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The SPEAR Official Style Guide
"Style Guide: Wiki edition!" usage:
1. press [ctrl + F] to open the search feature on Firefox
2. type in a general term relating to your question (i.e. I want to know if I have to put a book title in italics or quotes. I type in "book" or "composition")
USING THE COMPUTERS
All stories are typed in the Open Office program (much like Word) on the Linux computers. Save your stories in your regular Home file. When you turn in your rough draft at your deadline, copy the text (ctrl-c) into the story page on www.spear.wikispaces.com (ctrl-v). The editor in chief or page editor will then edit stories on the wiki page and may ask you to make changes based on story content.
*The SPEAR is formatted in Scribus on the Linux computers, by page editors, the editor in chief, or any capable staff members.
*The Macintosh computer is used for photo editing by the photo editor or editor in chief. You must get permission from the editor in chief, managing editor, or Mr. Healy before using the Mac. Photos are edited using Adobe Photoshop CS.
*You may research your story or look for photos to be used in The SPEAR using Firefox, the Internet browser of the Linux computers. DO NOT use the computers for anything other than something for The SPEAR or relating to journalism. NO HOMEWORK FOR OTHER CLASSES, NO COMPUTER GAMES (including calculators), and NO OTHER SITES THAT DO NOT PERTAIN TO YOUR STORY (ex: MYSPACE)
TYPING A NEWS STORY
Do not double space.
Leave only one space after a period.
NEVER type a story in all capital letters.
Do not indent at the beginning of a paragraph. Press enter twice (leaving one line of space) for a new paragraph.
WHEN WRITING A NEWS STORY
ONLY include information RELEVANT to your story. For example, if a person committed a crime, do not describe something about the place where he committed it unless it affected the criminal or the crime itself.
Do not use personal pronouns such as "you," "we," or "I," unless in an editorial, personal column, or quote. Stories (unless they are editorials or opinion stories) should be FAIR and UNBIASED.
Do not use contractions. For example, write "was not" instead of "wasn't."
Write concisely, use simple language rather than complex language. Short sentences are better than long sentences. Always make paragraphs short―a couple sentences at most.
Avoid unnecessary words. For example, do not say "brutal murder." Have you ever heard of a murder that was humane and not brutal?
Avoid vague modifiers such as "very" and "slightly." NEVER use clichés.
ATTRIBUTION:
Attribute EVERYTHING. Write as if you did not know anything about the topic before researching and interviewing it. Then, indicate from which interview or source each piece of information is.
EXAMPLE: A man was shot to death yesterday at approximately 4:45 a.m., in Los Angeles, police said.
The attribution is in the "police said." Attributing is extremely important, so that readers know that the information they are reading is from a reliable source. Also, in this example, if the information given in wrong, the police are liable, not the newspaper.
As redundant as attribution may sound in a story with one or two sources, it is critical. To avoid redundancy, refer to the source by different, appropriate titles or find more sources.
Do not attribute one person's opinion to everyone. For example, if one student is quoted saying he does not like the cookies in the cafeteria, you cannot write that many or most students do not like the cookies in the cafeteria.
ACTIVE AND PASSIVE VOICE:
Avoid the passive voice. Passive voice is a style that focuses on the object of the sentence rather than the subject. Something is done to the object by the subject. You should use ACTIVE -voice instead. In the active voice, the subject does something to the object. Using the active voice creates a more clear, concise, sentence.
Passive: The ceremony was attended by several students.
Active: Several students attended the ceremony.
MECHANICS OF NEWS STORIES
ABBREVIATIONS:
A few universally recognized abbreviations are required in some circumstances. Some others are acceptable depending on the context But in general, avoid alphabet soup. Do not use abbreviations or acronyms that the reader would not quickly recognize.
Before a name: Abbreviate the following titles when used before a full name outside direct quotations: Dr., Gov.., Lt. Gov.., Mr., Mrs., Rep., the Rev., Sen., and other military designations - Spell out all except Dr., Mr., Mrs., and Ms., when they are used before a name in direct quotations.
After a name: If an individual's name has either junior or senior, abbreviate to jr. or sr. Abbreviate company, corporation, incorporated, and limited when used after the name of a corporate entity. Abbreviate an academic degree after an individual's name.
DATES AND NUMBERS:
a.m., p.m., A.D., B.C., No., and only use the abbreviations Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Spell out all other months. With months, use figures without letters: April 1. Not: April 1st.
These abbreviations are correct only with figures. For example, do not say, He asked for the No. of your room.
AVOID AWKWARD CONSTRUCTIONS: Do not follow an organization's full name with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym would not be clear on second reference without this arrangement, do not use it. Names not commonly before the public should not be reduced to acronyms solely to save a few words.
Use capital letters and omit periods for abbreviations such as YMCA, DVL, or CIF.
