Effective date: June 28, 2026 · Applies to: indherald.com and all Independent Herald digital services
These Terms of Use govern your access to and use of the Independent Herald’s website, newsletters, and digital content. By visiting indherald.com or subscribing to any of our publications, you agree to these terms. Please read them carefully.
About the Independent Herald
The Independent Herald (“IH,” “we,” “us,” or “our”) is a local news organization founded in 1976 and based in Oneida, Tennessee. We serve Scott County and the Big South Fork region through our website at indherald.com and related newsletters and digital publications.
Acceptance of Terms
By accessing or using any part of our digital services — including reading articles, subscribing, commenting, or submitting content — you agree to be bound by these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy, which is incorporated here by reference. If you do not agree to these terms, please do not use our services.
We may update these terms from time to time. Continued use of our services after any change constitutes your acceptance of the revised terms. We will post the updated effective date at the top of this page and notify subscribers by email when changes are significant.
Subscriptions & Account Access
Some content on indherald.com is available only to paid subscribers. By subscribing, you agree to the following:
- You will provide accurate and complete account information, including a valid email address and payment details.
- You are responsible for maintaining the confidentiality of your account credentials. Do not share your login with others.
- Subscription access is for your personal, non-commercial use only. You may not share, sell, or transfer your subscription.
- Subscription fees are billed in advance on a recurring basis. You may cancel at any time; cancellation takes effect at the end of the current billing period.
- We reserve the right to suspend or terminate accounts that violate these terms.
Substack platform: Our digital subscriptions are processed through Substack. Billing, account management, and certain data practices are subject to Substack’s Terms of Service in addition to these terms.
Intellectual Property & Copyright
All content published by the Independent Herald — including articles, photographs, graphics, headlines, video, audio, and the overall design and arrangement of our publications — is the property of the Independent Herald or its content providers and is protected by United States copyright law.
You may share links to our articles freely. Beyond that, the following rules apply:
- Personal use: You may print or save individual articles for your own personal, non-commercial reference.
- Brief quotation: Short excerpts may be quoted with clear attribution to the Independent Herald and a link back to the original article.
- No reproduction without permission: Reproducing full articles, photo galleries, or substantial portions of our content — on another website, in print, in a newsletter, or by any other means — requires our prior written permission.
- No scraping or automated collection: Using bots, scrapers, or automated tools to collect our content is prohibited.
To request permission to republish or license our content, contact us at newsroom@ihoneida.com.
User-Submitted Content
When you submit content to us — including letters to the editor, news tips, comments, photos, or other materials — you grant the Independent Herald a non-exclusive, royalty-free, perpetual license to publish, reproduce, edit, and distribute that content in any format, in print and digital, with attribution where appropriate.
By submitting content, you represent that:
- You own the content or have the right to share it with us.
- Your submission does not infringe any third party’s copyright, privacy, or other rights.
- Your submission is truthful and does not contain defamatory, harassing, or unlawful material.
We reserve the right to edit submissions for length, clarity, and style, and to decline to publish any submission at our sole discretion. Publication of a submission does not constitute endorsement of its views.
Comments & Community Standards
The Independent Herald may offer comment sections or community features on articles and posts. Participation is a privilege, not a right. We expect civil, good-faith discourse that reflects the values of our community. The following are prohibited:
- Personal attacks, harassment, or threats directed at any individual
- Defamatory, obscene, or unlawful statements
- Spam, advertising, or self-promotion not relevant to the discussion
- Impersonation of another person or entity
- Content that violates any applicable law
We reserve the right to remove comments, warn users, or revoke commenting privileges without notice for violations of these standards. We are not obligated to monitor all comments but may do so at our discretion.
Acceptable Use
You agree not to use indherald.com or our services to:
- Violate any applicable local, state, or federal law or regulation
- Interfere with or disrupt the operation of our website or servers
- Attempt to gain unauthorized access to any part of our systems or accounts
- Transmit viruses, malware, or other harmful code
- Use our platform to spread deliberate misinformation or disinformation
- Harvest or collect other users’ personal information without their consent
Third-Party Links & Services
Our articles and newsletters may contain links to external websites, including government agencies, other news organizations, community resources, and advertisers. These links are provided for your convenience. We do not control, endorse, or take responsibility for the content or practices of any third-party sites. Visiting those sites is at your own risk and subject to their own terms and privacy policies.
Our digital platform is powered in part by Substack. Use of Substack features is also governed by Substack’s Terms of Service.
Disclaimer of Warranties
The Independent Herald provides its content and services “as is” and “as available,” without warranty of any kind, express or implied. While we work hard to publish accurate, timely information, we do not warrant that our content is complete, error-free, or suitable for any particular purpose. News is a fast-moving business — corrections may be necessary, and we will publish them promptly when errors are identified.
We do not warrant that our website will be available without interruption, or that it will be free from technical errors or security vulnerabilities.
Limitation of Liability
To the fullest extent permitted by applicable law, the Independent Herald and its staff, contributors, and affiliates shall not be liable for any indirect, incidental, special, consequential, or punitive damages arising out of your use of — or inability to use — our services or content, even if we have been advised of the possibility of such damages.
Our total liability to you for any claim arising under these terms shall not exceed the amount you paid us for a subscription in the twelve months preceding the claim.
Governing Law
These Terms of Use are governed by the laws of the State of Tennessee, without regard to its conflict of law provisions. Any disputes arising under these terms shall be resolved in the courts of Scott County, Tennessee, and you consent to the personal jurisdiction of those courts.
Corrections Policy
The Independent Herald is committed to accuracy. If you believe a factual error has appeared in our coverage, please contact our newsroom so we can review and, where warranted, issue a correction. Corrections are noted transparently within the original article. We do not silently alter published content.
Termination
We reserve the right to suspend or terminate your access to our services at any time, for any reason, including violation of these terms. You may also stop using our services at any time. Provisions of these terms that by their nature should survive termination — including intellectual property rights, disclaimers, and limitations of liability — will survive.
