Editorial Edge: 3 Tips for Writing Better
And as ubiquitous as autocorrect is, writing is not a skill you can do without and it can always be strengthened. Here are 3 tips to instantly improve your writing.
editing
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Complicated Topics, No Jargon
When messaging must reach people who are not immersed in industry jargon, using it just creates confusion. So how do you translate a tough topic to a broad readership? Here are 3 good ways.
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3 Ways to Beat Deadline Dread
Deadlines often bring difficultly. These 3 easy steps of proper planning can help save your sanity.
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Know Your Audience
The Great Hamburger vs. Hotdog Paper-Folding Debate of 2012. Are your references relevant?
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It’s How You Say It
Are you typing in the written equivalent of, “thank you for calling” when you respond to a complaint or compliment?
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Social Media: I Don’t Like Your Tone!
In the mad rush to get something, anything, out onto a social media platform (or two, or three), the content can take a backseat to the process.
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Simple Writing is Smart
Writers often choose big words — utilize rather than use, or regarding instead of about — in an attempt to sound more important, more intelligent. You’re smarter than that, right?
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Getting Website Visitors: It’s About Value, Not Glitter
You can have the snazziest, coolest-looking site on the web, but if you ignore it after the launch dust settles, you’re missing a huge opportunity to capitalize on your investment.
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Display Copy Tricks & Tips
That sigh of relief when an article is done can easily morph into a case of writer’s block when it’s time to come up with a headline. So a lot of people just throw something together, forgetting to put the same care and effort into headlines, subheads and pull quotes that they do when crafting a story. But readers use those elements to decide whether they will actually take the time to read the full story.
So how do you fashion a headline and subhead that draws the reader in? How do you pull out ideas or quotes from an article that make the person skimming through pages stop and read every word?
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The Making of a Great Article
The basics of storytelling don’t change much, no matter what you’re writing. Granted, celebrities may be more fun to write […]
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No Offense
Don't we all know better now? The best trained journalists in newspaper and television are in the midst of examining whether their coverage of Hillary Clinton was sexist. Fox News apologized for a headline about Michelle Obama that they probably thought was clever, but was, in fact, a slur. Entire websites are devoted to pointing out examples of stories or quotes in the mainstream press that show prejudice, intolerance or reinforce stereotypes. This happens at large media companies, so it can certainly happen at small, non-media companies. Nobody deliberately injects bias in a company publication or website, but it can slip in unintentionally and hurt or anger readers.
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All Is Not Fair
Brush up on copyright law to avoid conflict
In June, a little-known blog got an unsettling letter from the Associated Press, the country's foremost news wire service. The AP, whose stories are printed in newspapers nationwide, ordered the blog to remove all posts that quoted its stories — and indicated that more sites might receive such notices. The story set the blogosphere buzzing, and within hours, the AP had softened its attack, but the surrounding issues linger. As a recent article in Business Week notes, media organizations are increasingly employing content recognition software to crawl the Web round-the-clock looking for improper use of their copyrighted content. And as the AP incident illustrates, these days you don't have to be one of the most heavily trafficked sites to get caught using something without permission.