Spec Style Sheet 2011

8/4/2019 Spec Style Sheet 2011

1/11

McPherson College

SPECTATOR

Staff Manual and Stylesheet

I. Spectator Mission

Publisher

The mission of the McPherson College Spectator is

twofold: 1) To serve and enhance the campus

community by providing an informed and responsible

forum for campus news and student voices and 2) To

provide an experience where students can learn about

the civic role of journalism and practice the range of

skills required of professional journalists.

The vision for the Spectator is to manifest in its

journalistic practices the nine elements of journalism

identified by Bill Kovach and Tom Rosenstiel in theirlandmark work, The Elements of Journalism (Three

Rivers Press, 2001). The Spectator is fulfilling both

parts of its statement of mission when the following

statements are true:

The Spectators first obligation is to the truth.

Its first loyalty is to students and members of the

campus community.

Staff members practice a discipline of

verification.

Staff members maintain an independence from

those they cover.

The Spectator remains an independent monitorof power.

It must provide a public forum for criticism and

compromise.

It makes the significant interesting and relevant.

Reporting is comprehensive and proportional.

Staff members are allowed to exercise their

personal conscience.

II. Organizational Structure

Publisher

The Spectator is published by the Student Govern-

ment Association of McPherson College. Its policies

are determined by the Board of Publications. Modest

salaries are paid to the editor-in-chief, page editors,

advertising sales manager, advertising design and

layout manager, and business manager, all of whom

are the employees of SGA. In addition, reporters and

photographers are compensated on a per-story/

photograph basis.

Editorial Staff

The Editorial Staff is the decision-making body of The

Spectator. Members include all salaried editors, the

business manager, the advertising managers, and the

faculty adviser (without vote).

Salaried staff are subject to review by the Editorial

Board if they fail to perform their duties. By majority

vote, the Editorial Staff may recommend to the Board

of Publications the dismissal of any salaried staff

member. The staff is responsible for recommending a

replacement for a vacated position.

When questions concerning the publication ofcontroversial material, the coverage of sensitive stories

or the editorial position in the lead editorial box arise, a

majority vote of the Editorial Staff will be the deciding

factor. The faculty adviser may veto the decision, but

the team may overrule the adviser with a unanimous

vote.


2/11

Staff Organization

Editor-in-Chief

The editor-in-chief is the administrative head of the

Spectator staff. He or she is responsible for

managing the Spectator office space all communication regarding staff meetings

planning and conducting staff meetings

handling concerns of reporters, photographers,

and page editors about matters that affect the

satisfactory and timely production of the paper.

The editor-in-chief works closely with section editors,

the copy editor, the photography editor, the online

coordinator and the multimedia editor in all phases of

paper and online production, including

planning stories to be covered for each issue

assigning writers, photographers, and

multimedia journalists to specific stories editing copy

designing pages

selecting and cropping photos

writing headlines and cutlines

submitting the final publication to the printer

transferring news to the online Spectator

offering suggestions and feedback on

multimedia productions.

The editor-in-chief carries the authority to make final

decisions concerning the acceptability of any

component of the Spectator. The editor-in-chief may

but is not required toconsult the faculty adviser ondifficult or controversial decisions.

It is assumed that the editor-in-chief will frequently

contribute writing to the Spectator, especially in the

areas of news analysis and opinion (although personal

interest can dictate the kind of writing contributed).

In addition, the editor-in-chief oversees the business

aspects of the Spectator. He or she

works with the advertising sales manager to

ensure the sale of adequate ads for each issue

works with the advertising design manager to

ensure the appropriate and timely completion ofads for each issue

works with the business manager to ensure

financial records are accurately maintained,

subscriptions promptly filled and accounts

professionally handled.

Copy Editor

Working cooperatively with the editor-in-chief and the

section editors, the copy editor works to see that the

Spectator is as factually accurate and conventionally

correct as possible. His or her responsibilities include

seeing that copy conforms to the house styleoutlined in this stylesheet

seeing that copy conforms to Associated Press

style in all matters not covered in this stylesheet

correcting all errors of spelling, grammar, usage,

punctuation and other conventions of standard

English

Checking all questionable statements or figures

and double checking spelling of names,

improving leads, tightening sentences and

improving copy flow, especially in news and

sports stories

Tightening sentences and improving copy flow,

but without eliminating the personal voice incolumns and feature stories

When possible, reviewing page proofs to

proofread cutlines, headlines, briefs or other

copy that might have been introduced on the

page without going through the usual copy

editing workflow.

