Early 2019 Tweets Address Editorial Columns, Front Cover Headlines
My work activities at the beginning of this year have included a heavy load of judging assignments for editorial competitions. While time-consuming, they rewarded me with plenty of valuable editing insights. The evaluations I did covered personal editorial columns, front cover story headline tips, and, through a special analysis, “covered vs. discovered” headline writing technique. One project is still a work in progress—more on that later.
In the meantime, you can get a sense of the lessons from my judging work via the following batch of tweets. If you find these insights helpful, follow me on Twitter. There’s more useful guidance ahead—especially when it comes to shortcomings in editorial columns.
Use 3 tests when judging headline story-telling value: (1) Article reflects what was discovered rather than what was covered. (2) Could submitted head have been written without covering the article assigned. (3) especially for covers . . . no labels; all heads use active verbs.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) February 8, 2019
Many editorial columns need a jazzier Logo at the top of the page for ID purposes. Shelve IDs like “Editor’s Report” . . . “Editor’s Page” . . . “Editorial Letter” . . . “From the Editor” etc. Instead use a catch phrase of sorts that exudes flavor of industry you cover.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) February 8, 2019
Melissa Chowning’s article in Publishing Executive about urgency of editorial investment is must reading. In essence, we are urged to raise content level from good to great. I wonder how we can do that if our advertisers don’t see need to buy in? https://t.co/vnVMqoYDgR
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) February 6, 2019
Many top editors launch their personal columns with lengthy anecdotes that have no bearing on key story point. A better approach is to arrive at that key point within the first ten words. As for the headline, it may require a deck to more accurately explain article value.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) February 5, 2019
Online news enterprise reporting should account for at least 60% of posted content. Of course 100% would be even better. As many articles as possible should reflect universality of interest.https://t.co/E2O1BwrhJy
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 30, 2019
B2B editor’s personal column requires 2 key ingredients: (1) Solutions-oriented headline;. Accompanying article should not just dwell on describing a known problem. (2) Convey impression that author is industry insider . . . not just an observer. There is a difference.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 30, 2019
How many B2B story lines do you include on front covers? That’s the first item addressed in a cover evaluation project currently under way. My preference is the more the merrier. So happy to find one magazine entry that included 8 story lines per issue (plus 2 photos).
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 28, 2019
Front cover evaluation for a B2B publisher I mentioned previously is an annual event. Each year a qualified outside source is invited to review strengths/weaknesses. In-depth follow-up report is circulated. My judging approach is to create and apply a scoring system to entries.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 23, 2019
The future may find more B2B publishers competing against their advertisers for best editorial content bragging rights. So clearly it’s time for publishers to take stock of whether or not they are exploiting advantages they should have via interacting with end-user sources.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 12, 2019
Am writing article about complaint handling for ASBPE ethics newsletter.
Best way to handle complaints: anticipate them. Do you have written policy covering complaint issues you can share? If so, please send copy to me: editsol1@optimum. net Or call to discuss: (201) 569-7714.— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) January 28, 2019