Spell out the days of the week. Do not use the day of the week with a date if the event has already happened.
CAPITALIZATION:
Proper names:
When to capitalize- Democratic Party, Mississippi River, Fleet Street, West Virginia. When not to capitalize- the party, the river, the street.
Lowercase the common noun elements of names in all plural uses: the Democratic and Republican parties.
Capitalize holidays and holy days.
Do not capitalize seasons of the year.
Only capitalize language courses such as English and Spanish and specific courses such as AP Biology and Algebra II. Courses such as geometry and algebra are lowercase.
Capitalize Varsity, Junior Varsity, and Freshman team in sports. Do not capitals boys' or girls' in reference to a team. For example, Varsity girls' soccer.
Always lowercase compass points (north, south, northeast, northern, etc.) that indicate direction: He drove west. Capitalize compass points that designate regions of the world or United States: Settlers from the West went east in search of new lives. In general, compass points to describe a section of a state or city are lower case: western Texas. But they may be capitalized if a particular section has a widely known popular name: Southern California, West Side.
Capitalize Winter Break and Spring Break.
NAMES:
When a name appears the first time in a story, write it:
Adult: marital status, first name, last name Mr. Pat Healy
Student: first name, last name, grade level in parenthesis John Smith (12th)
After the first time a name appears in a story, use only the last name. Do not include titles or grade level.
When using titles, separate a long title from a name by a construction that requires a comma, such as, Charles Robinson, undersecretary for economic affairs, spoke.
Capitalize a title preceding a name, but use lower case lettering when it follows a name.
NUMERALS:
Spell out numbers one through nine. Use numerals for 10 and greater. This also applies to first, second, 10th, etc. Spell out any numeral, except a year, thst begins a sentence. Wrong: 25 boys went. Right: Twenty-five boys went.
Spell out currency less than a dime. For example, six cents, 10 cents, 75 cents.
Use numerals for dollars, thousands, and use the words millions for larger figures.
For example, $4, $4,000, $4 million, $4 billion, etc. However, spell out large numbers in phrases such as thanks a million.
Spell out percent. Use numerals before percent even if less than 10 (4 percent). Spell out fractions less than one.
When refering to decades or number groupings, do not use an apostrophe to separate the number from "s."
For example, She was born in the 60s.
HEADLINES:
ALL headlines need a VERB.
Golf Aspires to Seize DVL Title with Improved Team
Use single quote marks in headlines.
Use present tense.
Leave out articles. (a, an, the)
If a student's name is in a headline, do not include his grade level, unless spelled out before the name.
COMPOSITIONS:
Capitalize the principal words, including prepositions and conjunctions of four or more letters.
Capitalize an article or words of fewer than four letters if it is the first or last word in a title. Put songs, movies, albums, televisions shows, and books in QUOTES.
Do not put magazines in quotes. Lowercase magazine unless it is part of the publication's formal title: Harper's Magazine, Time magazine.
QUOTES Quotes are an important part of a news story. Quotes will often make up half of your story. Even though this is true, it is not necessarily a case of the more quotes, the better. Do NOT throw junk quotes into your story to make it seem longer. Do NOT include quotes of two people basically saying the same thing.
Good quotes are hard to find, and yes, you may have to interview more people than you would like before someone says something about your story subject other than "yeah, I liked it." Seek out good quotes-they will spice up your story and help provide an interesting perspective.
When including a quote in your story, try to break it up to make it easier to read. Some examples:
"Last year's record was a little deceiving, " Salazar said. "This year we're playing well and we have
good chemistry. "
"I was jazzed," Ms. Alissa Marshall said. "I was confident we were going to get it before we even wrote
the application."
Do not waste your time trying to think of synonyms for "said." Avoid words like exclaimed, communicated, or expostulated. If you use words like these to set up a quote, it will draw the attention away from the quote itself. Do not be afraid to just use "said," sounding redundant as it does in some stories.
If a quote is inappropriate NEVER include it in your story.
INTERVIEWS
You will need to interview at least three sources for every story you write, some will require more. Here are the rules and tips for conducting a better interview to get the quotes you want:
Always conduct your interviews in person. No interviews over the phone, e-mail, or myspace. If you absolutely need the interview and cannot interview your source in person, ask Mr. Healy or the editor in chief for an exception.
You should use a tape recorder when you interview in order to get what your source says exactly right. Mr. Healy provides digital voice recorders for students to use. However, technology is not reliable so you should take notes during the interview as well, in case someone records over your interview or it fails to record.
Always have your questions written out beforehand. Pay attention to what your source is saying and be prepared to depart from your list of questions to ask a follow-up question based or something that was just said.
If someone clearly states to you during an interview that something they say is "off the record," you cannot use that piece of information.
Use common sense. Be polite, don't interrupt your source.
