Ideas, insights and inspirations.

Sure, journalists make the best content marketers. We enjoy asking the hard questions, and we laugh at what you laypeople consider “tight” deadlines. But what happens when you take a J-school vet, and put her to work writing for the web? Gratitude, first of all, to no longer be working in a dying industry. But also renegotiation of styles and structures that were preached and practiced and deeply ingrained nearly a decade ago (gawd, I’m old). Bullet points, calls to action, SEO. It’s all newfangled mojo for newspaper journalists. The hardest habit to break? AP Style. Understanding AP Style: The Journalism Bible… or Cult? I’m not sure how many non-journos even know what AP Style is, but let’s just say that it’s a set of standards for journalistic writing, akin to MLA or Chicago or AMA Style. Break the rules, and your editor will whip you behind the proverbial shed. The Associated Press Stylebook is updated annually to guide punctuation, … Continue reading

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