THE DAYTIME

“Setting the standard for American middle school journalism”

Manual of style

Mission statement: Members of THE DAYTIME staff have at once an opportunity and a responsibility. On the one hand, our official student publication has been given a monopoly to report the news of Frank Ashley Day Middle School to the wider community. On the other hand, making sure that such reporting is accurate, fair, clear, and interesting is an awesome responsibility.

DAYTIME journalists are expected to learn how to do their jobs to the best of their ability and to adhere to the precepts of our 5 adjudicating bodies: the New England Scholastic Press Association, the Columbia Scholastic Press Association, EDPRESS, the Journalism Education Association, and the International Quill and Scroll Society. Remember: if in doubt, check it out!

 

Table of Contents
I. Researching a story II. Preparing to file a story III. Filing a story IV. Elements of style	V. Conducting an interview VI. Visual accompaniments to stories VII. Having your text edited VIII. Editorial safeguards

 

I. Researching a story

1. All facts in THE DAYTIME must be correct. To achieve this end, you     must cite your sources (and keep a copy of your source for future reference). If you’re quoting someone, that quotation must have been verified by the speaker. That is, after your story is written, but before it is published, you must check with your subject to determine that the words you have written are, indeed, the words that person has spoken. No unattributed quotations will be published in the paper, unless by Editorial permission. Also, in general, all stories in THE DAYTIME, no matter how brief, must contain a quotation. You may not quote a member of THE DAYTIME staff, unless by Editorial permission.

If you are citing a written source (e. g. Encyclopedia, Internet, et al.), you must mention the exact source within the body of your story, so that a reader could go to those sources him/herself. But be brief. Remember: you are not writing a footnoted research paper.

In short, you must be prepared to defend the facts about which you write. If your story becomes controversial, it will be important for editors to know that your facts are correct and that your sources are in order in case it becomes necessary to defend the paper’s position.

II. Preparing to file a story

1. All stories must be filed on THE DAYTIME fileserver (accessed in Room 204). Stories must be filed by month, and by topic:
• news
• news briefs
• center spread
• features
• editorials
• sports
• arts
• beats
• clubs
• technology
• team notes
• miscellany

III. Filing a story

1. Stories must be typed in 12-point Bookman Old Style. This will make it easier for editors to proofread. Stories will be laid out in 9-point Bookman Old Style. Type everything flush left.
   
2. Suggest a headline, but understand that editors will determine the final headline. The only items in a headline which are capitalized are the first word and any proper names. Headlines should always contain an active verb, and should occupy no more than 2 lines above the story.
   
3. The by-line is as follows:
• do not indent
• the “b” in the word “by” is lower case
• there is no colon after the word “by”
• reporters names are listed alphabetically by last name
• only 2 names are permitted in the by-line, unless by Editorial permission more names are allowed. Extra names should be listed at the end of the article, e. g. [Also assisting in the preparation of this article were XX].
  
4. Spacing:
   • between the headline and the by-line, 1 space
   • between the by-line and the first sentence, 1 space
   • indent 1 tab for the 1st sentence of each paragraph
   • between paragraphs, no space
   • do not double space at the end of each sentence.
     
5. Typing:
   • except for required indentations, mentioned above, type everything flush left, do not justify
   • do not create margins, or columns, as this delays layout

IV. Elements of style

1. Referencing names in THE DAYTIME: give a subject’s complete name, and title if appropriate, in the first instance, but use only the subject’s last name in every subsequent reference; e. g.

    “Gina Healy, Principal of F. A. Day, released the school’s MCAS results yesterday. When questioned, Healy acknowledged that scores had slipped in 2 areas, but pointed out that scores had risen in 2 other areas.”

• Note: when referencing the name of paper, use all cap’s. and boldface: THE DAYTIME.

