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Don’t be shy! Promote your
community, your project and your work by using the media. Here, in this
first of two parts, we provide: a formula for writing news stories or
press releases, how to write the crucial first paragraph, three types
of features, interviewing tips, how to quote people correctly, and accuracy
and editing.
‘Changing Ireland’ hopes this will assist the many projects
throughout the country who use newsletters and the local and national
media to get their community’s voice heard.
The following ‘inverted triangle’ shows the idea that there is a formula for how to write a news story or press release. You start with the result, which is the opposite to essay-writing where you build up to a climax.
A good opening paragraph for a news story contains
the H and 5Ws (known as H5W):
It never needs to be any different. The traditional-style news story will have the answers to ALL SIX questions in the first paragraph or two.
The next (second or third) paragraph should contain background information and you continue then to write from there, ideally providing quotes from the people involved in the story (perhaps someone linked to your project).Keep paragraphs short - it is easier to read two short paragraphs than one long one.
Using quotes: A quote
is the exact wording of a statement from another person. It is interesting
to readers because of what was said or because of who said a thing.
Their statement may be a fact or it may be an opinion. Quotes make a
story more lively and more believable. Readers are more likely to believe
what your story says if there are reliable sources speaking in their
own words in the story.
Never use the words “when asked” or “in response to
a question about” to lead into a quote. The story is NOT ABOUT
YOU, so don’t insert yourself into it!
There are three types of quotes: direct quotes, indirect quotes and
partial quotes.
(1) Direct Quotes are sentences printed word for word exactly as the
speaker said them. The speaker’s exact words go inside the quotation
marks. Usually, they are followed by the phrase ‘s/he said’.
Eg, “The government is thinking of cutting the one thing that
keeps the community viable - FAS jobs. We don't want to go back to 1990
when there was nothing in this community,” said Moyross Community
Enterprise Centre Manager, Paddy Flannery, yesterday.
NOTE: Don’t quote obvious or unimportant things.
(2) Indirect Quotes: An indirect quote is information from a source
where the text does not include the speaker’s exact words; perhaps
instead there is a paraphrase or summary of what the speaker said. Indirect
quotes are used to: express a fact stated by the source; clarify a quote
that is long, confusing or dull; sum-up the ideas of several direct
quotes.
Eg Paddy Flannery, a community leader, fears the government may cut
FAS jobs in Moyross, and the community does not want to return to the
situation of 10 years ago when there was nothing in the area.
Note: Never change the meaning of someone’s quote when you paraphrase
it.
(3) Partial Quotes
Sometimes it might work better to use only part of a quote to convey
what the interviewee has said. If so, put the portion of the quote you
use word-for-word inside quotation marks. A partial quote is good for
highlighting lively or memorable words, especially those which express
an opinion.
Eg Community worker, Mike Quinn, said that if FAS jobs in Inisbofin
were cut the community “faces disaster”.
The main attribution word is ‘said’, and note that it is
used in the past-tense form. Other attribution words used include: ‘asked’,
‘added’, ‘stated’ (eg, when a source read from
a prepared text) and also ‘claimed’, ‘recalled’,
‘argued’, etc.
Why interview someone?
You interview someone because either they have unique information or
they are unique themselves! In the first case, the information will
make the story; in the latter case, the person is the story.
Interview material can be gathered from people (a) on location (b) over
the telephone (c) by e-mail.
To prepare:
1. Do some research and write a list of smart questions.
2. Write a list of "stupid" questions, those questions you
must ask to avoid mistakes (cover H5W).
3. If necessary, construct a time-line of the key events.
Other sources of information include stories/information published or
broadcast by others that you have cut from the newspaper, copied from
a book or magazine or recorded on tape. Always keep your notes from
interviews and clippings from publications or tapes of broadcasts that
you quote from.
Take the best notes you can but, unless you have shorthand or they speak
very slowly, use a tape recorder so you will have a record of the interview.
Buy new batteries, don’t forget a tape and test before you start
recording. Don’t learn the hard way!
