STYLE GUIDE
Forza Italian Football - Style Guide 6 8 8 11 13 15 17 19
People Names
Club Names
Stadium Names
Competition Names
Names in Quotes
Job Titles
Numbers
Currency
22
Quotes
28
Article Structure
31
Accents
33
Standard English
35
Dates, Times, Etc
37
Acronyms and Organisations
39
Citing Sources
42
FIF Words
NEWS STYLE GUIDE
News writing guidelines Below are some basic tips for how to write a news story. The style guide will give you a more rounded view of how to write for Forza Italian Football, but below are some general guidelines about how to write a story. • Your writing should be clear, concise and uncluttered. Never use three words where one will do • A reader should never have to read any sentence twice to understand its meaning • Avoid clichés, flowery language and personal opinion • Paragraphs should only contain one sentence • The intro must define the story and get to the point instantly. A reader who is up to date with football should nearly always be able to read the first sentence and understand the story • A bad example of an intro would be: “Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson, who is in Munich ahead of the Champions League final on Saturday night, has revealed his attacking line-up for the centrepiece event of this prestigious trophy.” The first example contains needless information, personal opinion and misses the most important facts of the story. It should read more like: “Sir Alex Ferguson has revealed he intends to play Wayne Rooney and Park Ji-Sung alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for the Champions League final.” • Further paragraphs should expand on the details for those who do not know the full details. For example: “Many had expected the Manchester United boss to field Dimitar Berbatov or Carlos Tevez for Wednesday’s match at the Stadio Olimpico in Rome, but Ferguson says he made the decision on the basis of Rooney and Park’s recent performances in Europe.”
4
1
• Always have at least two pars (including the intro) before going into quotes • Do not just accredit quotes to the place you found them. A quote in The Sun is unlikely to be a Sun exclusive and, if it is, it will be tagged as such. Aim to find the original source using Google news. If quotes appear in several newspapers or on Sporting Life, Reuters, Press Association or other newswire services, it is almost certainly a press conference. If the BBC or skysports.com just write ‘he said’, it is almost certainly a press conference • Never credit sources in the introduction unless it is essential to the story (eg Robinho has held a press conference to announce that he wants to leave Real Madrid) • Do not write today or tomorrow - write, for example, ‘Tuesday night’. As it is an online resource, people will access stories on different days and the information will be misleading • For quotes, always put “he said”, “he told”, “he said in”, “he added” or, if necessary, “he joked”. Anything else - “he stated”, “he confirmed”, “he explained”, “he enthused” etc is unnecessary
5
PEOPLE NAMES
People Names
2
Rule When referencing a person upon first mention, you must always give their first as well as their surname (1).
Examples 1) With Arsenal struggling, this newest injury worry will give Arsene Wenger yet more to worry about, but the French boss showed a David Beckhamlike ability to grin and bear it in front of the press this afternoon.
NOT: With Arsenal struggling, this newest injury will give Wenger yet more to worry about, but the French boss showed a Beckham-like ability to grin and bear it in front of the press this afternoon.
Exceptions Certain nicknames are allowed to be used upon first mention if the person is better known by this name than their real one (1) as well as abbreviations of full names (2) for the same reason.
Examples 2) Deco, Ronaldinho, Pepe.
NOT: Pipita, ‘Kun’ Agüero, Golden Balls.
3) Raul, Cesc Fabregas, Ruud van Nistelrooy.
NOT: Alex Hleb, Gigi Buffon, Alex Del Piero, Ronaldo (in reference to Cristiano).
7
CLUB & STADIUM NAMES
Club Names
3
Rule When referencing a club upon first mention, you must give the full name of the club. (1), excluding commonplace prefixes or suffixes (2).
Examples 1) West Bromwich Albion, Real Valladolid, West Ham United, Stoke City. 2) Barcelona, Inter, Valencia, Chelsea, Hull City, Livorno.
NOT: West Brom, Valladolid, West Ham, Stoke.
NOT: FC Barcelona, FC Internazionale Milano (or Inter Milan), Valencia CF, Chelsea FC, Hull City AFC, AS Livorno Calcio.
