Who What When Where Why How: Intro to Journalism Fall 2011: Guide for News Briefs

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Guide for News Briefs

Guide to News Briefs

• Headline
Give your brief a headline. Avoid to-be verbs. Use the headline and your name in the subject line when sending your brief as a Word attachment. Capitalize the first letter of the central words in the headline.

• By-line: Skip two spaces from your headline. Add your by-line (by xxxxxxxx). Skip two spaces.

• Don’t indent paragraphs. Flush left. Skip two spaces between paragraphs.

• Keep paragraphs and sentences short. Very short. No more than two sentences per paragraph for now.

• Use active voice.

• Be sure you have the most relevant information in the first paragraph, then arrange additional information in descending order.

• Introduce, fully ID and quote a relevant source by Paragraph 3.

• Your last paragraph should provide contact information where readers can find additional details.

• Triple-check for accuracy (facts, grammar, etc.).

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8/2011

Writer Wanted

Do you rework sentences until they sound just right? Do you meet writing deadlines every time? Do you check your email every few hours, even when you're out? If so, and if you're local, we want to hear from you.

We're an unusual writing company, and we're looking for a second local writer. The bulk of the work consists of 300-400 word SEO articles, press releases and blog copy, but the content is diverse -- you may be writing about a law firm one day and jewelry the next. Longer cracked.com-esque articles are sometimes needed, and in fact a good sense of humor and the ability to write in different voices are prerequisites for this gig. Blogs and SEO articles pay $15 each, while press releases fetch $50. Longer articles and website landing pages pay more. The work will be part-time at first, but it'll slowly ramp up. Eventually, this may become a full-time job.

What we're looking for:

Someone who's done this before or who's doing it now -- a freelance copy writer who has clips.

Respect for deadlines. Our writers must meet their deadlines.

Availability. If we contact you with a work request, we need to hear back from you within a couple of hours. Preference will be given to those who respond quickly to a follow-up email from us regarding this ad.

Writing ability. Our writer must be actively interested in grammar and phrasing, the sort of person who will cut or move a beloved clause -- or change a word -- when its presence in the sentence creates subtle conflicts downstream. Our writer should hear voice, be deft with mood and tone and have opinions about the visual look of a series of paragraphs. She should be able to mimic the voice of an AP story or a fashion columnist; he might be have noticed there are no Oxford commas in this ad.

Your cover letter is your most important writing sample. Hook us up front. Tell us a story of some kind. Be casual. Business letters are no fun, and besides, we want to see your style. (We once considered asking applicants to write a cover letter in the style of a given author as a way to gauge their level of consciousness about the little things.) But please don't send a resume, because we don't read them. And if it's at all possible, it's better to link us to your clips online or to paste a small sample into the body of the email. We prefer not to open attachments.

A few tips about replying to ads that seem to open the door to creativity and ask you to write naturally instead of formally:

90 percent of respondents nakedly state that they're great writers. 87 percent of these responses contain obvious errors. To say it doesn't prove it, and extreme self-confidence or attitude is a red flag. We don't know you yet, and we're not looking to be impressed in that particular way. By the way, don't start sentences with numerals.

Take some time to think about what you're going to say. There's no rush. When you say it, make your response long enough to give us a sense of how you write. Very short letters means the person didn't read the ad and didn't understand what was being asked of them, and very long letters are just too much.

The best letter is the one that gives the reader a break and a bit of novelty. If you can make the reader crawl into the thing, you win.

Being casual means you get to use contractions.

Don't be discouraged if you don't hear back. Companies get a lot of good letters, but they may only follow up with one or two people per round.

Odds 'n ends:

We pay on time via PayPal or check.
You can do contract writing work from anywhere, though you'll have to come down to our office on Baum Blvd. perhaps once a week.
As long as you meet deadlines, we don't care if you're a vampire.
You may become a better writer. Our editors will work with you to improve your skills.

Reply to: job-5um75-2576097453@craigslist.org

Sampsonia Way Magazine Seeks Editorial Intern (Northside, Pittsburgh)

Sampsonia Way Magazine is currently seeking editorial interns starting September 2011.

Our publication is located in Pittsburgh's Northside on Sampsonia Way next to the Mattress Factory. Sampsonia Way is an online publication sponsored by the non-profit City of Asylum/Pittsburgh. It aims to promote freedom of expression and help support persecuted poets and writers around the world.
Visit us at: www.sampsoniaway.org

Internship activities and duties:

* Assist editors in proofreading and editing text in magazine, blog, interviews, excerpts, etc.
* Interview local and international writers
* Help contribute research for blog articles and write said articles
* Collaborate with marketing efforts using social media
* Contact bloggers and websites to provide material for Sampsonia Way
* Contact writers

Internship benefits:
* Build resume
* Gain professional experience in proofreading and marketing strategies
* Exposure to international community of writers
* Future letters of recommendation and references upon successful completion
* This is a primarily unpaid internship, but we do provide compensation for travel and academic credit

Requirements:
* 10-15 hours a week & reliable transportation to our Northside office
* Current junior or senior enrolled in a University's English Program
* Able to provide writing samples
* Must be organized, independent, and posses proficient computer skills
* Extensive proofreading skills or experience (*experience preferred*)

Preferred Requirements:
* Familiarity with Gmail, Social Media, and SEO
* Knowledge of writing for advertising
* Understanding of the international community and issues with freedom of expression around the world

Send both a cover letter & resume to joshua@sampsoniaway.org.

Tuesday, September 13, 2011

Guide for News Briefs

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