People are arrested on suspicion of committing a crime. In some states, the district attorneydecides whether enough evidence exists to charge a suspect with a crime. If someone is arrestedon a charge of murder, be sure the district attorney has charged the suspect. Otherwise, you’ll betalking about libel to the suspect’s lawyer. This is a…
Challenge of remaining politically uninvolved
When I was an editor, our executive editor sat the newsroom down at the start of election season for a talk about remaining politically neutral. She reminded us: No political signs in yards, no bumper stickers, no shirts with candidate support, no attending rallies. Why? Imagine, she said with a chuckle, someone driving through the…
Sept. 4, 2018, critique
Praises Photo from the Daily Iowan! Way to go! Sooooo much better than always using something from media services, which I always hate to see because it’s kind of a pride thing. Plus, using the work of fellow student journalists is a good thing. Let’s keep doing this and try to get the photog’s name…
Aug. 30, 2018, critique
Praises The dominant art on Page 1 by Cris was beautiful and eye-catching. Your extra effort paid off. In general, the editing was cleaner than the previous issue. Best photo Again, nice job, Cris. This is the best photo in the paper and kudos to who decided to put it on Page 1. Best lead…
Aug. 27, 2018, critique
Praises This was a wonderful first paper. Praises go to the entire staff. No, it wasn’t perfect, but this is a great start. The design shows an execution of fundamentals. Not only do you know the basics of page design, you can put these ideas to use. The writing was solid throughout. I didn’t find…
June 25, 2018, critique
Praises Ginger’s “Jurassic World” is smart and an interesting read. Well done! Photo of the week None stands out. Best lead None stands out. Best headline ‘Roseanne’ without Barr It’s clever, clear and compelling. Problems Photo placement in story: Make sure to anchor photos at the top of the story under the headline as shown…
July 30, 2018, critique
Praises After being incorrect the previous week, we’re back to correctly heralding “The Truth Shall Bear All Light.” Thanks for your attention to detail to make sure this is correct. I enjoyed the local focus in Sports. In know this is hard to do in the summer, but you found a way to find compelling…
July 23, 2018, critique
Praises Excellent piece by Jessie on Lisa Freeman. A lot of good quotes and good questions. I’m glad you got her on the record about why she didn’t initially want the job. Photo of the week Cris took this wonderful shot on Page 1 that captures Lisa Freeman. Note the lighting from the left of…
Covering a protest/rally
A local AFSME union is holding a rally/protest today in Altgeld Hall. Events such as this are fairly common, and there’s a good chance any of you could be drafted to cover one at a moment’s notice. Here are some tips: How to cover a protest/rally Do your homework ahead of time Read past coverage…
One of the best accuracy checklists I’ve seen
Frank Fee’s 44 Tips for Greater Accuracy How to avoid mechanical/objective errors in your newspaper Always do the math. Don’t rely on another person’s figures. Remember that “officials” and “experts” may be as bad at math as journalists. Don’t be too busy or proud to consult a math text or math guide–and have one available….
July 16, 2018, critique
Praises Lucas’ piece on Starbucks getting rid of straws was the standout in this edition. It took a clear stance, included research and context and acknowledged competing viewpoints. Page design is coming along, guys! We are doing a great job with headline hierarchy and designing around dominant art. The next step is to add more…
Northern Star Training Site 