1. Numbers: as often as possible, try to use actual numbers in stories, e. g.
   • 7th grade, not seventh grade
   • 22 students, not twenty-two students
   • 2 days after school, not two days after school


2. Time: use no spaces, no periods; use numbers and cap’s, eliminate zeros from the hour, e. g.
   • 3PM
   • 10AM
   • 2:10PM
   • 7:30AM


3. Dates: state dates in articles thusly, March the 4th, June the 10th. The presumption is that those dates are in the current year, unless otherwise stated (e. g. July 7, 1999 ). Try to precede the date with the day of the week on which the date occurred. In most cases, it is poor form to begin a story with a date.

Instead of... On Sunday, September the 16th, scores of  Day students joined hundreds of their fellow townsmen in a solidarity vigil to protest violence at Newton City Hall ...

Try... In an eloquent protest against violence, scores of  Day students joined hundreds of their fellow townsmen in a solidarity vigil on Sunday, September the 16th at Newton City Hall .

1. Capitalize only proper names. Use capital letters sparingly. Names of subjects are not capitalized, except for names of languages, e. g.
   
   • The typical 7th grader studies math, science, English, social studies, French, an arts rotation, and phys. ed.
               

   Do capitalize the names of teams: Green Team, Silver Team, et al. They are the names of specific teams and should be capitalized. The “T” in Team is always capitalized.

2. Point of view. All factual news stories are told from the point of view of the 3rd person, i. e. you’re always talking about “them”, e. g.
   
   • Orange Team students began to consider the mechanics of storm systems as they listened to Windy Isobar, a meteorologist from WBZ-TV on September 19th. Students indicated their interest by asking some probing questions. For example, student Alice Jones asked how she could  protect herself against earthquakes, to which Isobar responded, “You can’t!”.

   The 1st person, plural personal pronoun “we” is used only in Editorials, and only by the Co-Editors-in-Chief.

   The 1st person, singular pronoun “I” is almost never used, but if it were, it would almost certainly be in an opinion column, or in a special feature, such as a cooking column, or a how-to-do-it column in which you are sharing your personal experience.

   The 2nd person, “you”, is seldom used in a story, and, then, only with Editorial permission.                               

3. Abbreviations: don’t ever take for granted that your readership will understand that for which an abbreviation stands: you must define it for them. For example, if you reference MCAS in your article, you must at the first instance write out the entire name: Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System (MCAS), followed by the initials (in parentheses). Thereafter, you may refer to MCAS, and your readers will surely understand.

 

V. Conducting an interview

Occasionally, we all have access to a famous person and our readers like to read about famous people...to identify with them, to find out why they are famous, to discover areas of agreement/disagreement...for many different reasons.

Before the interview, equip yourself with:

• a notebook and pen/pencil;
• a tape recorder (you may use only with subject’s advance knowledge and consent);
• a camera or DAYTIME photographer
• Set up questions in advance and in order of importance (in case interview is cut short). Develop questions which require thoughtful answers. Avoid questions which can be answered by single words.

Keep 3 things in mind when beginning an interview:

• Spell the person’s name correctly;
• Secure a phone number or address in case you have additional questions;
• Get a picture (if you can, THE DAYTIME signature shot is the subject holding a copy of the paper).

While you may go off in other directions, there are several basic questions to which you want answers.

• A job description...what does the subject do? Include a description of the subjects duties and obligations (e. g. under the terms of his/her contract, is a professional athlete obliged to practice a certain number of times per week? Is an actor actress obliged to rehearse a certain number of times per week?) How much time must the subject commit to his/her work? Are there any restrictions?
• What did the subject do to prepare him/herself for his/her career? College? Special training? Relentless practice?
• Ask the subject to relate high points/low points...best experience/worst experience...
• Ask the subject to give advice to a student at F. A. Day Middle School who wants to prepare him/herself for a career in the subject’s field.

 

When you enter the interview into the system, format as follows:

DAYTIME: Please describe what it is you do?

Smith: My fascination with collecting seashells began when...

