- Contextualize the story.
- Avoid clichés: “state-of-the-art” or “world-class.”
- Avoid hyperbole, puffery.
- Pay special attention to key words for search engines if your work will be published on in electronic format.
- Quotes add colour, but should advance the story.
- Include direct URLs to websites.
- Always review copy and spell-check before hitting the “send” button.
- Shoot in Betacam format.
- A good image is new and in some way unusual; it shows action the instant it happens.
- Avoid empty spaces in news photos–the entire fram should contain useful information.
- The digital format of choice is an 8 x 10, 300 dpi JPEG.
* Source: Mark Hunter LaVigne, APR
- Get to the point early.
- Find an interesting angle.
- Make sure your story contains real news.
- Set the scene. Engage all five senses with your writing.
Writing in Canada
- Writers can expect to earn beween 75-cents and $1.50 a word (newspapers pay substantially less than magazines).
- Keep your story pitch short and concise. Put a detailed description in the “subject” line of your email. Grab the reader with the first sentence. Make sure it offers something new, interesting and fresh.
- Magazines work four to six months in advance–some, even a year ahead. So in June, you might be pitching a Christmas story.
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