Be 100% that there is factual accuracy about:
A feature is a story that does not necessarily
focus on a subject that is in the news. It could be about anything,
but is usually about either people or things. There are three basic
types of features:
(1) Human Interest Stories appeal to the readers’ emotions. They
are generally the most widely read and listened-to stories of all. An
example - an older person who admits they contemplated suicide before
they joined a local active age group.
- Human interest stories involve people rather than things. It could,
for example, be about a teenager who wins an award or a coach who leads
a team to a hurling final. Or a retiring community leader.
- Human interest stories often focus on well-known people. So, who is
well-known in your community? They may be well-known for ‘good’
or ‘bad’ reasons.
(2) Informational Features can be of historical, social and practical
interest, such as about the background to a new project in the community.
- The basic purpose in this case is to inform rather than to entertain.
- They often take the form of ‘How-to’ features such as
“How to buy a qualify for an allowance” or “Legal
options for if your neighbour is playing loud music late at night.”
- They can take the form of informational or
personal profile features.
- Informational interviews may deal with an authority, for example the
local TD, whose opinions are of significant value.
(3) Personality Sketches aim to give a real impression of what a person
is like. Personality interviews are interesting because of the individual
rather than the subject matter - for example the oldest person in the
community.
- They usually attempt to reveal someone’s personality through
telling stories about the person.
- It provides information that readers will want to know, such as: Name;
Personality; Background; Physical appearance; Environment; Hobbies;
Influence on others.
Here we look at newsletter layout and headline-writing. We hope it assists local voluntary groups throughout
the country who use newsletters to keep the community informed and connected.
Is your layout modern?
The layout look of magazines changes over the years and the modern trend
is for publications to be laid out with rectangles in mind. Each story,
including text, headline, artwork, photography, etc, is contained within
a single rectangle. One rectangle usually dominates and contains the
lead story. Each page may be made up of a number of rectangular modules.
Have a look at the Irish Times to see how the design works in practise.
Can you see influences of this ‘rectangular’ trend in the
design you adopted for your newsletter?
Layout for newsletters
Layout is the design of a page destined for publication - you can design
a mock-layout on a sheet of paper and use it as a guide when you begin
laying out items on a page on your computer screen (a skill called desk-top
publishing, or dtp for short).
Remember the three basic ingredients of any page are headlines, text
and photographs. Each is as important as the other and it is important
to get a good balance. You must also plan where to place the following
and what size should they be: photographic captions; white space; advertisements.
And you also have to choose typefaces (often referred to as fonts) and
where and how to use colour. You aim for a layout that is attractive
to the eye. For example, it is very important that the text should be
readable (9 point size minimum, use fonts with ‘tails’ (see
below) plenty of paragraphs, good punctuation and grammar, accuracy
and correct spelling).
What do you think
then?!
Take a few minutes and take notes on your newsletter design:
Are you aware of a deliberate design style used in your newsletter?
Look at it.
Write down:
Number of columns per page?
Are photos used?
Are the photos given borders or put in boxes?
Do you use single headlines, or put sub-headlines beneath?
Do you purposely use white space? It can help to attract the reader’s
eyes to a piece.
What size is the text in stories? Do you think it is too small or big?
More interesting
questions:
Who designs your newsletter?
How could it be better?
Do you use by-lines (names of authors)?
Is it reader-friendly in the way it is laid out?
Do you have a formula for what stories go where? E.g. News to front,
sport to back.
Have you looked at other people’s newsletters to get ideas?
Do you use enough photos? Are they of good quality? Do you include captions?
Do you use page numbers in your newsletter?
What fonts do you use, for text, for headlines?
Have you shopped around to see what prices and quality other printers
offer?
Does your printer deliver on time?
Designers over the centuries have come up with many different printed
alphabet styles when it comes to the printed word. Some typefaces, or
fonts, look more serious than others, but fonts will always fall into
one of two ‘types’ - those with little tails and those without.