VI. Visual accompaniments to stories

Here are 3 visual accompaniments from which you can choose in presenting your factual news story. You may choose 1, 2, or all 3 methods to reinforce, and add interest to, your written words. To access any, or all, of these services, you will need to work through the appropriate editors/directors. For example, if you want a photo to accompany your article, you will need to enter a photo order with the Photography Editor (best time to do this, or any other order, is before school any morning in Room 204).

1. POLLS : all polls are conducted through DAYTIME’s Bureau of Research and Statistics. The Director will help you frame your poll questions, will tell you how to conduct the poll, will tabulate the results for you, and will direct the Layout Department to express the poll results in graphic form to accompany your article.

In general, every DAYTIME poll must be asked of 100 Day students, which breaks down as follows: 1/3 each at the 6th, 7th, and 8th grade levels; 1/2 of which are girls, 1/2 boys.

2. PHOTOS : all photos must be scheduled through DAYTIME’s Photography Editor (the exception, of course, would be for an unexpected photo opportunity, e. g. you’re on vacation, step into an elevator with your camera, and in steps Matt LeBlanc. Naturally, you’d try to interview him and snap his picture. In such cases, turn the film over to the Photo Editor, who will pay to have your pictures developed, will scan the needed photos into the system, and will return the entire developed role to you...free.).

   Photo credits will be written with the name of the paper first and the photographer second, e. g. DAYTIME/Jones.

3. DRAWINGS : all drawings must be requested through DAYTIME’s Illustrations Editor. The exceptions would be for illustrations that you yourself supply.

In any event, every DAYTIME illustration must be signed by the artist in the lower right-hand corner.

 

VII. Having your text edited

1. Don’t take it personally! When you write a story it is hard to detach yourself from what you’ve written, look at it objectively, and make the necessary changes.
   
2. The purpose of editing is many fold:
• At its very basic level, editing allows us to catch mistakes in spelling (no: Spell Check is not 100% reliable!), punctuation, grammar, usage, et al.
• Editing allows us to repair awkward constructions and to delete unnecessary words.
• Editing allows us to re-arrange and/or re-state parts, or all, of stories in order to give them the punch and clarity  necessary to spark and maintain reader interest.
  
3. Apply the acid test to your story. When you’re finished writing your story, re-read it, and ask yourself this question: if I were a reader looking at this story for the first time, would I myself want to read it? Be honest with yourself. You know what you like to read. Would you actually want to read your own story?
   
4. Once you have written your story, begin to look for corrections. The editors will write comments at the end of your story...e. g. facts they want you to check, information they want you to supply, parts they want re-written, et al. You can tell that your story has been accepted when you begin to see initials at the end. First you’ll see the editor’s initials, then you’ll see the advisor’s initials. Finally, you’ll see the layout editor’s initials. These are signals that your article has been accepted and laid onto its appropriate page . Once that has happened, you cannot make further changes! If you must make a change, go directly to the layout editor!

VIII. Editorial safeguards

Editorial safeguards exist to assure the Administration that students are exercising their 1st Amendment rights in a responsible manner, while protecting students’ right to Free Speech. Massachusetts is one state which prohibits prior review by the Administration.

The ultimate Editorial safeguard is the Advisor. The Advisor enables students to publish their newspaper in a responsible manner. A good Advisor will ask many questions, freely challenge students’ positions, and offer advice, but the final cut, editorially, is the students’.

1. No text may be imported for layout unless it bears the stamp of:
   • either of the Co-editors-in-chief, and
   • the advisor (Note: once the Advisor has stamped an article, it may not be changed by anyone. The Advisor’s stamp is final and a signal to the Layout Department that the text will not be changed again, unless by the Advisor). This Editorial safeguard ensures that the wrong version of   a story will not be imported inadvertently by the Layout Department.
     
2. Once text has been imported, it must be re-stamped by the Layout Editor, in order to prevent further changes.
   
3. The paper may not be transmitted except in the presence of the Advisor, or his/her designee.


4. No one may have the codes for transmission except the Layout Editor and the Advisor.