How to improve the writing in your community newspaper

By Tommy Thomason

Transcript

1. Improving writing in your community newspaper How  to  make  news   reader-­‐friendly  
2. Loca%on     Great  staff   Appealing  menu   Adver%sing  
4. What’s  on  your  “plate”  at  your   newspaper?    What  are  you  serving  up   each  week?        
5. What’s  on  your  “plate”  at  your   newspaper?    What  are  you  serving  up   each  week?   !   Headlines            
6. What’s  on  your  “plate”  at  your   newspaper?    What  are  you  serving  up   each  week?   !   Headlines   !   Design          
7. What’s  on  your  “plate”  at  your   newspaper?    What  are  you  serving  up   each  week?   !   Headlines     !   Design   !   Photos/infographics        
8. What’s  on  your  “plate”  at  your   newspaper?    What  are  you  serving  up   each  week?   !   Headlines     !   Design     !   Photos/infographics   !   Wri?ng        
9. When  we  think  of  how  to   improve  our  newspaper,   wri3ng  isn’t  oBen  the  first  thing   that  comes  to  mind.     Here’s  why…    
13. Newspaper   readers  have   changed.    We   have  to,  too.  
14. So…   …how  can  community   newspapers  improve  our  core   product:    wri?ng  
15. One  possible  solu%on….  
16. Let’s  look  at  some  less   dras%c  alterna%ves  
18. Prepping  for  a  quick  sale  to  readers   The down-and-dirty writing improvement guide for community newspapers
19. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week  
20. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons—this  won’t  make   your  wri%ng  beIer,  but  it  will  keep   readers  from  geKng  distracted  by   grammar,  spelling  and  punctua%on   mistakes  and  style  inconsistencies  
21. Clean  wri%ng≠Good  wri%ng  
22. Hire  an   English   teacher  to   cri?que  a   few  issues   Do  a   “winners   and   sinners”   newsleIer  
23. And  do  you   have  your   own   stylebook?  
24. Want  a  free  starter-­‐kit  for   your    styleguide?     Ask  us.  
25. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve  
27. wri%ng  
28. wri%ng   repor%ng   GOYAKOD   FOCUS  
29. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve   !   Improve  your  readability  
30. What  is  readability?  
31. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…  
32. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length    
33. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length   !  Sentence  length  
34. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length   !  Sentence  length   !  Number  of  ideas  per  sentence  
35. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length   !  Sentence  length   !  Number  of  ideas  per  sentence   !  Write  like  real  people  talk,  not  how  specialists   or  bureaucrats  talk  
36. Jones,  CEO  of  Acme  Widgets,  said  financial   exigencies  made  it  necessary  for  the   company  to  implement  budgetary   measures  to  minimize  expenditures.                                 Jones  said  the  company   had  to  cut  costs.  
37.   Eighteen  Smithville  residents   accused  in  a  civil  suit  of  an  alleged   loan  fraud  against  the  federal   Department  of  Housing  and  Urban   Development  might  seIle  the  case   before  it  goes  to  trial,  according  to   federal  court  documents.    
38.           Eighteen  Smithville   residents  might  cut  a  deal  on   the  charge  that  they  lied  to  get   federally  backed  home  loans.    
39. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length   !  Sentence  length   !  Number  of  ideas  per  sentence   !  Write  like  real  people  talk,  not  how  specialists   or  bureaucrats  talk   !  Front-­‐load  sentences  –  start  with  a  subject  and   a  verb,  don’t  back  in    
40.     As  they  did  in  the  summer  of   2013,  proponents  of  a  Community   Block  Development  Grant  to  improve   Highway  93  in  front  of  the   TransAmerica  truck  stop  near   Interstate  20  ran  into  a  hornets’  nest   of  opposi%on  at  a  public  hearing   Wednesday  night.  
41.     Advocates  of  a  state  grant  to   fix  the  road  in  front  of  a  truck   stop  on  Highway  93  found  few   who  liked  the  plan  Wednesday   night.  
