Editing Ideas Flow Non-Stop In AABP Virtual Conference
Are you making maximum use of quantitative management possibilities? What should you include in your next study of graphics strengths and weaknesses? How often per issue should feature articles include numbers? Why should story jump lines be active heads as opposed to one-word slugs? When does being too good become troublesome? These are just a few of the worthy editing concerns raised during my recent participation at last month’s Alliance of Area Business Publishers virtual conference.
My assignment was to review a long-time favorite topic—how to make maximum use of quantitative management possibilities. I focused in particular on online news performance scoring for competitive analysis purposes.
My presentation included an update on how to use my new Enterprise Reporting Prominence calculation. The initial target score requires at least 60 percent of posted content to clearly reflect enterprise effort. Most sites reviewed to date have been unable to make the grade.
Coverage of the above concerns appears frequently in Editorial Solutions, Inc. monthly reviews. And if you like what you see here, be sure to subscribe to my twitter feed.
How many headlines you write per issue should include a story-telling number? I’m still trying to set a reasonable target. According to a recently completed mini-study, what I do know is that current practice for features is insufficient.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 30, 2020
Pages/graphics ratio is useful indicator of whether your publication is adequately illustrated. One way to measure: divide total page count per issue into total number of photos used. Your target should be at least 2.0
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 30, 2020
For competitive purposes, magazine editors should Keep continuous record of graphics strengths/weaknesses. In particular, measure percentage of editorial pages carrying all-type layouts and infographics variations
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 30, 2020
Feature story jump lines should be active heads as opposed to one-word slugs. Yes, slugs may be easy to drop in — no thinking required. But important opportunity to convey article story-telling value is overlooked.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 29, 2020
Recent study found many sites relied too heavily on face photos as main graphic. Other story-telling options may have been available. Even when faces are the logical choice, individual shown need not just be staring at photographer.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 29, 2020
Some editors now working full time from home find smooth communication to be key hurdle. Inquiries to key sources requiring immediate response often get lost in the shuffle. Is formal policy covering this problem necessary?
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 29, 2020
Maybe being too good has disadvantages. This idea arose during a recent exchange with an editor-in-chief with very high content standards. When workloads are getting out of hand, we agreed, something has to give. But what is it?
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 22, 2020
Every time I find “according to a news release” reference in a posted article, I wonder if the editor had instead tried to obtain an exclusive quote from the source. When working with clients, I always urge following the latter policy.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 19, 2020
Recent mini-study suggests that absence of infographics and headlines that include story-telling numbers continue to be common B2B article shortfalls. Overuse of face photos accompanied by label captions is another glitch.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 16, 2020
Six basic factors I’ve used for years when scoring editorial performance may no longer apply. Revised job description requirements will become clearer in next few months. Most likely changes will involve travel and production tasks.
— Howard Rauch (@fogindex8) June 5, 2020