Thank you to everyone who took the time to enter the My Local News Challenge.
This Challenge has now closed.
My Thoughts on the Entries
While it was interesting, in the most part, to read all the entries, I was disappointed at the overall standard of writing.
People generally found it difficult to write in a journalistic style.
Most of the posts were more like personal accounts than news stories.
I hope people will be able to continue to develop and evolve their writing skills - and also their presentation skills.
10 Tips for Writing Better News Stories
There are a number of simple ways people can improve their posts.
In case anyone is interested here are a few random tips based on my observations from the entries for this challenge...
Make introductory paragraphs more concise and to the point.
People commonly start their posts with too much unnecessary wording.For news stories use an impersonal, third person (he/she/it/they) style rather than writing in the personal, first person (I/we). Otherwise it is more like a Diary Game post than a news story.
Be selective with your choice of photographs. Use fewer, bigger photographs each with individual captions. The photos should add to the value of the story, not distract from it. And montages of multiple, small photographs really don't help.
Use your own photographs ideally. If not, make sure you use proper public domain or royalty free photos with the required accreditation. Citing the source of a copyrighted photo (for example from a commercial news service) does not give you permission to use it.
Edit your posts hard and well. Make every word count. Cut out all unnecessary, superfluous words.
Stick to the point of the story. Don't deviate. Tell the story well and concisely. Don't leave unanswered questions.
Make sure the basics are always included - who, what, when, where and why.Use concise, descriptive titles - don't make them too long.
Keep the layout simple. Don't use two columns. Use plenty of white space to make the article easy to read. Avoid long sentences and long paragraphs.
To cater for readers from around the world use a non ambiguous date format (like 8 April 2022 - not 8/4/22), and for any money amounts include a STEEM or USD conversion as well as the local currency figure.
To get better at writing news stories, read news stories from professional news services. Observe and absorb the style and structure.
I hope these tips will help people improve their posts.
The My Local News Challenge may return again in the future, so keep writing and keep improving.
My Local News Awards
As rewards for making good efforts in this challenge I am going to award prizes of 150 TRX to @tucsond, @ubongudofot and @whyshy.
Thank you to everyone who took part.
Pennsif
[ images and graphics by @pennsif ]