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| Martial News Tutorial One | Conditions of Submission |
| WRITING
a story is easy if you follow our online guide. The first thing to know are the five Ws. * Who * What * When * Where * Why All news stories must have these five Ws in their copy to be a complete article. They should be included in the first three opening paragraphs (see below). THE Kigai-Bushi Karate Club (Who) have won a host of medals (What) at the North East Karate Championships (where) for the second year running. Held at Sunderland Leisure Centre (also Where) on Sunday, Nov 15th (When), the competition saw fighters from around the region compete in the open contest. The team, which train at Alnwick, Northumberland, outclassed and out-fought (Why) their opposition to snatch the coveted Champions of the North Team Trophy. Next comes a quote. This is to add human interest. It is also used to break up text so its easier to read. When opening quotes in news articles you always put who is speaking at the start. Notice that you use a COLON not a COMMA (: not ,) Sensei Phil Doherty said: "Not only did we bring 20-odd medals back to the club, we managed to retain the Trophy for the second year running. "This was down to all those dedicated hours of practice the team put in over the last six months. All that sweat and and hard work paid off. "The opposition were good and put up some excellent displays of martial skill, but they were outclassed by our very experienced fighters." Next comes the detail of the story. This is where you explain to the readers more detailed facts. This adds depth to the article. This can run on for between two and five paragraphs. In the first round Kigai-Bushi faced a determined squad from the United Taekwondo Association but overcame them with good punch, sweep and kick combinations. After dispatching the spirited Billington Shotokan Club in the second round with experienced ease, they yet again faced last year's runners up the feared Oldcastle Thai Boxing Club. Then comes the final quotes. It's best to finish on a bang so save the best of the end quotes for the very finish of the article. The end quotes should be stylised as below using the word added rather than said. Phil added: "The Cobras are always a team to worry about as they have a lot of fighting experience and are also great technicians as well. "Although it was a very close fight our team were determined to lift the trophy one more. It was that determination that saw them crowned as true champions." THE MAIN NEWS OF A STORY The main news usually jumps straight out. In the example above the main news (the angle) is that the Kigai Bushi Karate Club won the competition for the second year running. But some times there can be more than one angle. News is a bit subjective, so, what might be the main news point to you might not be the same to some one else. If you find yourself with two angles to pick from then choose the one YOU feel makes the story work best. You want to hook your readers in by giving them something that catches their eye and engages their interest. Ask yourself what would hook you? INTROS: The opening paragraph of a news story is called the Intro. This is brief summary of the story. The intro should includes all or most of the Five Ws. You have to entice the readers in. To do this keep Intros to 30 words or less. The second and third paragraphs should roughly be the same length and should include any other of the Five Ws not all used in the Intro. PARAGRAPHS AND SENTENCES: If you look at the above example story you will see that paragraphs and sentences are one and the same! In Journalism each sentence IS a paragraph. This is to make the story as easy to read as possible. So, when you write your article instead of having to worry if you have all the sentences in the correct paragraph (all related sentences in formal writing should be grouped together in a single paragraph) simply write in single sentences and press return. STYLE: Martial News has a simple house style of writing. You should write all articles with verdana font, in 12 point and with NO SPACES between paragraphs. This is to make it as easy as possible for us to get your story into the newspaper. We will put in the correct spacing when we place it on a page. If it has spaces in between sentences when it is sent to us we might NOT be able to use it because of computer and software differences between your system and ours. |
ARTICLES
All submitted stories become the copyright property of DFM Martial News, which is part of a company called DFM Self-protection Ltd. We give you as a contributor right to use our material as guides for Martial News. We work closely with ncjMedia, the publishers of the Sunday Sun, Evening Chronicle, The Journal and Evening Gazette and many other titles. This means your stories could also appear in these titles as well, boosting your club's or association's profile to a much wider audience. Material that contains libellous, racist, homophobic or sexist material, or which breaches any other law will not be published in Martial News. Nor will we allow any martial arts politics in the newspaper. PHOTOGRAPHS
Articles submitted must not breach any other copyrighted material. Submitted
photographs remain the property of the person who took the
pictures and the commissioner rights are not affected.
If you submit a photograph taken by a third party then its your responsibility to make sure the copyright holder and commissioner is happy with it being used by Martial News. By submitting a photograph to Martial News you are also agreeing to those pictures being used in other publications run by ncjMedia such as the Sunday Sun, Evening Chronicle and Evening Gazette. Photographs should be sent in a j-peg format. This makes them easier to manipulate (make bigger/smaller) so they fit their allotted space. Also - pictures TAKEN from websites are too small (usually around 75dpi) and for setting out reasons its better that they are over 150dpi. Always catchline photos the same as any submitted story so we can match them up. (see photo tutorial) VIDEOS
We welcome video submissions.As with photographs, you must have permission of the copyright holder before it is sent to us. All video files should be m-pegs and be of good visual and audio quality. Videos should be short - under ten minutes - and come with titles (What it is, who it is...). Videos that contain libellous, racist, homophobic or sexist material, or which breaches any other law will not be published in Martial News. We welcome all types of videos including training techniques and tips, events including charity bashes, competitions, seminars, funnies and quirkies. But they must NOT be political, derogatory or hold up anyone or group to ridicule (Libel). Martial News is for every martial artists and group - absolutely no politics! |