Section Editors

The Spectator staff includes four section editors: the

news editor, opinions editor, campus life editor and

sports editor. Section editors carry lead responsibility

for two pages per issue, including:

planning stories and photos for their section

assigning reporters to stories

copy-editing stories

designing pages

writing headlines and cutlines

producing pages in Adobe InDesign

consulting with the photography editor

concerning photo assignments and sizes for

planned layout.

It is also assumed that section editors will occasionally

contribute articles to their pages.

Section editors, in consultation with the editor-in-chief,

decide the acceptability of any components of their

pages, but final authority and responsibility lie with the

editor-in-chief (in consultation as requested with the

faculty adviser).


3/11

Photography Editor

The photography editor has responsibility for all

aspects of producing photographs for the Spectator,

including

managing all aspects of the photography

equipment owned by the Spectator planning photo shoots in consultation with the

section editors

giving photographers assignments

taking photos

developing film

cropping photos

digitally editing and preparing photos for print.

Advertising Sales Manager

The ad sales manager is the Spectator's

representative in the McPherson business community.

He or she is responsible for soliciting enough

advertising to keep the Spectators agency account

solvent. Responsibilities include

distributing display advertising contracts at the

beginning of each semester to all potential

advertisers, either in person or by mail

soliciting the required quota of advertising for

each issue through contracts and periodic sales

calls

clearly and effectively communicating ad-

vertisers' ideas and needs for display ads

accurately and on time to the advertising design

and layout manager

providing advertisers with proofs, as requested.

Advertising Design and Layout Manager

The ad design and layout manager, in consultation

with the editor-in-chief and the faculty adviser, carries

creative control over all Spectator advertising. His or

her major responsibilities include

meeting the requests of advertisers for their

display ads

preparing proofs of ads as requested for

advertisers to approve before publication

planning with the ad sales manager and the

photography editor the photos needed forupcoming display ads

preparing digital files ready for placement on

desktop publisher pages and transferring those

ads to the editor-in-chief.

Business Manager

The business manager cares for the financial records

and all business matters of the Spectator except for

the sale of advertisements. The major responsibilities

are

caring for all matters related to subscriptions,

including selling and billing subscribers and

labeling and mailing subscribers' papers

billing advertisers and collecting on bills

receiving bills and submitting them to the college

Business Office for payment

keeping the books

maintaining records of writers' and

photographers' strings for payment

requesting string payments from the college

Business Office

Staff Writers and Photographers

Staff reporters and photographers are extremely

important and fully accountable members of the

Spectator staff. Their writing load may vary from issue

to issue (and depending upon whether they areenrolled for academic credit). Some flexibility in

assignments is possible when arrangements are

appropriately made in advance with section editors

and/or the editor-in-chief. Editors will try to give staff

members the types of assignments they prefer;

however, both reporters and photographers can

expect to receive a wide range of assignments.

Whether or not they are enrolled for credit, staff

reporters and photographers are expected to

Attend all staff meetings

Satisfactorily complete stories or photo shoots

by the assigned deadline Satisfactorily cover any assigned beats

Follow the Spectator Stylesheet and AP

Stylebook

Prepare copy in the manner prescribed in this

manual.

Staff members who are enrolled in an EN 315

Journalism Practicum must confer with the faculty

adviser about additional requirements.

Publication Adviser

The faculty adviser for the Spectator is an educator

appointed by the dean of the faculty in cooperationwith the Department of English. Her role is to provide

an ethical, encouraging environment where students

learn and practice sound journalistic principles.

One way advisers fulfill their educational responsibility

is by serving as a resource that students can consult.

This advisory role, however, is precarious because it

can easily conflict with students right to free


4/11

expression. The student press carries all the rights,

privileges, and responsibilities granted by the First

Amendment, and prior review is unconstitutional. The

critical factor here is that the students must initiate the

dialogue; an adviser may offer suggestions when her

input is overtly sought.

