It’s easy for people to go overboard with parallax scrolling or stunning visuals. It doesn’t mean you have to include everything. You can edit down to the essentials. Ward explained, “The idea is to ask ourselves what we’re going to leave behind and not what we will put in.” “We tried to keep the slideshows down to four or five photos, even though there were 15 images of a particular subject.” SB Nation members who are avid readers flock to the site to share their thoughts. Be a forum where readers can share their views and opinions, not just talk down to them.
Rubenstein explained, “That could include super angry fans who want their athletic director fired or want to make gifs showing their mascots leaping into crowds or write detailed statistical analyses of the teams.” There are powerful stories within your sports organization. Some of these stories sports news today will make it to the newspapers or television. But, most of the news from your company will not make it to a journalist. This will mean that you’ll have to write it. Module 3 will help you identify newsworthy stories.
This module will help you create an influential article, whether published on a website, in a newsletter, or in a media package. The next module will focus on writing for the web. Many scholars believe the 1986 Challenger tragedy was partly due to poorly written memos. Unclarified writing is also responsible for many dangerous automobile defects.
Poor communication can cost your organization. Unclarified information about a program, league, or another topic could result in a decline in registration. Media outlets might reject a news release that isn’t easy to understand. It’s possible to lose a grant if your organization can’t effectively communicate its purpose.
Richard Wydick is a communication scholar who believes plain language communicates concisely and accurately. Simple language is free from jargon and conveys the message effectively without wasting time. However, it is essential to understand your readers and use plain language to meet their needs. What detail do they require? Do they have a lot to do? Or will they just be looking at your article for fun? How knowledgeable are they about your sport?
Every journalist student quickly learns the difference between hard and soft information. Hard news is factual. It relies on time. Its purpose, however, is to inform. It does not need to be immediate. Its purpose should be to entertain or offer advice. A hard news article, for example, about the Chesterville Cheetahs’ winning the high school championships would not appeal to readers. An article about the Chesterville Cheetahs’ star player, whose mother and grandmother also won that title, would make for soft news.
Hard news can be scanned, so starting with the essential facts is important. This is called the “inverted Pyramid” in journalism school. The most important information is in the first paragraph (who, who, what, where, and when), followed by the details. A reader could only read the first paragraph to gain a general idea of what transpired.