(‘Serif’ is latin for tail; ‘Sans’ is latin
for without. So a ‘Sans Serif’ typeface font is one without
tails, for example the Arial typeface).
There’s one more important point - it is easier to read blocks
of text if they are set in fonts that include tails. On the other hand,
words set in typefaces without tales can be more easily read in larger
sizes and so they are best used for headlines, in adverts and for captions.
N.B. The most commonly used typefaces/fonts for story
text are Times New Roman and Century Schoolbook. Stick to two/three
fonts for headlines and two/three other fonts for text. And don’t
forget that you can use the bold, italic and underline options for extra
emphasis, though you should not overuse them.
A Question: people sometimes wonder, SHOULD headlines
always use FULL CAPITALS? Answer: Text set in all capital letters (aka
uppercase) is not as easy to read as ordinary text. It can be used for
emphasis or special effects, but should be used sparingly.
A final point: There is actually a third category of
fonts, but we ignored it until now because it is not an important category
- Script fonts. Script fonts are not good for story text
because they are difficult to read.
Ask these questions of each headline:
1. Is it in good taste?
Anything offensive in any way? Can anything be taken a wrong way?
2. Does it attract the reader's attention? How
can it be improved without sacrificing accuracy?
3. Does it communicate clearly, quickly? Any confusion?
Any odd words, double meanings?
4. Is it accurate, true? Proper words used?
5. A single "NO" above is a veto.
One "No" vote represents tens or thousands of put-out readers.
Start over: rethink the headline from the beginning.
* In the next issue of ‘Changing
Ireland’, the national newsletter of the Community Development
Support Programmes, we will focus on Writing and Reporting Skills, including:
a formula for writing News stories, how to write the first crucial first
paragraph, three types of features, interviewing tips, how to quote
people correctly, and accuracy and editing.
By Sharon Browne
An experience at Tralee CDP highlights the
importance of managing media relations. A community clean up day went
horribly wrong when the mountain of rubbish collected was set alight overnight.
This led to the fire brigade being called out a number of times. Some
of the local press also got to the scene – and just in time to take
pictures of a small number of youths throwing stones and other missiles
at the fire officers. Bad press indeed for a very hard working community.
The following day community reps involved in the Estate Management &
Community Safety Plan for the area felt understandably disheartened. But
with a little persuasion from Tralee CDP they decided to make an attempt
to manage the coverage rather than just wait and see how it would all
turn out.
While the fires and stoning did make the headlines of the two local papers,
there were also statements in the story about all the positive work done
in the area by the two residents associations involved in the Estate Management
& Community Safety Plan. Even though there were some errors in the
reporting all involved said it could have been worse.
The media obviously felt they had to report it as news. And because the
community worked with them to bring a balanced context – rather
than trying to stop them reporting it - a relationship was forged. The
community then followed up on this and got the Kerryman to promise a full
page feature on all the positive work done in the area including the residents
associations, organic garden project, all the local youth groups and the
Family Resource Centre, along with a minimum of three photos.
A reporter has been on a guided tour of the area with a number of local
volunteers and has met with the various groups. We have yet to see how
it turns out. In the end of the day we have no control over that. All
we can do is provide accurate information, explain our case and build
positive relationships. This is an area where CDPs can play a role in
training and supporting communities to make the most of all their media
coverage – good, bad and indifferent.
* Sharon Browne is Co-ordinator of Tralee CDP. A former national
journalist, she is a member of the ‘Changing Ireland’ editorial
team.
___________________________________
Issue 7
Autumn 2003
Mountwood/Fitzgerald Park CDP, in Dun Laoighre, Co. Dublin,
realised early on that the main value of a Christy Moore benefit gig for them was that it would raise public awareness about the CDP. The ticket sales brought in funds, but the main thrust of the publicity about Christy's gig was to highlight the appalling living conditions of the residents and the need for a proper community centre for the residents.
Following the gig, the CDP and members of the local community were invited to sing with Christy Moore on the Late Late Show. The
project co-ordinator also got to have her say on the air.
