How to get your stuff in the paper
How do I get my item into the newspaper?
If you’ve ever asked that question or think you might down the road, please read this. Even if you don’t, there is some useful information here to make your reading experience a little more user-friendly.
Ever since I arrived here in December, it has been my goal to make this newspaper more useful and appealing to our readers. I have always believed that a newspaper belongs to the people of the community. The paper should reflect the community. It should be easily accessible to the readership.
I try to make it as easy as possible for people to get their information into the newspaper. I just wish people would make it easier for me to help them accomplish that goal. I get bombarded with hundreds of press releases (an advertisements masquerading as press releases) each week. About 99 percent of those are for events in Houston and beyond and won’t see the light of day in our paper (unless they want to buy an ad).
I barely have enough room each week to run a calendar listing of events that are local to Waller County. I will vigorously defend putting local events in the paper before I’ll consider events well outside our coverage area. There are a lot of things happening here, which brings me back to my point.
People unknowingly make it real hard for me to get their information compiled into the “What’s Happening” calendar. They send all kinds of cute, creative, attention-getting notices that are really difficult to work into a simple paragraph of text. So here it is – my simple suggestions to help you get your information into the paper.
First, if at all possible, use e-mail. Letters and faxes have to be typed, and that takes valuable time. Please do not call and expect me to take it over the phone. I don’t always have the time to stop what I’m doing to do that.
Second, if you e-mail, please write your information out in the body of the e-mail. Opening attachments takes extra time (boy, am I lazy or what). If you do send an attachment, please make sure it is in Microsoft Word or some other common writing program. Please do not send PDFs or JPEGs of your information.
If you are sending a picture, please attach it to the e-mail as a JPEG. Do not embed it into a Word document or put it into a PDF. I can’t extract it in a big enough file to use in print.
When you do e-mail your information, please write it out in plain, simple text. Using headline-sized fonts, centered, in bright colors and in all caps may look good on your flyer, but it is a headache to convert to the tiny, 10-point type we put in the paper.
As for the content, keep it simple. Yes, I know and understand that you want to put every last detail about your event into the paper. That’s what ads are for. As far as the calendar listings go, the best I can offer you is the basic who, what, when and where. For example, The Charitable Organization will hold a Fundraiser from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call/e-mail John Doe at …
Other items
Not everything that is submitted is meant for the calendar. I encourage people to write letters to the editor. That’s a great way to express your views on the issues of the day.
If you hold an event that I cannot cover (which, being an editorial department of one means most of them), I welcome you to submit your own write-up and photos for publication. I will run just as many as I can.
We were recently successful in getting our parent company to drop the charges of local obituaries, so we will run those again at no cost. (There is a charge for out of town obituaries.) I do request that the obituaries be submitted by the funeral homes if at all possible. That way the families have approved what is submitted and I don’t get caught in a family squabble about what should or should not be in the obit.
We still charge for wedding and engagements and those are submitted on our Website at www.wallerconewscitizen.com. Just click on the Celebrations button for all the directions. We will still do birthday ads and cards of thanks in house. Buckie Wimberly will be glad to assist you with that.
So there you have it, just a few simple suggestions that will make it much easier for you to get your information into the paper. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail me at jsouthern@hcnonline.com.
If you’ve ever asked that question or think you might down the road, please read this. Even if you don’t, there is some useful information here to make your reading experience a little more user-friendly.
Ever since I arrived here in December, it has been my goal to make this newspaper more useful and appealing to our readers. I have always believed that a newspaper belongs to the people of the community. The paper should reflect the community. It should be easily accessible to the readership.
I try to make it as easy as possible for people to get their information into the newspaper. I just wish people would make it easier for me to help them accomplish that goal. I get bombarded with hundreds of press releases (an advertisements masquerading as press releases) each week. About 99 percent of those are for events in Houston and beyond and won’t see the light of day in our paper (unless they want to buy an ad).
I barely have enough room each week to run a calendar listing of events that are local to Waller County. I will vigorously defend putting local events in the paper before I’ll consider events well outside our coverage area. There are a lot of things happening here, which brings me back to my point.
People unknowingly make it real hard for me to get their information compiled into the “What’s Happening” calendar. They send all kinds of cute, creative, attention-getting notices that are really difficult to work into a simple paragraph of text. So here it is – my simple suggestions to help you get your information into the paper.
First, if at all possible, use e-mail. Letters and faxes have to be typed, and that takes valuable time. Please do not call and expect me to take it over the phone. I don’t always have the time to stop what I’m doing to do that.
Second, if you e-mail, please write your information out in the body of the e-mail. Opening attachments takes extra time (boy, am I lazy or what). If you do send an attachment, please make sure it is in Microsoft Word or some other common writing program. Please do not send PDFs or JPEGs of your information.
If you are sending a picture, please attach it to the e-mail as a JPEG. Do not embed it into a Word document or put it into a PDF. I can’t extract it in a big enough file to use in print.
When you do e-mail your information, please write it out in plain, simple text. Using headline-sized fonts, centered, in bright colors and in all caps may look good on your flyer, but it is a headache to convert to the tiny, 10-point type we put in the paper.
As for the content, keep it simple. Yes, I know and understand that you want to put every last detail about your event into the paper. That’s what ads are for. As far as the calendar listings go, the best I can offer you is the basic who, what, when and where. For example, The Charitable Organization will hold a Fundraiser from noon to 5 p.m. on Saturday. For more information, call/e-mail John Doe at …
Other items
Not everything that is submitted is meant for the calendar. I encourage people to write letters to the editor. That’s a great way to express your views on the issues of the day.
If you hold an event that I cannot cover (which, being an editorial department of one means most of them), I welcome you to submit your own write-up and photos for publication. I will run just as many as I can.
We were recently successful in getting our parent company to drop the charges of local obituaries, so we will run those again at no cost. (There is a charge for out of town obituaries.) I do request that the obituaries be submitted by the funeral homes if at all possible. That way the families have approved what is submitted and I don’t get caught in a family squabble about what should or should not be in the obit.
We still charge for wedding and engagements and those are submitted on our Website at www.wallerconewscitizen.com. Just click on the Celebrations button for all the directions. We will still do birthday ads and cards of thanks in house. Buckie Wimberly will be glad to assist you with that.
So there you have it, just a few simple suggestions that will make it much easier for you to get your information into the paper. If you have any questions, please feel free to call or e-mail me at jsouthern@hcnonline.com.
posted by Joe Southern | 3:19 PM
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