SJC-style-and-production-guide-2012

• under the catchline, write your name followed by a forward slash and the original source ofyour story. Examples: Smith/interview; Jones/annual report; Tee/class handout; Brown/own idea.• double-double space down and begin your story;• If there’s audio, double-double space down, then write the details: either the name of theinterviewee, speaker or reporter, the duration and outcue on separate lines. Some newsroomsrequire journalists to write the audio transcript in bold.Examples:Starts: followed by a colon and the first three words or sounds on the audio.Ends: followed by a colon and write the last three words on the audio. It is critical that thesewords are exactly the same as those on the audio.Dur: which is short for ‘duration’ at the bottom of the audio insert transcript.You get the time for this from the computer editing software – it must be exact to the nearestsecond.• For a straight copy story, you can estimate the length by counting three words per second, butthere is no need to write Dur: on the copy. Do not use word count on your computer because itautomatically counts years. Example: 2012 is counted as one word but when we say it, it is fourwords.8. Do not abbreviate words in your story, although it is allowed in the audio transcript. Spellwords out in full. Example: ‘centimetres’, not ‘cms’ except for every-day abbreviations such asDr, Mr, Mrs, Ms.9. Titles or descriptions should always come before the person’s name, not after. Example:‘Prime Minister, Julia Gillard’ NOT ‘Julia Gillard, Prime Minister’.10. Attribution should come at the beginning of the sentence, not at the end.11. When using organisation names, don’t use initials in the first instance. Use the name in fulland only the initials subsequently if they are well known. Example: ‘The Australian MedicalAssociation’ .. for first usage but subsequently, because it is a well-known acronym, you can usethe AMA. Organisations that are known almost exclusively by acronyms may be referred to bythe acronym throughout. Examples: FBI, ASIO, AIDS.12. Avoid trailing off wraps and reports with talent as the final voice. If this happens, do not usea reporter sign off.13. Use reporter sign-offs in domestic or audience areas only when on location. Examples: ‘DanHiggins, Kakadu’ or ‘Kylie Smythe, High Court, Canberra’.PAGE 87 – 2012UQ SJC STYLEBOOK