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| Our Philosophy: How to Use This Book | |
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| Think Like an Editor | |
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| An Editor's Credo | |
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| Design a mission statement that defines you | |
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| Managing the Story | |
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| 10 Steps to a Better Story: How to Work with Reporters on a Focused Plan before They Report | |
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| Plot an effective and reasonable approach to stories of all kinds | |
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| Manage the Editor: Coach Reporters to Coach You for Better Story Results | |
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| Build your reputation as a "willing partner" | |
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| Social Media: It's Integral for Your Audience to Be Interactive and Involved | |
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| Keep track of these three I's at the start of story planning | |
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| News Judgment: How to Decide What's Important | |
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| Assess things, and make wise choices | |
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| Curiosity: How to Nurture This Trait and be the "Idea Person" | |
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| Ask yourself: What am I curious about? | |
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| Analyzing the Story | |
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| See the Big Picture: How to Answer, "What's the Story?" | |
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| Grasp the essence of the story through conversation | |
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10 Questions in
10. Minutes: How to Keep the Story Talk Going | |
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| Don't get stuck… get inspired | |
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| Structure: How to Ensure an Organized Story | |
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| Structure: Opening Paragraphs | |
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| Start fast-and start right | |
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| Structure: Lead | |
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| Be efficient, quick and to the point | |
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| Structure: Quotes | |
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| Let sources speak for themselves | |
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| Structure: Nut Graph | |
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| Ask the key questions to unlock story meaning | |
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| Structure: Cosmic Graph | |
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| Think big, and expand story horizons | |
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| Give Credit: How to Ensure Proper Attribution, Sourcing and Substantiation | |
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| Acknowledge others' contributions to your own work | |
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| Show, Don't Tell: How to Include Anecdotes, Examples and Details | |
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| Employ powerful techniques to energize storytelling | |
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| Context: How to Provide Background and Relevance | |
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| Help readers understand what's important and why | |
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| Closer Look: How to Tell Where the Story Works and Where It Needs Work | |
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| Get a quick sense of what you have and what you need | |
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| Assessing the Story | |
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| Skeptical Editing: Ask Key Questions Graph by Graph | |
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| Ensure a complete, honest and insightful story | |
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| Competing Digital Interests: How to Keep Readers with You | |
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| Don't lose your own momentum, and others won't lose theirs | |
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| Sensitivity: Sexual Orientation/Gender/Race/Religion/Disabilities/Age | |
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| Understand and celebrate differences | |
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Holding a Story:
10. Warning Signs That a Story Should Not Run | |
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| Know when to take extra time if the story needs more work | |
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Saving a Story:
10. Things You Can Do to Make a Story Work | |
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| Know what to do when you want to-or need to-publish | |
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| Work Like an Editor | |
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| Editing the Story | |
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| Treat Editing Like a Mystery: How to Approach a Story | |
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| Follow a logical and step-by-step process | |
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| Edit for AP Style: Strive for Consistency | |
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| Remember the rules, and edit with discipline | |
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| Edit for Grammar: Make Decisions with Confidence | |
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| Avoid everyday mistakes that hurt your image | |
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| Edit for Spelling: Know Words by Sight | |
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| Read every word, and pronounce every syllable | |
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| Edit for Punctuation: How to Focus on Every Rule | |
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| Understand the functions, and use them correctly | |
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| Edit for Accuracy: Visualize as You Read | |
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| Check everything, and check again | |
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| Edit for Fairness: Rely on Your Conscience | |
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| Consider readers' many perspectives | |
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Edit for Balance: Practice
4. Key Ways | |
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| Realize what it is and how to assess it | |
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| Edit for Libel: How to Avoid Careless Mistakes | |
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| Learn the warning signs that could lead to legal trouble | |
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| Tight Writing: How to Keep It Simple | |
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| Strive to uncomplicate the message | |
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Trim a Story: How to Identify
10. Places to Cut | |
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| Work delicately, and leave no trace | |
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| Transitions: How to Change Subjects and Speakers | |
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| Lead readers through the story | |
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| Lively Language: Choose Strong Verbs and Avoid Clich�s | |
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| Select words that make the story move | |
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| Understanding Special Demands on the Story | |
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| Handling Multiple Platforms and Tools: How to Consider Your Options, Smartly | |
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| Make the right decision for the right reason | |
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Digital Deadlines:
10. Tips | |
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| 24-hour news cycle never stops-and neither will you | |
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Web Elements:
5. Cautions | |
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| Mine the Web, but proceed with care | |
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| Ethics: Consider Stakeholders, Audience, Peers, Yourself | |
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| How to work your way to a responsible decision | |
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Taste:
10. Hot Buttons | |
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| How to decide what offends | |
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| Presenting and Selling the Story | |
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| Headlines, Keywords and Metadata: How to Write Them for Multiple Platforms | |
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| Grab attention for your content, and help readers find it | |
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| Points of Entry and Points of Involvement: Create Them with Purpose | |
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| Choose ways to get readers interested and engaged | |
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| Data Visualization: Make Key Decisions Early to Show Information Clearly | |
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| Tell the who, what, when, where, why and how with strong visuals | |
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| Photos: How to Choose and Present Them | |
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| Convey visual content and emotion | |
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| Promos and Refers: How to Get Attention for Your Content | |
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| Write with power and clarity, and be direct | |
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| Act Like an Editor | |
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| Using Authority Responsibly | |
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| Corrections: Own Up to Mistakes | |
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| Earn your readers' trust and respect | |
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| Credibility: Put Yourself above Reproach | |
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| Understand and avoid pitfalls while branding "you" | |
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| Plagiarism and Fabrication: What Editors Can Do | |
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| Be vigilant, and protect careers and reputations | |
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| Deadline Pressure: How to Get Along in the Newsroom | |
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| Set an example by acting like a professional | |
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| Keep Asking Questions: Release Your Creativity | |
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| Stay sharp through self-reflection | |
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| References | |
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| Index | |