The adviser must teach without censoring, editing,

designing, directing or producing. Thus, a prickly

reality in student journalism is that much of the

learning derives from lessons learned from mistakes.

This is uncomfortable because journalism is a

relatively unforgiving profession and news readers are

unforgiving consumers. It is these same high ex-

pectations, however, that make post-publication

learning experiences so effective. Publication critiques

are another way advisers meet their obligations as

educators.

A more detailed discussion of the advisers role can be

found at College Media Advisers Code of Ethics(http://www.collegemedia.org).

Spectator Office

The Spectator office is located in Beeghly Hall 204 at

the far south end of the second-floor hallway. The

office is locked, but keys are issued to each editor and

manager. Reporters who need access to the

Spectator office may contact any of the paid-position

staff.

The editor-in-chief is in charge of the office, and

editors and reporters and other staff members share in

the responsibility of keeping the office a productiveplace to work.

The Spectator and Academic Credit

Students may receive one hour of academic credit per

semester for their work on the Spectator. Students

who desire credit may enroll for any of the EN 315

journalism practica, which include reporting, editing,

design and layout, advertising management, and

photojournalism. Students enrolled for credit have

slightly more stringent requirements than those

outlined in this manual. For additional expectations,

see the practica syllabi.

III. Staff Manual

What Is News?

News is a fresh report of events, facts or others

opinions that is important or helpful for readers toknow.

News Has Impact and Relevance

Probably the biggest problem faced by the staff of a bi-

weekly paper is providing its readers the fresh reports.

A staff can employ two tactics to fight this problem:

Load the issue with advances instead of reports

about past events. Students already know about

what last weeks Mohler said. They can be truly

informed, however, by an article about next

week's Religious Heritage lecturer and perhaps

have their interest piqued enough to lookforward to the speech.

Assess past events or actions to determine their

current or future impact. Then, feature this

impact prominently in the story's lead. Compare

the following leads, for example:

Miller Library installed new software for its on-

line catalog over the summer. The system was

installed during the final weeks of August and

was up and running by the time classes started

on Aug. 28.

Library staff and returning students are praisingthe new, user-friendly software they are now

using to access the librarys on-line catalog.

"Students really seem to appreciate the

faster search returns and the new look, said

Susan Taylor, director of library services, earlier

this week. The screen is now a professional-

looking interface that is much easier to use than

the old system, she said.

Last year, I felt like I was trying to use a

system that was way outdated, said Riley

Miller, sr., Rocky Ford, Colo. This looks and

feels like the best search engines on the Web.

That is the news--the fresh report that

emphasizes the impact for our readership.

Sports stories are especially susceptible to

recounting outdated events. Unless a recent

game was a victory or loss of particular

importance, leads in sports stories should

usually feature the upcoming match(es) or the

next game of real magnitude.


5/11

News Is Accurate and Unbiased

No obligations of the journalist are more important

than accuracy and truth telling. Every staff member

bears responsibility for seeing that information printed

in the Spectator is correct and fairly represents the

truth.

The following practices constitute a discipline of

verification that can assure the most accurate stories

possible.

Confirm with sources any quotation that is

controversial or about which there is any

question of accuracy.

Double-check copy against documentary

information; or, when documentary evidence

does not exist, confirm facts with two

independent sources.

Strive to get all sides of an issue, no matter how

difficult or controversial. Dont cover events or activities that you are

involved in. (For example, an SGA member

shouldnt cover a story about SGA.)

Avoid quoting friends. Make every effort to

interview those who rarely if ever appear in the

Spectator.

Guidelines for Writers

Responsibility to Staff

Nothingabsolutely nothingis more critical to the

success and morale of a news organization than staff

writers who will do what it takes to get a good storyand turn it in by deadline. Conversely, nothing

demoralizes a staff more than writers who fail to do

justice to the assignment and who submit copy late.

Editors pay a huge emotional and physical price for

the irresponsibility of others.

Reporters must do whatever is necessary to get a

story rightinterview people they dont know, make

phone calls at nights or on weekends, revise copy

more times than they want, and practice the discipline

of verification described above. You will not only make

your editors happy; you will make yourself happy. You

can be satisfied with a job well done and reap theappreciation of your subjects and your readers.

