An open letter to potential contributors ...
The Monitor office receives article and photo submissions with a regularity you could set your watch to. Most of them are seasonal (July = a heat-injury-prevention piece from the hospital folks) or event-specific, but every once in a while we get a random story sent to us from someone outside our normal realm of contributors -- unit photojournalists, public affairs officers, stringers -- in the hopes that it will be a front-page, full-color extravaganza in the next issue.
I have no problem with our readers submitting articles of their own; any help we can get filling one of the largest newspapers in the Army is always welcomed. The thing these aspiring Woodwards and Bernsteins need to keep in mind is, they can't just crank out a 400-word essay about their cat (yes, that has happened), snap a photo with their Fuji FinePix and expect us to print it just because they put two days' worth of work into it.
Believe it or not, even some of the non-cat-related submissions we receive from Soldiers on post aren't fit for publication. Most of the time, it isn't the writer's fault; it's usually a random lower-enlisted Soldier with no journalistic experience who got tasked by his commander to write "something, anything about our unit to get [enter unit mascot/nickname/motto here] in The Monitor." That's when we get stories like "555th Brigade Soldiers pick up cigarette butts outside barracks" coupled with photos of blurry, red-eyed people standing around. A news story must have an actual news element to it.
Here are a few tips that can increase your article's chances of being printed in our paper:
- Read other journalist's articles, write yours like theirs. This sounds deceptively simple because it is. Pick up a newspaper -- it doesn't have to be The Monitor -- and take note of how all of the stories within have a distinct beginning, middle and end. Fashion your exposé on reflective PT belts after this format, and I'll be more likely to read it.
- Buy a copy of The Associated Press Stylebook. The Stylebook is a news writer's bible. If what you write doesn't match what this book says, it isn't right. Tons of rules on how the words in your story should look are dictated here, from ranks and abbreviations to dates, times and street names.
- Just the facts, ma'am (or sir). The news is all about facts -- and that's a fact. Unless everything in your article has been or can be proven, it does not belong in a story. The only exceptions are quotes and attribution. You cannot write, "Once again, the 555th Brigade proved it was the best unit on the planet when its swim team, the Moray Eels, displayed unmatched prowess in the pool and won the Invitational Meet by a score of 255-254." That is your opinion. You can, however, write, "After winning the Invitational Meet Friday, the 555th Brigade's Moray Eels swim team may just be the best bunch of backstrokers on base, said the unit's commander." It is a fact the unit commander said those words, so it's OK to write that (even though the alliteration is extremely corny). So remember: readers (and editors) are interested in what really happened, not your perception of what happened. Get sources for your information and mention those sources in your story.
- "This story doesn't have any quotes; it's practically worthless," said the editor. Some people who decide to tackle a writing assignment think it is enough to type out a chronological laundry list of what happened at an event, without taking the time to get responses from people directly affected by said event. This results in a boring, robotic and wordy essay without any substance that reads like a toaster oven instruction manual. Since you can't give the story your voice, you need to use someone else's. Interview, interview, interview -- and you can quote me on that.
- Don't include any of these things in your photos: People standing around doing nothing, people looking directly into the camera, red- or yellow-letter date stamps in the bottom left corner, body parts cut off from the outer edge of the frame ... basically, look at other photographer's pictures and shoot yours like theirs. Editors like to see action shots of people actually doing something. That's another thing -- make sure there are people in your photos. You'd be surprised how many photos we get of a stray piece of furniture, a pile of baseball bats or a half-eaten cake sitting on a table.
- Use full names. No Soldier's birth certificate says "Sgt. Lanolin" (or "SGT Lanolin"). Get the guy's first name. It's Sheepswool.
- Enroll in, and complete, some type of journalism course. Creative Writing doesn't count.
That should be enough to get started. I leave you to it.
- D.
I have no problem with our readers submitting articles of their own; any help we can get filling one of the largest newspapers in the Army is always welcomed. The thing these aspiring Woodwards and Bernsteins need to keep in mind is, they can't just crank out a 400-word essay about their cat (yes, that has happened), snap a photo with their Fuji FinePix and expect us to print it just because they put two days' worth of work into it.
Believe it or not, even some of the non-cat-related submissions we receive from Soldiers on post aren't fit for publication. Most of the time, it isn't the writer's fault; it's usually a random lower-enlisted Soldier with no journalistic experience who got tasked by his commander to write "something, anything about our unit to get [enter unit mascot/nickname/motto here] in The Monitor." That's when we get stories like "555th Brigade Soldiers pick up cigarette butts outside barracks" coupled with photos of blurry, red-eyed people standing around. A news story must have an actual news element to it.
Here are a few tips that can increase your article's chances of being printed in our paper:
- Read other journalist's articles, write yours like theirs. This sounds deceptively simple because it is. Pick up a newspaper -- it doesn't have to be The Monitor -- and take note of how all of the stories within have a distinct beginning, middle and end. Fashion your exposé on reflective PT belts after this format, and I'll be more likely to read it.
- Buy a copy of The Associated Press Stylebook. The Stylebook is a news writer's bible. If what you write doesn't match what this book says, it isn't right. Tons of rules on how the words in your story should look are dictated here, from ranks and abbreviations to dates, times and street names.
- Just the facts, ma'am (or sir). The news is all about facts -- and that's a fact. Unless everything in your article has been or can be proven, it does not belong in a story. The only exceptions are quotes and attribution. You cannot write, "Once again, the 555th Brigade proved it was the best unit on the planet when its swim team, the Moray Eels, displayed unmatched prowess in the pool and won the Invitational Meet by a score of 255-254." That is your opinion. You can, however, write, "After winning the Invitational Meet Friday, the 555th Brigade's Moray Eels swim team may just be the best bunch of backstrokers on base, said the unit's commander." It is a fact the unit commander said those words, so it's OK to write that (even though the alliteration is extremely corny). So remember: readers (and editors) are interested in what really happened, not your perception of what happened. Get sources for your information and mention those sources in your story.
- "This story doesn't have any quotes; it's practically worthless," said the editor. Some people who decide to tackle a writing assignment think it is enough to type out a chronological laundry list of what happened at an event, without taking the time to get responses from people directly affected by said event. This results in a boring, robotic and wordy essay without any substance that reads like a toaster oven instruction manual. Since you can't give the story your voice, you need to use someone else's. Interview, interview, interview -- and you can quote me on that.
- Don't include any of these things in your photos: People standing around doing nothing, people looking directly into the camera, red- or yellow-letter date stamps in the bottom left corner, body parts cut off from the outer edge of the frame ... basically, look at other photographer's pictures and shoot yours like theirs. Editors like to see action shots of people actually doing something. That's another thing -- make sure there are people in your photos. You'd be surprised how many photos we get of a stray piece of furniture, a pile of baseball bats or a half-eaten cake sitting on a table.
- Use full names. No Soldier's birth certificate says "Sgt. Lanolin" (or "SGT Lanolin"). Get the guy's first name. It's Sheepswool.
- Enroll in, and complete, some type of journalism course. Creative Writing doesn't count.
That should be enough to get started. I leave you to it.
- D.
posted by editor_Dustin | 3:35 PM
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4 Comments
