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Renaissance East Midlands
Working with the media
www.show.me.uk
www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
This afternoon
Writing for the web: Other media - how do they write and publish? Thinking about your audience Is this really a story? The editorial process - content, style and 'voice' Layout and scan ability - Nielsen's guidelines Copyright issues Workflow - delegation, editing, sign off Accessibility - rules for clear English
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Other media types – how do they write and publish?
Professionally trained writers
Editorial layers
Sub-editors
Marketing and circulation depts.
Web optimisation efforts
Linking and RSS
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Think about your audience
Target readers are not experts in gallery or museum culture
Maybe students – KS1,2,3,4 or ‘lifelong learners – or you and me!
Not just one strand of users, not just one ability. Always think of a spectrum of users
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
Questioning: Is this really a story?
Is it right for your target groups?
Does that matter? If not why not?
Am I telling it at the right time?
Should I wait?
Can we tell the story now?
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
The editorial process - content, style and 'voice'
• Content – keep it simple• Style – use style guides if possible• Otherwise stick to plain, accessible
English• Make sure all writing is consistent in
terms of style, and always factually correct – it builds the brand
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
Copyright issues
Be correct at all timesCheck MDA website, Museums copyright Group as wellIf in doubt, phone up and get permissionAlways get written (email) permission for useDon’t assume images can be re-used – many photographers offer
‘once only rights’Creative Commons is not watertight yetSet Up a Rights database to track IPR ownershipDon’t set yourself up for a fall – investigate the IPR situation in any
idea
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Workflow issues
• Delegate writing• Make sure signoff issues are
understood by all• Make sure there is an ‘editor’ with final
responsibility for signoff• Monitor progress of content, set up an
excel database of content
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Jacob Neilsen – web guru
• Users won’t scroll down long docs – so break them up into linked pages
• Keep page length under control, write around half the word count expected
• Readers read around 25 % more slowly online than in print
• Web users are impatient and critical - get the main points right at the top of the document – use the ‘inverted pyramid’
• No more than 400 words per page
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It’s only words…
• Don’t use words you wouldn’t use at home
• Always avoid metaphor or simile – the web is international
• Avoid any jargon of any sort• Use ISO units = metres, cm, mm, then
imperial (in brackets)
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Keep it simple!
• Structure: in simple news or exhibition stories, in the first two paragraphs keep to the usual Who, What, Where, When, Why and How formula.
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Inverted pyramid structure
WHO? – WHAT? – WHERE? – WHEN?
WHY?WHY? – HOW? Quote
MORE INFO
Another quote
Closing sentence
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Get the crucial dates in
• It is really important to include exhibition dates, venues and titles in the first two paragraphs of your story.
• Make sure you get dates right
• Double check captions, copyright info.
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Quotes bring stories to life
• After the first two paragraphs get in a quote. Make it simple and direct. This brings the story alive. Make your first quote count.
• Keep it informal and friendly. Don’t be afraid to use humour, if appropriate
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
Check, check, check
When you think you are finished:
• double check all your spellings, particularly names
• facts in the story.
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Write in plain English
• Always remember you are doing the story for a general audience – it’ll help to use plain English!
• Extra outcomes result from this – better communications internally and more understanding of objectives etc.
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
Now get writing!!!
Please do a 250 word story about something you think would be
interesting for the 24 Hour Museum audience – we’ll discuss
what.
After this, we’ll look at what you’ve done.
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www.24hourmuseum.org.uk
Editing tasks
• Go through the copy and cut out sloppy language – don’t say ‘several’, tell us how many exactly.
• Don’t say ‘the actual bus used by the cup winning team’, say ‘the bus used by the cup winning team.’
• Go through every paragraph and cut by 10%
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Thinking about Style
• Er…not what you’re wearing!• Does everyone use the same voice?• Are you a museum expert? Yes, so this
needs to be reflected in the voice of what you write.
• Use the same words and nomenclature for stories
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How other publishers convey style
• Stylebooks – Guardian, Economist
• Web pages about style conventions
• It’s based on good sense
• It’s been going on for 600 years
• Read Keith Waterhouse
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Assistive technology
• Screenreaders
• Signing
• Word descriptions
• Flash MX
• Scaleable text
• Alt tags
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Where to now?
• Tagging – Flickr, Technorati • Blogging• Search environments• The semantic internet• Subject portals• Think about good links and partners for the
future
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We’re always happy to offer constructive advice