Interviewing

Interviews are an essential part of getting any story,

and your interviewing skills will have a direct influence

on the quality of your reporting. While interviewing

subjects face-to-face is more desirable, do not forget

that the telephone is a quick way to get accurate

information for stories. Many subjects will respond to

email questions, but that should be reporters last

resort: the quotes you get will be more carefully

worded, more canned, and crafted to avoid giving

real answers to your questions. But perhaps the

biggest drawback of an email interview is that you are

less likely to get answers to the follow-up questionsthat naturally evolve in a face-to-face or telephone

interview.

It is important to follow the guidelines below when you

interview persons:

By telephone:

Be sure you know what you want to ask before

you call. Make a list. Talk from notes if this will

help.

Be sure you identify yourself in a business-like

way to whoever answers. Tell them what you

are doing, and what you want:Hello, my name is Laurina Hannan, and I'm

writing an article for the McPherson College

Spectator on the college's fall enrollment

figures. While I have the numbers, I need some

information on how these numbers compare to

previous years. I'd like to talk to Karlene Tyler

about this. Is she in?

Even if your deadline is urgent, respect your

subjects time and ask them,

Is this a good time to talkor could I call

back/could we make an appointment for a better

time?

Then get that appointment for a better time, right

then.

In person:

Write your questions in a notebook to be used

especially for interviewing. You might write one

question at the top of a blank page and then

write answers below.

When interviewing feature story subjects,

especially, be aware of unspoken information.

Keep notes on your subjects appearance and

mannerisms and on the interview setting. Be open about taking notes. The subject wants

your piece to be correct. If you wish to record the

interview, ask your subjects permission. Do not

assume they are comfortable with being

recorded. It is illegal to record an interview

secretly

If there is something you do not understand, ask

for an explanation.


6/11

Do not rush from question to question. If you

pause deliberately, your subject may continue to

talk, providing you with your best information

and best quotes.

End every interview with the question, "Is there

anything I didn't ask that I should have?" You will

be surprised at what this can elicit, and it givesthe subject the feeling that you have been

thorough.

Off-the-Record: What Does It Mean?

If anyone ever makes a comment in an interview with

the request that it be "off the record," STOP the

interview and find out what your source means. Does

she mean:

Your source never wants to see that comment

or information in print?

You can report the information if you can keep

the source's identity out of the story?Once you give your word the material will be "off the

record," you must keep your promise.

Never accept information off the record when it

belongs on the record. Remarks made at a public

meeting such as Student Government, for example,

are always on the record.

As a policy, the Spectator does not publish

unattributed quotes or information (except in the

Shout It Out column). If the source asks to remain

anonymous, explain that you cannot report information

that cant be attributed to a named source.

Avoiding Libel

Here are some general rules about libel:

You may not damage a person's reputation

without the risk of paying the consequences.

You may be sued if you subject a person to

public scorn, ridicule, or opprobrium.

You may be sued if you harm persons in their

trade, occupation, or profession.

It is not necessary to name persons for readers

to be able to identify them. If readers can identify

the person you are writing about and your

statements harm her reputation, they arelibelous even though you never used her name.

Exception: Criticism of the arts (plays, movies,

books, CDs, exhibits, etc.) is immune, as long as

it is fair, based on fact, and contains no malice,

and as long as it limits itself to the work, rather

than criticizes the man or woman who created

the work.

See the "Libel Manual" in The Associated Press

Stylebookand Libel Manual for a complete treatment

of libel.

Covering Beats

Many if not most staff members will be assigned

beats. Beats may change from semester-to-semester,but important beats will generally remain the same.

They include

Presidents Office

Provost/Academic Dean

Advancement

Business Office

Admissions

Facility Management

Campus Ministry/

Counseling

Faculty

Student Government

Student Activities Board

Theatre

Auto Restoration

Music

Business Club

Student Services

Creative Arts Society

Friendship Art Exhibits

Once you have been assigned a beat, find out all youcan about it.

Go to the source of information suggested,

introduce yourself, and tell that person you have

his/her beat for the semester and want to know

all you can about their functions. Learn whos in

this office/department. (Secretaries are often the

best sources of information.)