Certain nicknames are allowed to be used upon first mention if the person is better known by this name than their real one (1) as well as abbreviations of full names (2) for the same reason.
For Milan use AC Milan when referring to the club for the first mention and in headlines. You can use Milan in an article only after they have been referred to as AC Milan. Inter should always be referred to as so. NOT as Inter Milan
9
STADIUM Names Rule When referencing a stadium upon first mention, you can apply the common usage principle (1), while excluding commonplace prefixes or suffixes (2).
.Examples 1) Eastlands OR City of Manchester Stadium, Emirates OR Emirates Stadium. 2) The Mestalla.
NOT: Estadio Mestalla
10
4
COMPETITION NAMES
COMPETITION Names Rule When referencing a competition upon first mention, you must use its formal name (1) without sponsors (2).
Examples 1) Primera Division, Premier League.
NOT: La Liga, Premiership.
2) League Cup, Premier League, Portuguese Liga.
NOT: Carling Cup, Barclaycard Premier League, Liga Sagres.
Rule hen referencing a non-British competition, W you must use its correct name and not the English equivalent (1)
Examples 1) Super Copa, Copa del Rey, Coppa Italia.
NOT: Spanish Super Cup or Super Cup, King’s Cup, Italian Cup.
12
5
names in quotes
quotes Rule When quoting speech in which someone or something’s name is mentioned that has not previously been referenced in the article, you must put the unmentioned part (1 & 2) or the entirety (3) of the name, or any previously unspecified but significant information (4) in square brackets accordingly.
Examples 1) “I think it must be remembered that we were without [Wesley] Sneijder for this match.”
NOT: “I think it must be remembered we were without Sneijder for this match.”
OR: “I think it must be remembered we were without (Wesley) Sneijder for this match.”
2) “We gave it a really good go against [Manchester] United.”
NOT: “We gave it a really good go against United.” OR: “We gave it a really good go against (Manchester) United.” 3) “We’re all really proud of Wazza [Wayne Rooney].”
NOT: “We’re all really proud of Wazza.” OR: “We’re all really proud of Wazza (Wayne Rooney).” OR: “We’re all really proud of Wazza [Rooney].” UNLESS his name in full has already been given.
4) “I have spoken with [president] Joan Laporta, and everything is under control.”
NOT: “I have spoken with Joan Laporta, and everything is under control.” OR: “I have spoken with (president) Joan Laporta and everything is under control.”
14
6
job titles
job titles Rule When referencing a job title within football, there is no need to capitalise the word (1).
Examples 1) manager, coach, president, director of football, sporting director, general manager, chairman, physio, scout, boardroom.
NOT: Manager, Coach, President, Director of Football, Sporting Director, General Manager, Chairman, Physio, Scout, Boardroom.
16
7
numbers
numbers Rule Numbers 1-9 should be written as words, not digits (1) and always as words if at the beginning of a sentence (2).
Examples 1) Two-time Premier League winners Liverpool meet five-time winners Arsenal, with just three points separating the two sides and both of them desperately trying to keep pace with the other two members of the top four.
NOT: 2-time Premier League winners Liverpool meet 5-time winners Arsenal, with just 3 points separating the 2 sides and both of them desperately needing to keep pace with the other 2 members of the top 4 2) Twenty-five years ago, Liverpool won the Champions League.
NOT: 25 years ago, Liverpool won the Champions League.
NOTE: The same rule applies to headlines.
Examples Numbers 1-9 may be written as digits in lists (1), dates and times (2), shirt numbers (3), transfer fees (4), titles (5) and scores (6).
Examples 1) Such as the lists used here in these examples. 2) November 17, 14:30. 3) Liverpool’s No.9. 4) England have qualified from Group 6 and will be going to South Africa in 2010. 5) Manchester United have signed Thierry Henry for 8 million. 6) Real Madrid have defeated Chelsea 5-4 at the Stadio Olimpico.
18
8
currency
currency Rule When referring to an amount of money, you must refer to the given currency by using its sign (1).
Examples 1) 5 million, ÂŁ8 million.
NOT: 5 million euros, 8 million pounds.
Exceptions When otherwise referring to currency, you must note it in word form (1).
examples 1) Instead of shelling out millions of pounds, Manchester City are looking towards their youth products.
