1. Tips for articles
By mrs. K

2. The Neshaminy connection
Every single article should be connected to Neshaminy.
Ask yourself, how does this event/issue impact the Neshaminy student body?
If the answer is, “It doesn’t,” maybe rethink the article topic or approach.

4. An interesting lead What is a lead? What must your lead do?
It’s the first sentence of the story, the beginning.
It tells the most important info and the newest info.
It grabs your readers’ attention.
What must your lead do?
Start a flow of energy for your story
Tell something interesting about the subject of the story
Show the significance of the story
Set pace and tone
Establish your voice

5. An interesting lead Can be direct (news) or delayed (feature)
“What” lead – Starts with what happened or what the story is about.
“Why” lead – Begins with the cause of the story, why it happened.
“How” lead – Begins with how the event happened.
“Who” lead – Starts with a person or group. Use this if “who” the story is about is well known or interesting.

6. Leads to avoid
“When” lead – Begins with time. Almost never the most important factor.
“Where” lead – Begins with a place. Rarely is this the most important factor.
Question Leads
Usually, question leads are just weak and uninteresting. Get to the point with a summary lead instead.
Quote Leads
Quotes need context. The reader needs to know who’s speaking. Seldom is a quote so compelling and well-said that it can set the tone and focus for the whole story.
Topic Leads
It is not enough to just state the topic of your story.
On April 25 at the Shockley Community Center, prom was held.
The school board met Tuesday to discuss problems with school lunch.

7. How do I write a lead?
Choose the information with the most impact or that is the most interesting.
Think of news values (proximity, timeliness, impact, conflict, oddity, human interest)
Start strong. ALWAYS remember the importance of a good lead. Why bother writing a story if the lead won’t draw readers in?
Stay in the active voice. Use power words: active verbs and strong nouns. Go with the present tense if you can.

12. Inverted pyramid

17. Quotes Ideally, should be from original interviews
If you did not interview the person, you should not be using the quote.
Being a journalist involves talking to people, even though it can by scary.
Being a journalist does NOT mean just summarizing articles from other news sources.

18. Ap style
Is your friend
Consult the actual stylebook; there are copies in G204
Attributions go AFTER quotes and statistics.
NO: According to The Courier Times, blah blah.
YES: Blah blah, according to The Courier Times.

19. Proofreading/Editing
You should be the first person who edits your article.
Don’t turn something in with obvious mistakes.
Use spell check.
Avoid 1st and 2nd person in news articles

22. Headlines Should be included with the text of your article.
Try your hand at headline writing.

23. photography Every single article needs a photograph.
When you write your article, think about which photo(s) would complement the article.
Take the photo yourself, if possible, or arrange for someone else to take the photo.
At the very least, put your photo idea on the article.
Original photos are better than stock photos.

24. formatting Type all articles in Microsoft Word Times New Roman Size 12
Double Space
When you save your article, include the two letter section code, the topic, and your name (first initial and last name).
Sections
AE: Arts & Entertainment
CL: Campus Life
FT: Features
NW: News
OP: Opinion
SP: Sports
Examples
NW dnc gmarion
AE harry potter jmuller
FT summer stock gmangala
SP kaepernick maldrich

25. deadlines
Must be met.
For everyone…but editors…..really?!?!
If your article is not submitted by the deadline, it may not be published.
ONLY to (no the)