Get any handbooks or information that office

puts out. Ask to be put on the distribution list

for agendas, minutes, announcements, or

policies that the office produces.

Find out the best time to talk with the sourcesand touch base with them at that time on a

regular basisperhaps during the week after

publication of an issue of the Spec.

Discuss any potential stories with your section

editor or the editor-in-chief to confirm that you

should pursue the story or that it should be

assigned to another staff writer.

Preparing Copy

Reporters should prepare copy on a word processor,

preferably Microsoft Word. If you are using some

word processor other than Word, save your work as

an RTF file. (Every word processor has an RTF, or

Rich Text Format, mode.)

Reporters may submit stories to their section editor as

an email attachment. Keep a backup copy of the file in

case it becomes corrupted in the process of being

forwarded to the editor.

Please follow these guidelines in preparing copy:


7/11

At the top your story, type a two- to four-word

slug that indicates the content of your story.

Under the slug, type your name exactly as you

want it to appear in your byline. (Page editors

and the editor-in-chief make the final

determination on whether the byline appears

with the story.) Turn on double-spacing. (Its easier for you and

your editor to proofread.)

Keep paragraphs short. Journalistic paragraphs

average two sentences and almost never

exceed three sentences.

Do not split (hyphenate) words at the ends of

lines. If your word processor automatically

divides words, disable the feature.

Omit commas before the conjunction in a series

of three or more sentence elements.

Do not use tabs to indent paragraphs. Editors

must strip them out before placing them into the

desktop publisher. This consumes precious timeduring production and introduces errors.

Space only once after periods at the end of

sentences. Extra spaces must also be stripped

from copy by editors.

On matters of style, writers should be guided first

by this stylesheet (see section IV) and second

by theAP Stylebook.

Meet all deadlines, or explain to your editor 48

hours in advance why your deadline will not be

met.

Writing Straight News

The inverted pyramid is the basic design for most

straight news stories. The most important facts are

blurted out in the first paragraph (the lead), and the

reporter works his way down to and through the least

important information.

The purpose of the inverted pyramid is to put the facts

in order of decreasing importance. Thus, if the reader

reads only the first few paragraphs of a story, chances

are she has read the most important parts of the story.

The inverted pyramid is also a tool for your page

editors. Occasionally, they will have to cut copy as

they design their pages. When reporters effectivelyuse the inverted pyramid, page editors can cut the last

paragraphs of a story, knowing these are the least

important parts of a report.

News writing consists of the five Ws and the H:

WHO, WHAT, WHEN, WHERE, WHY, HOW

Each news story must answer as many of the five Ws

and the H as possible.

Newswriting is lead writing. The lead is not only the

first paragraph of a news story, it is the essence of

what you know about that event, written crisply and

tightly.

There are always several good ways to write a lead,

but usually one best way for each storythe way that

gets the most interesting or the most important news

into the first few words of the lead. (See the entry

underleads in the stylesheet.)

Writing Features

What is a feature story? Whatever works. Many

features are based on dramatic situations, such as the

football player with the career-ending injury. Others are

based on the unique, such as the student with a pet

boa constrictor in his dorm room. Others are based on

overlooked, common occurrences, such as cleaning

the bathrooms in the dorms, students who go home on

weekends, etc.There is no feature "formula," as there is in straight

news writing (and, to a lesser extent, editorial writing).

A feature is a longer article, usually 500 words or

more, that tells the facts truthfully, but in which the

story is in the telling as much as in the facts.

The greatest danger in a feature is that its emphasis

upon the way the story is written will lead the writer to

use florid phrases, clichs and generalities.

The success of a feature depends upon the quality of

information gathered; attention to word choices;

understated, detailed descriptions and anecdotes;

and, an organization of materials that effectively

moves the reader to an informed viewpoint about the

subject.

Writing Editorials

An editorial is a brief essay, usually 300 words or less,

expressing a carefully reasoned position or opinion on

a recent issue. Ideally, a Spectator editorial will inform

and lead student opinion. It will interpret current

campus news to students and point out its

significance. Editorialists can take at least four different

approaches: teaching, attacking, defending, or

praising.