Rule You must always give any monetary valuation in pounds, though if the currency in which the value is originally set is not pounds, then the original currency must be referenced upon first mention, with the pounds valuation in parenthesis (1)
20
9
Examples 1) Arsenal are hopeful of signing Yaya Toure for €13 million (€10.75m).
NOT: Arsenal are hopeful of signing Yaya Toure for €13 million. OR: Arsenal are hopeful of signing Yaya Toure for €10.75 million (€13m)
Rule When referring to a monetary amount in the millions upon first instance, you must write million in full, and from then on abbreviate to ‘m’ (1).
Examples 1) Cristiano Ronaldo has signed for Real Madrid for €85 million. He will be earning €8m per year with the Spanish champions.
Rule When referring to a monetary amount in the millions upon first instance, do not write million next to the number without a space (1).
Examples 1) €20 million.
NOT: €20million.
Rule When referring to a monetary amount in the thousands or below, you must write it in full (1).
Examples 1) €500,000.
NOT: €500 thousand. OR: €500k.
21
quotes
“I Told Cristiano Ronaldo I Would Be Better Than Him”
quotes
10
Rule The first line of speech in any quote must be directly attributed to the speaker on that same line (1) and all subsequent lines do not need any attribution (2).
Examples 1) “I believe I am the best in the world,” said Lehmann. “I have done so much over my career and not many people who are supposedly better than me can say the same.” (2)
NOT: Lehmann said: NOT: “I believe I am the best in the world. NOT: “I have done so much over my career and not many people who are supposedly better than me can say the same,” he concluded.
Rule When one person’s quotes spread over several lines, you must not close the quotation marks at the end of any line other than the first (if the quote is attributed at the end of the line only (1) and the last (2).
23
Examples 1) “Yes,” began Benitez. “I believe Jamie Carragher to be a lot like Franco Baresi. “They both have much elegance on the ball and of course both have won many titles.” The comparisons did not end there; as Benitez went on to compare the Reds vice-captain to the most unexpected of political figures. He continued: (2) “I also believe Carra [Carragher] to be much like Nelson Mandela. “Both are willing to suffer individually for the greater good of many. Nelson did it for South Africa; Jamie does it for the Kop.”
Exceptions When one’s quotes are separated by your own words, you must then ensure the first line of the next set of quotes is again attributed to the speaker (1). Also, when attributing a quote to the speaker before the quote itself, always punctuate with a colon, as opposed to a comma (2).
24
Examples 1) “I believe England will win the World Cup,” said Pele. “They have the best players in the world. “Frank Lampard is the most skilful midfielder of his generation.” 2) Pele said: “I believe England will win the World Cup. “They have the best players in the world. “Frank Lampard is the most skilful midfielder of his generation.”
NOT: Pele said: “I believe England will win the World Cup.” “They have the best players in the world.” “Frank Lampard is the most skilful midfielder of his generation.”
25
Rule Always use “double quotes” for speech, but otherwise use ‘single quotes’. This includes noting sarcasm (1), nicknames (2) and also speech within speech (3).
examples 1) And of course that ‘goal’ would have won them the game. 2) Now many are wondering if the ‘big four’ have become a ‘big five’. 3) “And then I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ and that’s when the boss said to me, ‘We’ve got to let you go.’ And now here I am.”
Rule When quoting full sentences, all speech punctuation must appear within quotes (1 & 2).
Examples 1) “I believe we deserved to win this match,” said Guardiola.
NOT: “I believe we deserved to win this match”, said Guardiola. oR: “I believe we deserved to win this match” said Guardiola. OR: “I believe we deserved to win this match.” said Guardiola.
2) “We played the better football and created many chances, but we mustn’t get carried away.”
NOT: “We played the better football and created many chances, but we mustn’t get carried away”. NOT: OR: “We played the better football and created many chances, but we mustn’t get carried away”
26
Exceptions When single words or short phrases are quoted from somebody, there needn’t be any punctuation within them, but they must still be double quotes and not single (1). Also, when single quotes are used, punctuation should be outside the quotes (2), unless it is speech within speech (3).
