Reportage style guide
The Reportage style guidelines are basic and are generally applied. Most newspapers and publishing organisations produce a style guide for writers and sub-editors to save themselves from the traps of inconsistency. These guides can differ from organisation to organisation and will change over time. Media organisations adapt their style guides to changes in language usage and readers and audiences. Even quite minor differences in language and syntax can affect meaning. We have also included other recommendations on structuring stories.
Before submitting your story, check it against these guidelines.
CONTENTS
Quotes
Tenses
Honorifics
Headlines and intros
Verification and attribution
Race, nationality, ethnic origin
Numbers
Names and locations
Abbreviations, contractions, acronyms
Jargon
Tautology
Captions
Extras
Any quotes used must be a precise word for word reproduction of statement or comment made by an individual or excerpt from a document.
It cannot be altered and still remain a quotation. If you make a change to the material in direct speech you must take the material out of quotation marks and paraphrase into reported speech.
If you cut material from a quotation you must show that it has been cut by using an ellipsis, three full points with a space between, as follows ( . . . ). It is advisable to use an ellipsis only once in a quotation.
Said or says should be used for quotes, for example – “Journalism students are the future”, said Mr Smith. Verbs such as conceded, admitted, emphasised, pointed out, claimed, affirmed, stressed, maintained, suggested and others, which imply a judgment of the speaker should be avoided.
Do not mix them in a sentence. You can use use present tense/active voice in leads ie. introductions. The present tense is preferred for spoken word on radio, TV and online news, which is expected to be read immediately.
Even in copy for broadcast do not labour the present tense. To write “the prime minister expelled the ambassador last night” sounds natural and is correct. To attempt false immediacy by writing “the prime minister has expelled the ambassador last night” is neither.
Past tense is usually used for reported speech in news copy in print articles because it indicates the situation at the time of writing. Many things can change between then and publication in a newspaper. However, present tense in print publication features is acceptable.
Time is implied in directly quoted speech.
Features: Present tense
News: Past tense
Reportage uses only Mr, Ms, Professor, etc. on first mention, then drops the honorific thereafter.
The introduction may be the one chance a reporter has to grab the attention of most readers. Sub-editors often have to role of writing or re-working the headline and intro, while a reporter’s job is to make sure readers will want to read on. There are exceptions to every rule headlines should be short, snappy and attention grabbing. Good news intros will be short, simple sentences using active voice and capture the heart of the story.
No story should be written from a news release without fact checking. Contacting primary sources should always be a priority over lifting/writing copy from other publications. If you do need to use a quote or material from another publication or a recorded interview always source the material.
eg. Mr Jones was speaking on the ABC’s Lateline program.
RACE, NATIONALITY, ETHNIC ORIGIN
Mention race, nationality or ethnic origin only if strictly relevant. It is usually not needed in the intro or even the first few paragraphs. Ask yourself if you would write that a person was Australian or Anglo-Celtic or Caucasian in the same context. Terms of racial abuse must never be used unless they are essential to a story, as might happen if they were integral to evidence in a court case.
NUMBERS
- Dates: Month first then numeral – March 15, December 5.
- Numerals: Spell out numbers under 10, use figures after 10.
- Ages: Always use figures – John Smith, 2, Mary Smith, 23. When written fully, John was three years old, The 3-year-old toddler.
- Time: Express time in the simplest form possible: today, tomorrow, next week.Remember that Sunday is the first day of the week.
- Do not use 12am or 12pm, use midday/ midnight. Note: 11.30pm (full point separating hours and minutes, am or pm close up). Do not use 10am this morning. It’s tautology – write 10am today/yesterday/Tuesday last week. Use o’clock only in quotes, titles or light-hearted pieces.
- Distance: spell out kilometres, metres and centimetres. In lists, however, you can use the abbreviations such as km, m, cm.
- Quantities: same rule as above applies, spell out litres and millilitres in isolated references but abbreviate for a group of such quantities.
- Use per cent rather than % or percentage
Check names and locations carefully. Wrong names and locations damage credibility because many people recognise the error and question the whole story. Hint: when recording audio or video, get the talent to spell out their name and say their job title so that you have it on file.
ABBREVIATIONS, CONTRACTIONS, ACRONYMNS
Shortening complex names and ideas is part of the job of a journalist, but avoid short forms that are not quickly and easily understood. Do not use full points with contractions except where the contraction forms another word that may confuse a reader.
Use initials such as ACTU that are well established, but do not clutter copy with bunches of capital letters all in one go. Do not use abbreviations that are irrelevant to the wider community.
Some contractions, like ALP, USA , ABC, AIDS, CSIRO, NATO, NSW, RAAF, RSL, TAB, are part of everyday language but generally the first reference to an organisation should be written in full, followed immediately by the abbreviation