"We felt that when people realised that we were living in these conditions, public opinion would force officials to do something," said Susan Stevenson, chairperson of the Mountwood/Fitzgerald Park CDP.
(Ed's note: The community centre was finally built after a long-running campaign).
Issue 3
Spring 2002
After 20 years waiting in a “temporary”
halting site at Hillside Camp, Galway, half the 16 families living there
were provided late last year with housing. However, a day that should
have been a cause for celebration for Travellers in Galway city turned
to dismay and disgust when the Corporation issued an order giving everybody
24 hours to be gone from the site. Those who were allocated houses had
to move in without furniture, while the eight remaining families were
ordered to leave the site immediately. For where? All local authorities
are obliged to provide sites to cater for the nomadic lifestyle of Travellers.
The Galway Travellers Support Group issued press releases, one stating
that the Corporation had “betrayed” the partnership approach.
Upset at the treatment, the GTSG launched full-scale media campaign. Resulting
headlines included the following: “Outrage at closure of Galway
halting site” (Irish Times); “TD slams conditions at Galway
halting site as ‘disgraceful” and “Anger over eviction
of Travellers” (City Tribune). Now the GTSG have devised a proper
media strategy should future incidents occur. Here, project co-ordinator,
Margaret O’Riada, tells how it worked out during the fortnight.
In response [to the eviction order], committed
workers and volunteers from the Galway Travellers Support Group dropped
tools and went on a fortnight’s full-time media offensive. They
had two reasons for doing so – not to let those responsible away
with it and to have the accommodation issue for Travellers in Galway debated
in public. Also, the Partnership process had failed them. Here, Ms. O’Riada
tells the story of that fortnight.
Once again the Traveller community, a generally voiceless and powerless
people, were expected to put up with being treated as second-class citizens
in Galway city. Personally I believe that the way the unofficial Traveller
site in Hillside was closed down was the worst, institutional abuse of
the Traveller Community I have seen in my time working with Travellers.
The event and the circumstances meant that the GTSG management and staff
team had to respond immediately. It was decided that the lack of respect
and dignity shown to Travellers on the day needed to be debated in the
media and that people needed to be held accountable for their actions
and blatant disregard for the Traveller Community.
A media campaign was planned in response to the appalling treatment so
it was all hands on deck, the facts had to be gathered and recorded and
the campaign planned.
It was also felt that it was timely to challenge the partnership arrangement
between the Galway Traveller Support Group and the Local Authority. Prior
to the incident in Hillside we, as a project (our vision is “to
achieve full equality for Travellers in all aspects of their lives”)
had spent two years bringing the issues in relation to Traveller Accommodation
to the table, talking about shared agendas and meaningful consultation.
It now looked like we had wasted our valuable time. Our advice, expertise
and recommendations were ignored.
What the institutional bullying has highlighted for the project is the
need to choose carefully who we build alliances with. It also showed us
that while engaging in partnership arrangements is one way forward it
is not the only option. There is nothing more frustrating than going to
meeting after meeting with no measurable change on the ground for Travellers
coming from the talks.
Handling the media campaign meant a full-time investment of time by staff
and management over a two-week period. The type of work included strategically
planning the steps that needed to be taken, consulting with the Travellers
involved, writing press releases, contacting key journalists, following
up with journalists, doing interviews, lobbying local councillors, getting
in touch with the relevant departments, and making key links with the
relevant health authorities.
As a result, the issue got great coverage at local and national level
both on radio and in the newspapers. While not all of this was positive
it strengthened the resolve of the GTSG in its belief that projects need
to build strong relationships with their local, regional and national
media and be proactive in getting their side of the story told.
This type of collective action can make it difficult to deal with existing
workloads. However, there was complete consensus that the time invested
was necessary. Challenging injustice in this fashion gave everyone involved
renewed energy.
* Galway Travellers Support Group is a Community Development Project funded
under the Community Development Support Programmes. Contact details: GTSG,
78 Prospect Hill, Galway; Tel. 091-562530; Fax 091-561857; E-mail –
gtsg@iol.ie