Writing & Editing Online - Continuing significance of text: “The text is still what brings various media together” (Foust). - Culture of “instant” gratification à

“Think of your Web audience as lazy, selfish and ruthless. Web audiences are on a mission – they’re task oriented” (Michael Gold – Journalism Consultant)

- Quality of presentation still matters (grammar, spelling, etc.) - Fairness, accuracy, attribution, relevance, newness still matter

Writing & Editing Online ADAPTING TO THE RUTHLESS WEB AUDIENCE: SOME TECHNIQUES -  Chunking -  SHORT sentences with active verbs -  SHORT paragraphs (no more than 3 or 4 sentences!) -  Bullets -  Headlines

-  Fair, accurate, compelling, grabbing, short -  Must have a verb (or clear implied verb) -  Must use AP style: Only first word capitalized (proper

nouns also capitalized) -  Straightforward (Avoid puns, wordplay, etc. à Nicks

nixes flicks / Mayor cuts funding for film festival) -  Must be able to stand on own (Guilty! / Mayor guilty of

embezzlement) -  Search engine optimization

-  subheadlines/summaries/bold faced headers -  Integration of multimedia elements! -  Use links

Using  Links  in  Online  Stories    à  links  second  only  to  text  in  their  ability  to  convey  informa5on  and  meaning  to  the  user.    à no  “correct”  number  of  links  in  a  par5cular  story;  number  should  be  driven  by  content  considera5on  

à goal  =  not  to  overwhelm  the  user  with  sheer  numbers  of  links,  but  present  best  links  that  help  tell  story  &  encourage  further  explora5on:      

“Your  site  shouldn’t  feel  like  an  endpoint  in  the  conversa5on.  should  feel  like  the  beginning.”  

“By  sending  your  users  to  the  best  informa5on  available  on  the  Web,  you’ll  keep  them  coming  back  for  more.”  

 àmost  relevant,  most  reliable,  most  compelling  links    à link  should  generally  incorporate  no  more  than  three  to  five  words    àavoid:  “Click  here  to  go  to  there”;  [however,  it  is  not  always  possible  to  write  a  main  story  so  that  link  info  will  be  clear  w/o  disrup5ng  the  flow  of  the  main  story]    àClarity:  It  should  be  obvious  to  the  user  what  lies  on  other  end  of  link    àshould  links  open  in  new  windows,  yes  or  no?    àkeep  links  up-­‐to-­‐date      

Using  Links  in  Online  Stories    Different  usesà    

Background:  info  that  provides  basis  for  some  part  of  your  story;      Backing  up  informa9on:  Direct  link  to  sta5s5cal  source  in  your  story;      Alternate  points  of  view:  Linking  to  different  points  of  view  on  issue;    Further  explana9on:  Site  that  gives  you  more  informa5on;    Ci9zen  journalism:  Links  to  sites  that  give  people  chance  to  take  ac5on;        

 

Multimedia, mashups and APIs -  graphics/produced graphics -  Technical illustrations -  Sound/Video -  Databases and mashups

Multimedia, mashups and APIs

Complete  Online  Story  Customiza9on    Fonts:  sans  serif    (like  Arial  or  Verdana,  not  Times New Roman or  Courier)    Headlines:  Come  up  with  a  grabbing  headline  -­‐-­‐  remember  it  must  fairly  reflect  the  content  of  your  story      Paragraph  length:  Use  short  paragraphs!  You  should  not  have  any  paragraphs  longer  than  three  sentences.  Period.      Bullets:  Where  appropriate,  use  bulleted  lists.    Subheads:  Break  up  your  text  with  boldface  headers  (a  basic  rule  of  thumb  is  about  three  headers  for  a  700-­‐word  story)    Hyperlinks:  Use  hyperlinks!    Service  journalism:  Point  people  toward  helpful  resources    Basic  edi9ng  and  proofreading:  No  typos,  etc.  please    Visuals:  You  need  these!  

http://dailycollegelife.wordpress.com/2011/01/25/du-dining-debatable/

Word version

Wordpress

Homework  READ  Getting Started With Photoshop. (2007) http://articles.sitepoint.com/print/getting-started-photoshop Photoshop Interface Tutorial http://www.photoshopessentials.com/basics/interface/ Photoshop’s Toolbox: http://www.tutorial9.net/tutorials/photoshop-tutorials/photoshops-basic-tools/ Photoshop: Saving Images for the Web: http://www.tutorial9.net/tutorials/photoshop-tutorials/saving-images-for-the-web/ Galer, M. (2008). Photoshop CS3: Essential Skills àDigital basics pp. 15-37; Capture & Enhance, pp. 55-70. This is an E-Book you must find through Penrose    BB  Discussion  Board  Post:    PP/Slideshare.Net  Goal  Statement