send the largest reasonable version of the image you have.

What makes a submission likely to run

The published examples share a few traits worth copying:

Trait Example from the site
Named subject Annabelle Donuts; Sofia Bermudez and the CHS Medical Academy
Specific action Free donut holes; blood drives and CPR lessons at Richburg Elementary and Davidson Middle School
Local tie Crestview-area people, schools, and businesses
Short and plain A few sentences, no formal press-release language

A shout out that says "thanks to a local business for being nice" gives an editor nothing to work with. One that says who, what, and when does.

Common snags

  • Looking for a general contact form instead. The Shout Out and photo prompts are separate from newsroom contact; if you cannot find them, scroll the homepage rather than hunting a "Contact" page.
  • Sending a news tip through the Shout Out form. Items like the Okaloosa budget vote, the Okaloosa Lane project, or the data center ordinance are staff coverage, not reader submissions.
  • Expecting a reply. Nothing on the site promises an acknowledgment, so do not wait on one before sharing your item elsewhere.
  • Assuming submissions are free of any account requirement. The site promotes a Subscribe link, but the available material does not state whether submitting requires a subscription or login. Check the form before you start writing.

Related questions

  • What is Crestview News Bulletin?
  • What kind of local news and community coverage does it provide?
  • How to subscribe to Crestview News Bulletin and what you get