Examples 1) Sir Alex described the tackle as “horrific and completely uncalled for”, before suggesting that he would like to see Pogatetz leave the Premier League. 2) When referring to ‘pizzagate’, Ashley Cole denied any involvement whatsoever. 3) “And then I thought to myself, ‘What am I doing here?’ and that’s when the boss said to me, ‘We’ve got to let you go.’ And now here I am.”
Rule When quoting someone’s speech who has used very poor grammar or missed out words from a sentence, you must add to or alter their words using square brackets and also remove ‘filler’ to make coherent, written sense of their statement (1).
Examples 1) “I believe we will win the league, and that this [result] has no bearing on that. It was a tough game and the lack of players up front made [the game] difficult for us to create chances.”
NOT: “I believe we will win the league, you know, because this has no bearing on that. It is was a tough game and the lack of players in the front made difficult for us to create chances in the end of the pitch.”
NOTE: The above rule also applies when translating quotes from a foreign language into Englishwritten sense of their statement (1).
27
ARTICLE STRUCTURE
ARTICLE STRUCTURE
11
Capitalisation in headlines should be just as in normal sentences, though never including a full-stop. (1).
Examples 1) Gilardino: My ‘Hand of God’ better than Maradona’s
NOT: Gilardino: My Hand Of God Better Than Maradona’s.
Rule We should apply the rule of first mention in headlines (1) and also include as many key words as possible (3), whenever it is reasonable to do so (2), even if it is to the detriment of a better flowing headline (1). Be prepared to neglect quotes in headlines for the purposes of SEO (4).
Examples 1) Juande Ramos believes Lassana Diarra can be Real Madrid legend
NOT: Ramos: Diarra will be a Madrid legend 2) Sir Alex Ferguson: Newcastle United will beat Tottenham
NOT: Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson: Newcastle United will beat Tottenham Hotspur 3) Higuain, Messi & Aguero hail Argentina’s great Brazil victory
NOT: Higuain, Messi and Aguero reflect on epic victory 4) Jose Mourinho blasts ‘scandalous’ ref after Inter lose to Juventus
NOT: Jose Mourinho: Scandalous referee may as well have worn Juventus shirt
Rule We must in particular ensure that words in headlines that have search engine ambiguity are qualified at all times (1).
Examples 1) Cristiano Ronaldo meets Real Madrid reps to force Manchester United exit
NOT: Ronaldo meets Madrid reps to force United exit
29
Exceptions If there is no other reasonable way by which to refer to a player or club than in an ambiguous manner, then it is acceptable to do so (1).
Examples 1) Liverpool win five-goal thriller with Valencia
NOT: Liverpool FC win five-goal thriller with Valencia CF
Rule When quoting in a headline, you must use a colon if the speaker is named before the quote and a hyphen if after (1 & 2).
Examples 1) Mourinho: I am the greatest ever coach in Italy
NOT: Mourinho – I am the greatest ever coach in Italy
2) Mourinho is madder than I am – Galliani
NOT: Mourinho is madder than I am: Galliani OR: Mourinho is madder than I am –Galliani
Rule All quotation marks in headlines should be single, instead of double, regardless of their context (1).
Examples 1) Kaka ‘over the moon’ with Real Madrid switch
NOT: Kaka “over the moon” with Real Madrid switch
30
accents
ACCENTS Rule You must not use accents on any names (1), though in certain cases, alternative spelling is encouraged (2).
Examples 1) Tevez, Barca, Raul, Higuain, Fabregas, Simao, Arsene, Coruna, Molinon, Bilic, Kranjcar, Suker, Boksic, Corluka, Knezevic, Senturk, Belozoglu, Caglar, Rustu Recber. NOT: Tévez, Löw, Barça, Raúl, Müller, Higuaín, Fàbregas, Simão, Arsène, Coruña, Molinón, Bilić, Kranjčar, Šuker, Bokšić, Ćorluka, Knežević, Şentürk, Belözoğlu, Çağlar, Rüştü Reçber.
2) Loew, Mueller
NOT: Löw, Low, Müller, Muller.
NOTE: Ideally, we would like to reverse this rule, but this remains the best policy, purely for its consistency.
