Help

Having trouble? See if we've answered your question below. If not, please call or email us. You can always reach us at 845-481-0155 or at editor@watershedpost.com.

Who are you people, and what is the Watershed Post?

We find, report and curate news from around the Catskills region, where New York City's water comes from. For more on who we are and what we do, check out our About Us page.

We post fresh stories on the front page every day. (Well, just about every day. Sometimes we take a weekend off, like sane people.) If you leave your computer to get a cup of coffee and come back, we might already have something new. So check back often!

For those who prefer their news in email form, we have an email newsletter that puts the freshest headlines right in your inbox. You can subscribe to that by clicking here.

We organize our posts by a few main topics, which you can get to from the menu at the top of the page. For instance, you can click on the Arts topic to get all the freshest Arts posts.

If you like the site, we encourage you to register for a username and password. Let us know if you get confused. We're working on making things simpler around here.

Why should I register?

Logged-in users can do things that anonymous users can't -- like post events to the calendar, put listings in the directory, and submit their own stories to the editors. And if you sign up promptly, you'll get the username you want before somebody else snags it.

What's up with all those links in the column on the right hand side of the page?

There's a lot of cool stuff in there. In the top right corner is the "News From Local Businesses" column, a way for our local businesses to show their news, coupons, sales promotions and more directly to our readers. (Business owners: We offer the best online advertising around.) Below that are two blog channels: Around the Blogshed, which gathers posts from bloggers all around the Catskills region, and From the Capitol, where you can keep up with the latest news from the state political blogosphere.

Why does my Facebook information appear at the bottom of stories and posts on your site? 

We use Facebook to host comments on our site. If you are logged into Facebook while looking at the Watershed Post, your Facebook profile photo will appear atop a comment box on the bottom of stories and posts. If you find that creepy, just log out of Facebook.

ADVERTISING

I'd like to put an ad on your site.

The Watershed Post offers the best online advertising in the Catskills. Find out more here. 

My business/organization isn't in the Directory. How do I add it?

Click here to add your listing. It's easy, and it's free.

I have a local event coming up. How can I promote it?

Use our free Catskills-wide events calendar. Any registered user can add an event to our calendar by clicking "Post > calendar event" under the "Manage My Account" menu. We feature events from our calendcar in our This Weekend column -- if you add the events to the system yourself, we're much more likely to feature them. You can also email us event info at events@watershedpost.com.

I have a listing in the Directory, and I want to get my news published in the News From Local Businesses column.

That's easy, too! For $50 a month, you can start publishing your press releases, photos, menus, sales and more as often often as you want. Contact sales@watershedpost.com to get started, or click here to find out more.

I am a full-service business subscriber, and I'd like to have an item posted in the News From Local Businesses column.

Email us the text of the post and any videos or photos you'd like to appear at businessnews@watershedpost.com. We will process your post shortly.

If I buy a business subscription, how do I renew it at the end of the month or year?

Our system keeps track of when you signed up, and automatically debits your PayPal account at the beginning of each new month or year. Your listing will be active for a full month or for a full 365 days no matter when in the year you signed up. You may cancel future payments for your premium listing at any time through PayPal by selecting "cancel" on the recurring payment's details page. If you cancel, your listing will remain active until the end of the current pay period.

How do I post my own business news?

Look at the top of the page, just under the search box. Are you logged in? If not, you'll see a link that says "Log in." Once you're logged in, go to the "Manage My Account" menu on the righthand side of the page. Click "Business News" under the "Post" menu, and begin typing your news. Then press "save" at the bottom of the page. Your post will publish in minutes. 

When I search for my business in the directory search box, nothing comes up, even though I know it's there.

It takes a few hours for our site to index new directory pages to make them searchable. Try searching for it again later. If it still doesn't show up after 24 hours, drop us a line at sales@watershedpost.com.

I can't find the category I want to list my business under.

Our categories are pretty broad--much broader than a typical Yellow Pages. We think that makes it easier for readers to browse the directory, and for businesses to put their listings in the right place without having to wade through hundreds of categories. To help narrow down broad categories and describe businesses more specifically, we use Tags. In the Tags field of your listing, enter as many keywords as you like to describe your business. And if you really can't find a category your business fits under, let us know.

NEWS

I like what you're doing here, and I want to contribute.

We are always looking for:

-Notices of upcoming events. Put your own events into our free Catskills-wide events calendar, and alert us via email at events@watershedpost.com.

-Timely first-person accounts of events, festivals or public meetings. If you're planning on attending something and would like to cover it for us, drop us a line.

-Photographs from around the watershed area. We have a Flickr group open to anybody interested in seeing their photos featured on our site. If you're a Flickr user, you can contribute photographs by posting them to the Watershed Post group and tagging them "watershedpost." Posting photos to Flickr is free, and you can sign up on their website.

-Ideas for investigative stories.

-Documents.

-Maps.

-Genealogies, old photographs, and histories or first-person accounts of life in the watershed (especially the drowned towns where the reservoirs are now).

If you've got something you'd like to share, email us at editor@watershedpost.com.

I am interested in using or republishing the content featured on this site.

Use basic netiquette: If you quote us, please credit us with a link or an attribution. If you'd like to reprint something, contact us at editor@watershedpost.com and we'll work something out.

I am a student looking for an unpaid internship.

Send us a couple of samples of your work (writing, blogging, photography, video, audio, etc.), and a letter that explains why you'd like to intern with us. Interns should be able to commit to about ten hours a week for at least three months. We accept applications year-round. If we take you on, we'll gladly help you arrange to get credit for your internship.

I am a professional journalist/writer/photographer/artist/etc. with an idea for the Watershed Post. How can I pitch you? What are your freelance rates?

We will gladly accept pitches on topics relevant to our area and our readers. Contact us at editor@watershedpost.com for details. 

How is this site funded?

Our business plan is based on the idea of providing services to the watershed community, most of them free and a few of them for a fee. We sell expanded listings in our business directory and traditional ads, and the money goes to supporting everything else, including the free news, event calendar, business directory, and user community.

We've received a grant from the International Women's Media Foundation and the Ford Foundation, but the bulk of our work is funded by advertising.

I keep reading all this stuff lately about how nonprofit funding is the last hope for journalism. Why aren't you a nonprofit?

We think we stand a better chance of surviving as a for-profit enterprise. Time will tell.

I love that I can visit your website and get all this useful information for free. How can I support it?

We have a whole page about how to support the Watershed Post here. But here's the cheat sheet: If you use our directory, tell the businesses you visit that you found them here. If you have a business, advertise with us. Shop local. Eat local. Contract with local service providers. Tell us what's going on in your town. Most of all, connect with us. Send us email, comment on our stories, or talk on our Facebook page. We're building a better online newspaper, and we need your help to do it.

What's with the name? Why "watershed?"

The watershed touches everybody with a stake in the region, New Yorkers and locals alike. Whether they're aware of it or not, everybody who lives in or drinks from the watershed is already connected. We'd like to help get more conversations going.