In its most basic form, the editorial follows a rather

predictable pattern.

The editorial writer first establishes the news

peg, that is, the timely information or issue on

which the editorial is based. The problem or

situation posed by the news peg is explained,

and the writer's position clearly stated.


8/11

An analysis of the situation follows, examining

the facts and details in a way that reveals the

reasoning behind the editorialist's opinion.

The editorial usually re-emphasizes the writer's

position and then offers a solution, backed with

arguments suggesting the rightness of the

solution. The editorial always ends with a strong

statementoften the strongest statement in the

piece.

Editorials need not always be serious. With a

lighter touch, one can entertain at the same time

he or she teaches, criticizes, praises, or defends.

Letters to the Editor Policy

The Spectator's editorial pages provide a public forum

for student opinion. Through letters to the editor,

students may air concerns, opinions, and suggestions.

The following policy guides the publication of all lettersto the editor and should be printed in full in the first

issue of each semester.

All letters will be handled by the editors.

The Spectator does not publish letters to which

authors will not attach their names except in the

extraordinary circumstances where the writers

safety or privacy is endangered.

Editors reserve the right to edit letters to correct

inaccuracies, excessive wordiness, unnecessary

vulgarity or poor taste, and potentially libelous

statements. If changes of any consequence are

made, editors will notify the writer to see if he or

she prefers to withdraw the letter.

Letters to the editor may be attached in e-mail to

[email protected] or dropped

in campus mail addressed to the Spec. The final

deadline is Monday before the Fridays on which

a paper is published.

As a matter of practice, the opinions editor or the

editor-in-chief must confirm the authorship of all letters

submitted for publication.

IV. Stylesheet

Spectator staff members should always refer first to

the guidelines in this stylesheet. If the relevant

guidelines are not listed here, defer to the AP

Stylebook. Entries followed by [AP] are fully consistentwith AP style. All others entries represent guidelines

unique to the Spectator.

abbreviations, organizations On first reference,

use an organization's full name. Do not follow it

with an abbreviation or acronym in parentheses or

set off by dashes. If an abbreviation or acronym is

not clear on second reference, do not use it.

abbreviations, classes In student identifications

(see identification, student entry), use the

abbreviations fr., soph., jr. and sr. In all other

situations, spell them out.

See also entries underdays of the week, months,

states, Student Council, times, titles

attributions Always clearly identify the source of

quotations (and paraphrased quotations) in your

copy. In general, the verb said is the best verb of

attribution. It is not weakened by repetition. In

straight news stories, be especially careful that

synonyms of attribution such as admitted,

disclosed, conceded, offered, explained, etc., do

not give a quotation an editorial tone.

As a rule, attributions should follow quotes or

paraphrases and be in subject-verb order;however, in the case of first-reference sources that

require an identifying appositive, the attribution is

best in verb-subject order. On first reference, for

example,

"Students really seem to appreciate the faster

search returns and the new look, said Susan

Taylor, director of library services.

But on second reference,

"Students really seem to appreciate the faster

search returns and the new look, Taylor said.

When quotes exceed a single sentence in length,attributions should be placed at the end of the first

sentence:

Last year, I felt like I was trying to use a system

that was way outdated, said Riley Miller, sr., Rocky

Ford, Colo. This looks and feels like the best

search engines on the Web.


9/11

buildings In the first reference, use the campus

building's full name. (Exception: Center for Sport

and Physical Education, which may be referred to

as the Sport Centeron first reference.)

On second reference, Hallmay be properly dropped

from a name, or a building may be referred to

generically, for example, the union or SU, the

gazebo, the stadium. The correct first references and

spellings of campus buildings are

Beeghly Hall

Bittinger Hall

Brown Auditorium

Dotzour Hall

Heaston Gazebo

Hess Fine Arts Center

Hoffman Student Union

McPherson Stadium

Melhorn Science Hall

Metzler HallMiller Library

Mingenback Mall

Mingenback Theatre

Mohler Hall

Morrison Hall

Sport Center

Templeton Hall

Coach / coach Coach is frequently used in sports

stories as a courtesy title before the names of

persons who direct athletic teams. In such cases it

is capitalized: Coach Joe Betasso, Coach

Swartzendruber, Coach Rolfs.