When looking for a student who you need to interview during school, NEVER walk into a classroom and say to the teacher "I need to talk to John Smith." Identify yourself and ask the teacher when there will be a convenient day for you to come back to interview the student often the teacher will just let you do the interview then. If you are rude to a teacher, it makes The SPEAR look bad. Always be polite-how you conduct yourself in these situations will get back to Mr. Healy.
ROLES & RESPONSIBILITIES
EDITOR IN CHIEF
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Oversees all aspects of SPEAR production
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Assumes full responsibility for any content in The SPEAR
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Selects other editors, along with advisor
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Delegates responsibilities and tasks to other editors and staff members
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E-mails Mr. Healy with directions for the class when not able to go to school
MANAGING EDITOR
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Fulfills any duty editor in chief is unable to
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Reads editor in chief's directions to class when he is gone
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Enforces deadlines
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Makes sure each staff member is on task
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Checks on the status of every story daily
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Keeps record of deadlines and whether they are met
PHOTO EDITOR
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Keeps track of every needed photo and assigns each to a photographer
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Keeps track of all cameras
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Labels all photo discs
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Edits and saves all photos using the Mac computer
ADVERTISING DIRECTOR
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Finds and communicates with businesses to advertise in The SPEAR
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Sends price sheets to businesses
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Sends invoice and tear sheet to business after The SPEAR has been published
PAGE EDITOR
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Gives a list of photos needed to the photo editor
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Puts together their pages in Scribus
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Proofreads and edits each story for the page once saved on Wiki page, then saves the edited story on Wiki
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Develops story ideas and assigns stories for his page
STAFF WRITER
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Writes a minimum of one story per issue
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Has a minimum of one USABLE picture per story
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Researches the topics assigned thoroughly
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Writes from a fair, balanced, non partisan point of view
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Arranges and conducts all interviews concerning story
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Meets all deadlines
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Types and saves stories into the computer system
SECTIONS
Front Cover: The SPEAR cover is always a single color photo. The photo is chosen based on the importance and relevance of the subject, and the clarity and quality of the photo itself.
Campus News: important issues and events concerning the PDHS community. Page one contains The SPEAR staff box.
Community News: Important issues and events concerning the Coachella Valley.
Opinion: Covers issues concerning the PDHS community and related interests.
Double-Truck: Features a story or several stories about ONE topic that is especially important, interesting, or controversial. Example: last year's double truck about the cheating epidemic at PDHS and teachers' and students' reactions.
Technology: An overview of the technology world, balanced between industry news, gadget reviews, game reviews, and tech culture pieces.
Entertainment: Features news and reviews of movies, TV shows, CDs, and other releases.
Sports: Covers as many PDHS sports teams as possible. Writers will cover an actual GAME and not just give general information about the season the team is having. The newest information is the most important. Winning teams generally featured more prominently.
PRODUCTION PROCESS
Days may change based on when we are coming out and how much time we have to complete an issue.
1. BRAINSTORMING (Monday following previous issue's publication)
Page editors and their writers will brainstorm possible stories to go in their sections. Editor in chief and advisor will go over events in the coming month to find double truck and front cover possibilities. Page editors will sketch a rough draft for the page layout.
2. WRITING & WORKING (Two weeks after brainstorming)
Staff writers and everyone else working on a story will collect information on their topics and conduct the necessary interviews and contact necessary sources. Write stories and save the rough draft in the allocated wiki page. Page editors work on their page layouts in Scribus.
3. DEADLINES (Friday two weeks after brainstorming, or two days after "event" for post-deadline stories)
Writers will verify with the managing editor that their rough draft is on wiki. Page editors will then edit these stories, staff writers are also encouraged to check other stories then their own and correct if necessary on wiki. Editor in chief will then edit each story.
4. FORMATTING (Wednesday after rough draft deadline)
Page editors put stories into Scribus as the editor in chief edits them. Page editors work with the editor in chief to locate viable spaces for stories or pictures that did not fit the initial page layout.
5. PRE-PUBLICATION (Week of publication)
Editor in chief and other staff members review proof sheets to check for any errors or anything missing.
6. PUBLICATION (Wednesday, week of publication)
Advisor sends SPEAR to the Desert Sun to be printed. After printing, editor in chief picks up papers from Desert Sun. Managing editor plans distribution and assigns each staff member a classroom to deliver to.
7. DISTRIBUTION (Friday morning, week of publication)
Each staff member arrives in Mr. Healy's classroom at the planned time, separates newspapers into stacks, and delivers papers to each classroom on his list.
8. CRITIQUE AND DISCUSSION (Friday in class, week of publication) Staff discusses comments and reactions to The SPEAR. Staff members and advisor point out any mistakes or misprints found. Staff gives constructive criticism to any part of The SPEAR and makes suggestions for improving the quality of The SPEAR.