Christian Messenger Style Sheet
In an effort to have complete information in good form
for inclusion on our website and in the New Christian Messenger, here
are some points to consider when submitting news.
- Write the article as a news article, not a memo
or a report. This means beginning with a proper headline. Headlines
should be complete thoughts with a subject and verb so the reader
gets the point of the article immediately. We prefer headlines to be
upper and lower case with all words beginning with capital letters.
- Check your article for completeness. Use the
newspaper writer’s cardinal rule: include who, what, where, when,
why and how facts in your article.
- As Sgt. Friday used to say, “Just the facts, ma’m.”
Do not give your opinion of events in the article. “It was a good
meeting” is not a factual statement.
- Dates should be in standard format – October 8,
2007 rather than 10/08/07.
- When mentioning a meeting, tell us when the
meeting will take place including the time and where the event is
being held.
- When you include a web site address, be sure to
turn off hyperlinks in your document. These special fonts don’t
transfer well to editing software.
- A standard font such as Times New Roman or Arial
is much better than a fancy font such as Verdana or script.
- Check out your facts with other articles on your
event. Does your article square with other public information
already in print?
- News articles should not promote your church’s
financial campaigns or commercial ventures. Commercial advertising
pieces will not be accepted for publication.
- When including photos with your article, try to
take the picture in a high resolution format. Set your camera for
the highest resolution possible. Some older cameras take photos that
are 72 dpi. These photos are fine for web work but do not print
well. For publication in the New Christian Messenger, we need photos
that are at least 200 dpi. (Check by right clicking on your photo
and choosing properties, then summary.)
Rev. Bill Thompson, Co-Editor
The New Christian Messenger |