Do not capitalize coach when it is modified in any

way or set off from a name by commas: defensive

coach Mike Silva; the coach, Cy Rolfs, was

charged with a technical foul.

In stories not on the sports pages, college

personnel who are coaches should be referred by

their academic titles. See the entry identification,

faculty & staff.

college When referring to McPherson College

generically, use the college with lowercase "c."

commas Omit the comma before and or or in aseries. For example,

The Spectator lab includes eight computer stations,

two scanners and a large-format printer.

Use commas around years only a month and date

are given, for example, on Feb. 12, 2005, SGA;

but, in February 1955, SGA.

See the entry commas in the AP Stylebookfor

additional help.

course titles See titles, course

cutlines In general, write the first sentence of a

cutline in present tense. Write all other sentences in

the past tense.

If student subjects in a photograph are identified in

an accompanying story, class and hometown

identification is not needed. However, follow the

identification style for students outlined in the entry

identification, students if they are not identified

elsewhere.

days of the week [AP] Capitalize them. Do not

abbreviate, except in tabular format. See also time

elements.

full-time Hyphenate it.

headlines In general, news story headlines shouldcontain a verb. Use the present tense for headlines

about past events. Avoid splitting a phrase or idea

between lines on multiple line headlines. Feature

story heads (and some soft news stories packaged

in "display") need not necessarily contain verbs.

The Spectator's headline style is down; that is, all

words except the first word in the headline and

proper nouns begin with a lower case letter, not a

capital letter.

Homecoming / homecoming Capitalize it when

used in conjunction with a specific year, e.g.,

Homecoming 2011. Otherwise, use lowercase.

identification, faculty & staff On the first or second

reference to a faculty or staff member, identify them

by the job title listed in the annual academic catalog

or the online faculty/staff directory.

Ed Barr, assistant professor of technology, said

and

Tim Bruton, senior maintenance and safety

technician, said

On all references after fully identifying the faculty or

staff member, use the last name only. Do not insertcourtesy titles such as Dr., Prof., Ms., etc.

identification, students On the first or second

reference to a McPherson College student, identify

students by class and hometown. Abbreviate the

class. Abbreviate the state if appropriate (see

states entry). If the hometown is in Kansas, omit

the state unless it is necessary to avoid confusion.

For example,


10/11

John Johansen, sr., Pittsburg, Kan., claims . . .

but

Michelle Dalton, soph., Wichita, claims. . . .

Exception: Do not fully identify students in sports

stories. If it is important to identify the athlete, do so

in an appositive phrase, for example,

Jamie Sims, a sophomore from McPherson,

scored the first basket.

inclusive language Be sensitive at all times to

gender in language. Seek to be concise and

neutral. The greatest difficulties arise in matters of

personal pronoun agreement with singular,

indefinite antecedents, which have traditionally

taken the masculine singular pronoun. For

example,

Each person has to face his own destiny.

Possible solutions, in order of preference are:

1) Change the antecendent so that it can take a

plural, neuter pronoun:

All persons have to face their own destiny.

2) Rewrite the sentence to avoid the personal

pronoun altogether:

Each person must face the future; orEach person

must face destiny.

3) Alternate the use of the feminine pronoun with

the masculine pronoun to agree with the singular,

indefinite antecedent:

Each person has to face her own destiny.

4) Use he or she (orhis or her.)

Each person has to face his or her own destiny.

Interterm / interterm When used in conjunction with

a specific year, capitalize it: Interterm 2007.

Otherwise, use lowercase.

leads Strive to make the first three or four words in a

lead the most important words in the story. Avoid

using dates, and times at the beginning of leads.

Do not clutter leads with too many details. Forexample, identification of a student can wait for the

second reference.

McPherson College When referring to McPherson

College generically, use the college (lowercase

"c").

midterm Lowercase, no hyphen.

months [AP] Always spell months with five letters or

less. Abbreviate Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov.

and Dec. when used with a specific date. Spell out

every month when used alone or with a year alone.