42.  Hoping  to  reduce  a  flood  of  over-­‐budget   spending  that  has  plagued  the  city  government  for  the   first  six  months  of  this  fiscal  year,  all  five  city  council   members  voted  last  night  to  add  the  posi?ons  of   purchasing  agent  and  a  data  processing  manager  to  the   city  payroll.            
43.  Hoping  to  reduce  a  flood  of  over-­‐budget   spending  that  has  plagued  the  city  government  for  the   first  six  months  of  this  fiscal  year,  all  five  city  council   members  voted  last  night  to  add  the  posi?ons  of   purchasing  agent  and  a  data  processing  manager  to  the   city  payroll.            
44.  Hoping  to  reduce  a  flood  of  over-­‐budget   spending  that  has  plagued  the  city  government  for  the   first  six  months  of  this  fiscal  year,  all  five  city  council   members  voted  last  night  to  add  the  posi?ons  of   purchasing  agent  and  a  data  processing  manager  to  the   city  payroll.          City  council  members  agreed  last  night  that  the   city  could  save  money  with  more  professional   purchasing  prac?ces  and  more  effec?ve  use  of   computers.              Council  members  voted  to  hire  a  purchasing  agent   and  a  data  processing  manager  as  part  of  an  effort  to   combat  six  months  of  over-­‐budget  spending.    
45. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Lead  and  graf  length   !  Sentence  length   !  Number  of  ideas  per  sentence   !  Write  like  real  people  talk,  not  how  specialists   or  bureaucrats  talk   !  Front-­‐load  sentences  –  start  with  a  subject  and   a  verb,  don’t  back  in   !  But  the  most  important  thing:  
46. This  ain’t  brain  surgery…   !  Graf  length   !  sentence  length   !  Number  of  ideas  per  sentence   !  Write  like  real  people  talk,  not  how  specialists   or  bureaucrats  talk   !  Front-­‐load  sentences  –  start  with  a  subject  and   a  verb,  don’t  back  in   !  But  the  most  important  thing:    FOCUS  
47.          Smithville  City  Council  approved  the  final  plat  for  the  Parkmeadow   Addi%on  Thursday.              The  subdivision  on  the  north  side  of  FM  1283  south  will  include   188  home  sites,  with  lots  ranging  from  7,000  to  more  than  10,000   square  feet  and  prices  from  the  $200,000s  to  the  $400,000s.              Also  at  Tuesday’s  mee%ng  the  council  was  introduced  to  the  city’s   first  animal  control  officer,  Ceasare  Millane,  who  began  her  du%es   Feb.  24.              The  council  approved  an  amendment  to  the  zoning  ordinance   requiring  a  minimum  eight-­‐foot  masonry  screening  wall  for   development  along  a  railroad  track.              The  council  reviewed  updated  plans  for  a  new  city  hall.  The   10,389-­‐square  foot  building  would  be  placed  at  the  site  of  the   current  structure,  which  would  be  razed.  
48.               An  upscale  subdivision  with  homes  from   $200,000  to  $400,000  will  be    built  on  the   north  side  of  Highway  40,  thanks  to  a  vote  by   the  Smithville  City  Council  Thursday.      The  Council  approved  the  final  plat  for   the  new  subdivision,  which  will  include  188   homesites  on  lots  ranging  from  7,000  to   10,000  square  feet.      
49. www.read-­‐able.com    
50. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve   !   Improve  your  readability   !   Why  does  everything  have  to  be  a  story?  
51. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve   !   Improve  your  readability   !   Why  does  everything  have  to  be  a  story?   !   Consider  the  so  what  factor  in  news  
52. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve   !   Improve  your  readability   !   Why  does  everything  have  to  be  a  story?   !   Consider  the  so  what  factor  in  news   !   Use  delayed  leads  to  hook  the  reader  
53. Some  down-­‐and-­‐dirty  ways  to   improve  wri%ng  –  stuff  you  can  start   next  week   !   Eliminate  distrac%ons   !   Figure  out  where  you  need  to  improve   !   Improve  your  readability   !   Why  does  everything  have  to  be  a  story?   !   Consider  the  so  what  factor  in  news   !   Use  delayed  leads  to  hook  the  reader   !   Change  the  way  you  look  at  quotes  
54. Wri?ng  gets   beTer  when  we…  
55. Wri?ng  gets   beTer  when  we…