Who are we?

As long as I have been in Wausau (698 days), the byline title we have used for stories shared among sites in central Wisconsin has been "Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers." Although I never heard an official announcement, it seems that at some point, the name of the group changed to "Gannett Central Wisconsin Media." As a result, I have been wondering lately whether "Gannett Wisconsin Newspapers" is still appropriate, or whether we should start using "Gannett Wisconsin Media" for byline titles on shared stories. Although it probably would take awhile to adjust to such a change, would a switch be worth considering?

~Elizabeth

Grabbing the brass ring

Well, we've had the carousel up on our collective Web sites for about a month now. Personally, I like it - I think it's a cool little way to show off the top stories.

I'm a little confused, though, about the flow of information to it. Are we intending to have three fresh, new stories in the carousel every day? I look right now at the Stevens Point and Marshfield sites, for example, and there's still a story from Central Wisconsin Sunday making the rounds. (Granted, it is Monday.)

Also, what about communication between editors and copy editors about what should go in the carousel? Is it usually pretty clear? I often do Rapids' front, and Jeff's made clear to me to just put one news story on the carousel because sports will take care of one and Mystique will take care of another, but I'm fuzzy what to do with Point and Marshfield.

Finally, and this is a question I've asked most of the copy editors face to face already, what do you do when none of your news stories have art attached with them, making none of them particularly good candidates for the carousel? I've been sending the standalone center for Rapids when that happens.

Benton...

Great catches

Any great catches by copy editors to share?

Let's use this place to also celebrate some of the good stuff that happens every night, to pat yourself or your coworker on the back, or point out some funny or not-so-funny stuff that almost made it to readers.

Set it and forget it

To all those who create pages/paginate: YOU MUST SET YOUR PUBLICATION INFO on EVERY page!

I am sometimes guilty of this myself, and I'll be the first to admit that when you're doing pages where none of the content will be sent to the Web, it's not a big deal if the info isn't set, BUT it is vitally important on pages where content is sent to the Web and therefore should be done on every page no matter what.

If you don't set the publication info, anything on the page will have to be manipulated manually in NewsEdit in order to send correctly to the Web. Save yourself, and anyone who's sending for you, time by setting the publication info once on the page. Also, it makes it easier to find content when the info is set.

Obviously, you can't set it when you have multiple pages in one InDesign file, but for single pages it should be set. The first time you place a story InDesign will ask you to set it. Even if it doesn't ask you, make it part of your routine to set the publication info whenever you create a page.

Please make this a priority when creating pages and save us all some time.

Kristy

Style reminders

Here are a few style errors I've been seeing repeated lately. Most of us probably know these cold, but just to make sure:

1. Abbreviate the direction part of a street name only when it's used with a specific numbered address. (Wrong: "The car crashed on W. Grand Avenue." Right: "The car crashed on West Grand Avenue, then careened out of control for a block until it came to a stop in the front lawn of a home at 1000 N. Thomas St."

2. Put the "only" where it belongs, to be clear about the meaning. (Example: "The man was only walking his dog" could mean that the man was doing nothing else but walking his dog, or that he was walking only the dog he owned and no one else's.) Sorry, I tried to think of a more hilarious example but couldn't. Anyone?

3. People are "who" and inanimate objects are "that," as in, "He was the one who dropped the pizza, " not "He was the one that dropped the pizza."

Hello, anyone?

The posts on this blog are getting fewer and further between (thanks, Kristy, for the most recent), which means we've either addressed every conceivable writing, editing and organizational concern or people are forgetting.

I know some of our more prolific bloggers have had vacation days recently, or they've been cranking hard to cover for others' vacations.

How might we keep this conversation lively each day without relying on the same two or three people? I'd welcome some thoughts. Heck, I'd welcome a reply just to know someone's still reading this blog.

— Mark T.

It happened in Apr.

There are certain words that are never abbreviated in newspaper copy, and yet these same words seem to be creeping into stories, obits and calendars. Here are some of the ones I've noticed lately.

Road, Drive, Court. Lane

Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas, , Utah

April (yes, I've seen this as Apr.)

Also, please remember when you've listed an exact street address you can abbreviate Street and Avenue (800 Scott St.) but not without an address (on Scott Street).

Anyone have any others?

--Kristy