When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do

not separate the year with commas.

newspaper name [AP] Do not place name in

quotes. Capitalize the in a newspapers name if that is

the way the publication prefers to be known.

numerals [AP] In general, spell out whole numbers

below 10, use figures or 10 and above. Thus,

Spell out a numerals at the beginning of a

sentence. If necessary, rewrite the sentence. There

is one exceptiona numeral that identifies a

calendar year.

AP style for the use of numbers is complicated. If in

doubt, check the numerals entry in the APStylebook.

President / president [AP] President is Michael

Schneider's formal title when it precedes his name

and is capitalized. Do not capitalize it, however,

when it follows his name. Thus

President Michael Schneider said . . .

but

Michael Schneider, president of McPherson

College, spoke about . . .

semesters When used in conjunction with a specific

year, capitalize fall and spring: Fall 2011, Spring

2012. Use lowercase when the reference is

generic: fall semester, spring semester. See also

interterm.

states [AP] The names of eight states are never

abbreviated: Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine,

Ohio, Texas and Utah.

Use the listed AP abbreviation in conjunction with

the name of a city or town. The exception is cities

or towns in Kansas that readers will not confuse

with a town or city in another state. Thus,

Kansas City, Kan., and Pittsburg, Kan.

However,

Hesston, Salina, Great Bend, etc.

Ala. Md. N.Y.

Ariz. Mass. Okla.

Ark. Mich. Ore.

Calif. Minn. Pa.

Colo. Miss. R.I.


11/11

Conn. Mo. S.C.

Del. Mont. S.D.

Fla. Neb. Tenn.

Ga. Nev. Vt.

Ill. N.C. Va.

Ind. N.D. Wash.

Kan. N.H. W.Va.Ky. N.J. Wis.

La. N.M. Wyo.

Place one comma between the city and the state

name, and another comma after the state name,

unless ending a sentence.

Student Government Association Spell it out in

first reference in story. The short form is acceptable

in headlines and on second reference.

terms, academic See the entries for semesters

and interterm.time elements The day a news event occurs usually

belongs in the lead, but notat the beginning. In

general, the best placement is as soon as possible

after subjects and simple verbs:

The Board of Trustees voted Thursday to begin

construction of a new dorm next fall.

For clarity and grace, however, the time element

should sometimes be moved back (note that the

second time element above follows the object) or

preceded by on:

The Board of Trustees postponed on Thursdaycollege plans to begin construction of a new dorm

next year.

In verb forms with auxiliary verbs, the time element

usually works best between the auxiliary and the

main verb:

The time element should sometimes be moved

back or preceded byon.

Never use both the day and the date. For events

less than one week in the past or the future, use

the day. Do not write yesterdayortomorrow, orlast

Mondayornext Monday. The tense of the verb willconvey past or future. For events more than one

week in the past or future, use the date.

times [AP] Use figures except for noon and midnight.

Use the abbreviations a.m. andp.m. and a colon to

separate hours from minutes: 11 a.m., 1 p.m., 3:30

p.m. Do not use constructions with o'clock.

Be careful to avoid redundancy in time

expressions. For example, 7 p.m. Thursday, not 7

p.m. Thursday evening.

titles, academic See the entry identification,

faculty & staff

titles, books and compositions [AP] Usequotation marks to indicate book titles, movie titles,

play titles, poem titles, song titles, television

program titles, and titles of lectures, speeches and

works of art.

Capitalize the principal words, including

prepositions and conjunctions of four or more

letters.

Exception: Do not use quotation marks around the

word Bible or the titles of books that are primarily

reference works. SeeAP Stylebookfor examples.

titles, course Capitalize (without quotation marks)course titles only when they are used as proper

nouns and match the course titles listed in the

academic catalog or line schedule; for example,

He enrolled in CM315A Journalism Practicum:

Reporting.

or

More freshmen enroll in Principles of Biology than

College Biology I.

Courses or disciplines referenced generically are

not capitalized:

Allan Ayella, professor of biology, teaches nutrition

and zoology.

tomorrow, yesterday Do not use these time

elements. Use the appropriate day of the week.

Given our Friday publication, that means Saturday

orThursday. See also the entry time elements.

Partially revised 19 September 2011

Spec Style Sheet 2011

Documents

Transcript of Spec Style Sheet 2011