We tell the story of the culture made here, up close.
Segnali is an independent, non-profit magazine that gives a voice to the people who create culture in Ticino and the surrounding area: music, words, images, craft. This page explains who we are, what we promise our readers and how we work, rules included.
Why Segnali exists
So much happens in Ticino and the surrounding area: records made in basements, novels written at night, exhibitions in tiny spaces, workshops keeping a craft alive. Yet often nobody hears about it, because there are very few outlets covering it, and most of them are reserved for people who are already well known.
Segnali was born to fill that gap. We are an online magazine made by people who love culture and live in this region, and we want to be the place where you find it, discover it and help it get known. A signal (“segnale” in Italian), in fact: something that lights up and says “look over here”.
What we cover
Culture in Ticino and the surrounding area, independent and beyond, in all its forms. We don't pay too much attention to borders: if a project speaks to the people who live here, we're interested.
- Music: singer-songwriters, bands, producers, choirs, orchestras, people playing in bars and people recording in their bedrooms.
- Words: writers, poets, publishers, comic artists, theatre makers and reading organisers.
- Images: visual arts, photography, illustration, film and video.
- Hands: artisans, makers, designers, people passing on a craft or inventing a new one.
- Places and people: festivals, cultural spaces, associations and everyone working behind the scenes.
We do it with interviews, reviews and features in the magazine, soon to be joined by the podcast and the radio. Articles are published in Italian. Emerging talent interests us as much as people with long careers: what counts is the quality of the project, not how famous it is.
Who we write for
We write for anyone curious about what's happening close to home: people looking for a new record or something to do at the weekend, people living in Ticino or nearby, and people following the region from afar. We also speak to those who make culture: artists, organisers and cultural workers who want to meet each other and build connections. You don't need to be an expert to read us: if something is complicated, we explain it.
How we talk
Serious about substance, light in style. We prepare, we check our facts, we respect people and their work, but without big words and without taking ourselves too seriously. We speak to our readers directly, in clear and inclusive language, and when something excites us, we say so. In short: knowledgeable but never pompous, approachable but never shallow.
What we commit to
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Nobody pays to be featured
Being featured on Segnali is free, always. We choose stories for their value, not for the budget of whoever pitches them.
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Independent
We are a non-profit association: no publisher, no shareholders. Those who support us don't decide what we write.
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Honest, respectful criticism
We say what we think, with arguments. We criticise works, never people.
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Open doors
Anyone making culture in Ticino or nearby can get in touch. We read every pitch and reply to everyone.
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Transparency
We disclose partnerships, conflicts of interest and the use of AI. If we get something wrong, we correct it and say so.
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An ecosystem, not just a website
Magazine, podcast and web radio work together: the people we feature get more ways to be heard.
The newsroom guidelines
These are the rules followed by everyone who writes, photographs or interviews for Segnali. We publish them so that anyone can see how we work: readers, artists and anyone who would like to collaborate with us. We take inspiration from the Declaration of the Duties and Rights of a Journalist by the Swiss Press Council, adapted to a cultural magazine.
1 Tone of voice
- We address readers informally. In interviews, we follow the lead of the person we're talking to.
- We use inclusive language without weighing the text down: we prefer phrasing like “listeners”, “the audience”, “people”. We respect the names and pronouns people introduce themselves with.
- Technical terms are fine, but they're explained the first time.
- No clickbait: the headline only promises what the article delivers.
2 Writing an article
- Headline: clear and specific, with the name of the person or project.
- Summary: two or three sentences saying what it's about and why it's worth reading (it's also the text shown on Google and social media).
- Checked facts: names, dates, places, titles of works and quotes are checked before publishing, ideally against a direct source.
- Useful links: we always link to the artist's website or channels, so readers can dig deeper and listen.
- Texts are in Italian. Quotes in other languages are translated, noting that the translation is ours.
3 Interviews
- We prepare: before interviewing someone, we listen to, read or watch their work.
- We always say who the interview is for and where it will be published. We only record with the person's consent.
- Answers may be shortened and reordered for readability, but without changing their meaning.
- Before publication, the interviewee can read back their own answers to fix errors or misunderstandings. The angle, headline and questions remain editorial choices.
- People can say “don't write that”: anything said off the record is not published.
4 Reviews
- We only review what we have listened to, read or watched in full.
