Tricks of the trade

  • Feb 3 2013
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    On not writing badly vs. writing well

    They're not the same thing, author Ben Yagoda says in this Time Newsfeed Q&A. Yagoda discusses some writing sins — using the wrong word, writing in all caps — but says that's only part of the secret: "The not-writing-badly thing is a skill that can be learned, by reading, by following principles, by using the dictionary, by slowing down and all those things. Writing well is a little more mysterious. It's art. There's inspiration. There's individual talent and style."

  • Jan 27 2013

    On chimpanzees and humans

    Nieman Storyboard gives the annotation treatment to Mary Roach's 2008 National Geographic story on the chimps of Senegal and what their tools can teach us about human evolution. On her use of metaphors, like comparing salt stains on sweat-drenched shirts to those on a snowy winter's boots, Roach says, "It’s the part of writing that I love. Knowing there’s a good sentence to be had, and mucking around til I get it right. And the fleeting satisfaction of nailing it."

  • Jan 21 2013
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    Medical research news on deadline

    How do you manage that "hot little ball of panic" when you're near deadline on a medical story? Daniel J. DeNoon offers tips at AHCJ: "Too many interviews eat up your day. And it’s a bad idea to burn people whom you might need in the future by telling them 'thanks but no thanks' when they call. On the other hand, interviews fall through all the time. My usual M.O. is to line up three experts. You almost always get one, and three interviews is not too hard to manage."

  • Jan 16 2013
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    What they don't tell you about radio

    For self-conscious print journalists, being interviewed on radio can be unnerving. Media trainer Brad Phillips offers a dozen tips for easing into the airwaves: "I’ve done hundreds of radio interviews throughout my career. They seem simple. After all, you just pick up a phone or visit a studio and have a conversation with the host. But radio interviews are nothing like normal conversations (unless your friends take listener phone calls and go to commercial breaks!)."

  • Dec 20 2012
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    The art of the "foundation post"

    We're talking about your blog, not your fence. As Joel Friedlander explains on TheBookDesigner.com, a set of foundation posts is among the first things your blog should have: "Sometimes these are called 'evergreen content,' 'cornerstone content,' or 'pillar posts,' but the idea is the same. These are articles that are so basic that newcomers to your site will need them now, or a couple of years from now." Friedlander also discusses the architecture of a foundation post.

  • Dec 15 2012
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    More tips for writing about research

    About those "real people" that journalists like to include in their stories: Be careful, epidemiologist Bonnie Kerker warned science and health care writers at a New York event. “Anecdotal evidence is an oxymoron,” she said, urging her audience to use anecdotes only to illustrate the findings of a study, not the exception. Kerker and two other speakers, including NASW's Ivan Oransky, appeared Nov. 29 at a joint SWINY/AHCJ meeting at the City University of New York.

  • Dec 11 2012
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    When your experts won't do interviews

    It doesn't matter how good your news release is, Denise Graveline writes, if reporters can't get its subject to come to the phone for a few quotes: "Even if your information is newsworthy and timely, you've done the right things to get it to the right reporter, and your heart is pure (or even if it isn't), all it takes is an expert who blows off the interview to result in no coverage." Graveline offers tips for PIOs on training experts in dealing with the news media.

  • Dec 1 2012
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    Ten things to do when starting a blog

    You wouldn't throw a housewarming party before moving your furniture in, and you shouldn't open your blog to the public before taking these steps from The Book Designer site. Example: "You want to have a collection of at least 6 to 10 articles already on your blog. These should all address fundamental ideas, definitions, or principles of whatever your blog topic is. Presented properly, these are what we call foundation content, evergreen content, or pillar content."

  • Nov 24 2012
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    Timing is everything in social media

    Being on Facebook or Twitter is a good start, Denise Graveline writes, but if you're not careful, you might watch your words float away on the wind: "That's because you haven't taken the time to learn the art of timing your posts to social media sites. ... Often, the underlying reason is that no one behind your feed has researched timing — that is, the times of day and days of the week that yield the best levels of engagement for your business, brand or organization."

  • Nov 15 2012
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    Interpreters and the reporting process

    Speaking to your source directly is a tenet of reporting — except when it isn't. When you and your source speak different languages, interpreters intervene. Laura Shin writes on Poynter about finding and using interpreters: Quoting New York Times reporter Barry Bearak, Shin advises, “When you write, tell the reader what language was spoken and that a translator was used ... 'The reader deserves to know that the words have passed through the translation process.'”