32
12
standard english
standard english
Rule You must write in standard English at all times, as opposed to American (1). This also applies to sporting terminology (those who struggle in this area let Dov know) and referring to clubs in the plural instead of singular (2).
Examples 1) Centre, metre, colour, favour, analyse, paralyse, organise, realise, defence, offence, catalogue, dialogue, grey, per cent, plough, sceptic.
NOT: Center, meter, color, favor, analyze, paralyze, organize, realize, defense, offense, catalog, dialog, gray, percent, plow, skeptic. 2) Chelsea are running low on finances and are in need of new investors.
NOT: Chelsea is running low on finances and is in need of new investors.
NOTE: There are many more, but you are unlikely to use them in the course of writing an article for us. If ever in doubt, consult an English dictionary.
34
13
dates, times, etc...
Dates, Times, ETC... Rule Dates will be written month followed by the day (1), times in 24hour format with a colon (2), times in matches should not be referred to at the end of a sentence in brackets (3).
Examples 1) Monday, October 8 2009, October 8.
NOT: Monday, 8th October, 8th October, October 8th.
2) 21:30, 08:00.
NOT: 2130, 21.30, 0930 PM, 8:00, 8.00.
3) After 27 minutes, Frank Lampard scored a beautiful, deflected effort.
NOT: Frank Lampard then scored a beautiful, deflected effort (27’)
36
14
Acronyms and organisations
Acronyms and organisations Rule All acronyms are to be written in capital letters with no formatting between letters (1).
Examples 1) FA, UEFA
NOT: F.A, Uefa.
Rule Acronyms should always be spelled out upon first mention (1), though when doing so, ensure the acronym is used in first instance and the full name in brackets (2).
Examples 1) The CAS (Court of Arbitration for Sport) ruled that…
NOT: The CAS ruled that… OR: The Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) ruled that…
Exceptions The following universally recognised names within football do not require the reference of their full name: FIFA, UEFA, FA, CONCACAF, COMNEBOL, BBC, MLS.
38
15
CITING SOURCES
CITING SOURCES Rule Whenever a publication is named in an article, it must have its full name (1).
Examples 1) According to The Sun…
NOT: According to ‘The Sun’… OR: According to the Sun…
Exception Official club websites do not need to be italicised, rather just referred to as the club’s official website (1).
Example (1) Manchester United have agreed to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million, according to a statement on the club’s official website.
NOT: Manchester United have agreed to sell Cristiano Ronaldo to Real Madrid for £80 million, according to a statement on the club’s official website.
Rule A programme or feature by that publication should be in ‘single quotes’ – and also, if a word is apostrophised, then the apostrophe and letters thereafter should also be italicised, along with the source itself (1).
Examples
40
16
1) On BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’…
NOT: On BBC’s Match of the Day… OR: On BBC’s Match of the Day… OR: On BBC’s ‘Match of the Day’…
Rule Whenever ForzaItalianFootball.com is mentioned in an article, it should be in bold (1).
Example 1) A ForzaItalianFootball.com poll recently revealed that…
NOT: A ForzaItalianfootball.com poll recently revealed that… OR: A ForzaitalianFootball.com poll recently
NOTE: Sources should be cited for all news stories. When a story is found from an unreliable source, it should not be considered for publication unless it can be traced back to one more reputable and reliable. It is the writer’s responsibility to find the source, not the sub editor’s. Sub editors reserve the right not to publish articles if there is no reliable source, at which point the writer will be notified and asked to amend as appropriate.
41
FIF WORDS
FIF WORDS Below is a list of preferential ways in which we write certain words and phrases. • Zenit St Petersburg • St James’ Park • Mr • north London • South East • west Africa • free kick • corner kick • penalty kick • half-time • full-time • team-mate • counterattack • through-ball • quarter-final • semi-final • final • qualifiers • matchday • gameweek • 38-year-old • frontrunner • back line • centre-back • full-back • left-winger • central midfielder • defensive midfielder • attacking midfielder • centre-forward • No.7 • & Co • 3-1 (even if the away team win) • setup • 2014-15 • per cent
17
Designed by Krishan Ghedia