- A review is a reasoned opinion: we explain what works, what works less and why, with concrete examples.
- We criticise the work, never the person. No hatchet jobs for laughs: if a piece of work doesn't convince us, we say so respectfully, keeping in mind both the people who made it and our readers.
- We'd rather give space to what deserves to be discovered, but a positive review is never promised in advance or negotiated.
- Receiving a record, a book or a free ticket for a review is normal and doesn't oblige us to speak well of it. We note it at the end of the article.
5 Independence, sponsors and conflicts of interest
- Articles can't be bought. Interviews, reviews and features are never paid for.
- If one day we publish content made with a partner or supporter, it will always be clearly labelled as “in collaboration with”. Content of this kind may present an event or a project, but it never contains a judgement: our reviews stay free and nobody can pay for them.
- Those who support the association, through a donation or sponsorship, have no influence on the content and don't see articles before they're published.
- In a small scene, everybody knows everybody. That's why writers don't review projects they take part in, nor work by family members or business partners. In other cases, we disclose the connection at the end of the article.
- The people behind Segnali also have projects of their own. We only cover them with news and features, never with reviews or judgements; the connection is disclosed at the start of the article, and such pieces remain an exception in the magazine.
6 Images and photos
- We use our own photos, photos provided by artists (press kits) or photos we have permission to use. Never images taken from Google or social media without authorisation.
- Every photo has credits (“Photo: First Last”) and alt text describing what can be seen, for people using a screen reader.
- We prefer real, good-quality images: landscape for the cover (at least 1600 px wide), with the subject in the centre.
- We don't edit photos in ways that change their meaning. Cropping and light or colour correction are fine.
- AI-generated images are always disclosed in the caption and are never used to depict real people or events.
7 Copyright and quotes
- We quote short excerpts from texts, songs or articles only when they serve the point, always with the source, as the right of quotation allows.
- Music and video are shared through official players (YouTube, Spotify, Bandcamp…), not by re-uploading files.
- We don't copy press releases as they are: we use them as a source and rewrite them.
8 Privacy and respect for people
- We talk about people's artistic work, not their private lives, unless they choose to share it themselves.
- We don't publish personal data such as private addresses or phone numbers.
- For photos where audience members are recognisable in the foreground, and for any content involving minors, we ask for consent (from parents, in the case of minors).
- If someone asks us to remove a photo of them or personal data, we consider the request promptly and with common sense.
9 Artificial intelligence
- The choices are ours: we decide who and what to write about, who to interview, what to ask and how to judge a work. Reviews are written by people.
- We use artificial intelligence as a help: to find and compare sources, check names and dates, transcribe interviews, catch typos and prepare drafts of news pieces, introductions, summaries, questions and social media texts.
- Every text prepared with the help of AI is read, corrected and approved by a member of the newsroom before it goes online, and we flag it at the end of the article with the symbol ✦.
- In interviews the answers are always those of the people we interviewed, word for word: AI does not write, summarise or change them.
- We never make up quotes, answers or facts: if a sentence is in quotation marks, someone really said it.
10 Errors and corrections
- When we find an error, we fix it quickly. If the correction is significant, we note it in the article with the date of the update.
- Anyone mentioned in an article who feels they've been misrepresented can ask us for a correction or a right of reply.
- Reports, corrections and requests: write to [email protected].
Who's behind it
Segnali non-profit association
Segnali Magazine, Segnali Podcast and the web radio Segnali Radio are projects of the Segnali non-profit association (Associazione Segnali), whose purpose is to promote culture in Ticino free of charge: the independent scene, emerging artists and beyond. Not for profit: all funds raised go solely towards growing these projects.
Non-profit association under Art. 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code (CC) · UID CHE-153.298.318.
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This page was last updated on 25 October 2026.
The original text is in Italian and was translated with the help of artificial intelligence. The Italian version is the authoritative one.
Got a story to tell? Or want to tell them with us?
Pitch a project
Do you make music, write, create or organise something in Ticino or nearby? Pitch us an article, an interview or a review: we consider every proposal for the magazine, and in the future for the podcast and the web radio. Being featured on Segnali is always free.
Write with us
We're looking for people who'd like to write articles and reviews or do interviews. No experience needed: passion, curiosity and enthusiasm are enough. It's volunteer work and unpaid. Our articles are published in Italian. How we work →
We reply to everyone, for any other question too: [email protected]