Mirror, Mirror

Saturday, February 28, 2009

What Makes a Story 'Newsworthy'?

Or, put another way, why run THIS story NOW? As you consider what stories would grab the Mirror target audience, run each idea through a check list .
1. Is the story timely? Think newspeg or the hook that will catch your reader's attention, because the story offers something new.
2. How many readers will this story affect? How significant is it? We want as many of the ZU community as possible to read the story.
3. What's the connection to ZU or at least Abu Dhabi? If you are using the Net in your reporting, make sure you localize the story. Bring it home to your readers.
4. How well-known or prominent are the people in the story? This "news value" has contributed to "celebrity journalism," but keep in mind that readers do like to recognize people in the news. Personally, I think this is the least important of the five items on the check list when it comes to Mirror stories. But mixing in a few "celebrity" stories like the scriptwriter in the last issue (with a campus hook) makes for a more interesting magazine.
5.What's the human interest in the story? The Mirror isn't covering spot news, which is some ways are easier to write than a human interest story , but human interest stories generally generate more buzz.

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Mirror Style

No, I'm not talking about a fashion supplement. I'm talking about the "house style" of a newspaper, a magazine or a website. Often called a "style book" or a "style sheet," the house style helps establish an individual look and also a uniformity to encourage clarity and accuracy. Some news organizations like the Telegraph in London have their own style books. Others use The Associated Press Style Book or The New York Times Manual of Style and Usage. We have both in the ZU Mirror Room. But we will be using The Zayed University Editorial Style Guide. Please bookmark and/or print out and refer to it constantly as you write, edit or design.

InDesign Tip of the Week

Philip just passed along a "tip of the week" from InDesign Magazine. Maybe more than you want -- or need -- to know right now, but remember that lots of online resources await. This from the December 2008/January 2009 issue on finding the right font:

When you're having trouble deciding on the best typeface or combination of typefaces for a particular project, try these sources:

* The Type Library section of the Adobe Web site lets you search for fonts by use.

* Each typeface on the Font Bureau , a "digital type foundry," includes a list of comparable and compatible fonts.

* Independent blogs such as Typophile are populated with type-savvy folks who will give advice on font usage, identify orphaned fonts, and steer you toward little-known fonts that may have escaped your attention.

* Blogs associated with type foundries that don't just promote their own products are great resources, as well. For example, a wonderful post on FontFeed, the blog affiliated with FontShop, explored alternatives to Helvetica with helpful background about the suggested typefaces and detailed characteristics that distinguish them from Helvetica.

-- Pamela Pfiffner, author of "How to Cure Typochondria," the cover feature in the December 2008/January 2009 issue of InDesign Magazine.