Article Review

Minimum article requirements
MCOM 152

• In order to earn all 50 points for your articles you must meet all minimum requirements.
o 50 x 5 = 250 points
• You must turn in 5 articles for the entire semester. (Roughly 1 every two weeks)
• Articles are due on Mondays listed on the course syllabus.
• You must clear your story idea with the instructor first as well as post it to the course Discussion Board.
• Stories can either be in the form of:
o Hard news
o Feature story
o Editorial (can only do 2 per term)
o Sports
o Review
o Other story approved by instructor
• Every News article must meet the specific requirements below in order to earn full-credit.
• Editorials and reviews are free from source requirement

Specifics

• 500-1000 words
• 3 sources –from 3 different people or 2 people and one pull-out quote
o 2 direct quotes – from 2 different sources
o 1 pull out quote/general fact/attribution or a third quote from a third source
• AP style
• Times New Roman Font
• 12 point Font
• Headline
• Byline
• Word count
• E- copy sent by email
• 1 image – see submission form.
• Pics must be jpg format and less than 1mb.

Note: editorials are not held to the same requirements but feature, sports, and culture stories must strive to meet the above criteria. Some topics such as plays and speakers can be written as Hard News stories and therefore must meet the above criteria. If you are unsure if you are meeting these requirements please speak with the instructor ASAP.

Notes on Attribution
• After reading this document please refer to the sheet on formatting quotes if needed.
Basics: In general, attribution is the journalistic equivalent of citation. As we have already discussed in class, attribution tells the reader who said something or where information came from.
• For your articles you must at least 3 sources.
• These must be 3 different people who can speak about your topic in an informed way.
• Technically anyone can be a source that is relevant to your article. For example, many of you are writing about COVID-19 and its effect on our lives. This would allow you to quote anyone who has been affected by the virus which, in reality, is everyone.
• The key with attribution is remembering that every source must have a title. Titles can be formal or informal but either way they demonstrate the sources relevance to the story.
o Example: Professor Jeremy Caplan or Governor Larry Hogan are formal titles.
o Example: Father of 2 Jeremy Caplan or Raven Fan Jeremy Caplan are Informal Titles.
o Remember that every quote needs attribution and every attribution must have a title to demonstrate their relevance to the story.
• Refer to the additional sheet on quote format to see how to use attribution in your story.
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