Editors' Guide: In Context
Make sure you read the HOW TO below
In Context is a critical selection of websites/stories/opinions that concern a topic in the news. You, as editor, give the reader a summary of a story in the news. Then you list five sites that, together, form an essential resource for understandng a topic related to that story.
You can start with any story from today's news. International stories usually offer the most variety, but national and even local stories can be just as good. It can be a light topic too.
Pick a topic raised in the story. The trick is to choose a topic that others have written about -- but isn't too broad. Not every topic is a good one. You should pause and think about your topic before you spend time trying to find information about it. It should have focus. Your task is to find interesting/thoughtful/amusing pieces of content about it.
Use a search engine to find information about this topic. Choose sites that are interesting and different from each other. If your topic is a controversial one, be sure to include sites that represent opposing opinions on the issue.
Take a look at this example:
How to do it
- Tell us about the useful information on the site that adds perspective to our topic. 100-150 words. Make it chatty and engaging. Don't tell us it's a good site. SHOW us why it's a good site by describing the content you can find there. What does the visitor learn by going to this site? How does the perspective or story add to our understanding of the topic? Are there maps? Interactive features? A particularly good set of links? If the site has a lot of information, pick out one or two highlights. Give examples.
- Tell us who manages the site. Is it maintained by a non-profit association? If so, what is its mission? Where is it located? Who is the founder or chief editor? Is the site you've chosen maintained by a high school student or a professional researcher? Where do they live? Give us a sentence or two. You might have to do some looking around the site to find out more about it. Discard the site, if you can't find out who is behind it. DO NOT LINK TO ANONYMOUS POSTS/BLOGS/WEBSITES THAT YOU HAVE NO WAY TO VERIFY
- Do not link to other news sites. We don't want to piggyback on our "competitors'" work. We're looking for primary source documents.
When you can, avoid linking to the home page of websites (subpages of the site usually have more useful, specific information).
After some unfruitful time searching, you may find your topic choice was a poor one. If so, refine it or move on to another. This should take you only about two hours.
So, using the samples as a guide, type it up in Microsoft Word. You'll need to summarize a story in today's news on the web and record the URL. Then find five sites that provide reliable source information from different perspectives.
Sign in to the CMS. Go to the "Publish" tab and choose the "In Context" section to start a new article.
Get a photo to illustrate the topic. See sites that offer photos without copyright restrictions. You should resize the image to about 360px wide. You could optionally make it a banner image at 650px wide.
Please show a copy to Tim, if he is in his office, before you post it. In any case, run it past a second set of eyes.