Teichert Aggregates

sometimes useful as reference material, but should not be offered in place of a completely, clearly written story.

Flowery language with excessive use of adjectives is out of place in most news stories and an editor will remove them. We can’t say “the beautiful bride” — even though we know all dogs are beautiful — because news writer must avoid stating, or appearing stop state, their opinions.

So phrases such as “worldrenowned” will invariably be deleted from publicity releases unless they can be attributed to a spokesperson or unless we’re dealing with someone like Mother Teresa or Yitzhak Perlman — so world-renowned that it is a generally accepted fact.

Although we make every effort to use material submitted to The Enterprise, final decisions about when or whether to use a news release are based on space limitations and editorial judgment. We can never promise anything. Live by the deadline

Every day there are multiple stories, all important, vying for space in The Enterprise. So a good publicity person will plan ahead, not only to give readers plenty of advance notice of an event, but to give an editor more flexibility in planning space and giving each story the best possible exposure.

Deadlines for some of the special departments or columns regularly appearing in The Enterprise are:

Text or photographs for the Arts pages should be submitted at least two weeks before the event. These publish on Fridays, so items submitted between Friday and the event will likely not get in.

Short items for inclusion in the Sports section must be in by 5 p.m. two days before the desired date of publication. For longer stories, consult the sports editor three days to a week ahead.

Short items for news pages should in by 5 p.m. the day before they are to be published. Longer stories should be brought in several days ahead, or by special arrangement with the managing editor.

Pictures to publicize a coming event should be requested two weeks before the time they should appear. Call an editor, not the photographer directly. Make your picture say something

A picture may be worth a thousand words, but you don’t want that word to be “blah.” We all like to see ourselves, our friends and neighbors in the newspaper, but a newspaper’s job is not to show other people what we look like — your friends already know and strangers aren’t interested.

The purpose of a news photo is help tell a story, in a way that is more eye-catching and dramatic than the written word. There is no story in a picture of three or four people standing around looking at the camera.

There is very little story in a picture of one person passing a check or a gavel to another person, or holding up a proclamation signed by the mayor or governor. And even that little bit of story is so tired and played out as to make the reader lance at its and yawn. This is why we ask publicity people to stretch their imaginations, to help our photographers capture something and different by showing activity, by providing interesting props and backgrounds, and by being willing to have their subjects ham it up with a little humor when appropriate.

Before requesting a picture to publicize an event, ask yourself these questions: What is it that the picture — not just the caption, but the image — is meant to convey? What purpose will a picture serve that a written story could not do just as well? What would my own reaction be if I picked up the newspaper and saw this picture? The Enterprise reporters and photographers will work with you to plan and to get the most imaginative photo possible, but it is up to you to do the groundwork. Think of your work not just in terms of getting X number of people there for a photo at certain time and place, but as an artistic challenge. Using creativity will better serve your organization as well as the paper’s readers.

Be ready when a photographer arrives. He or she is working on a tight schedule and can’t wait for latecomers or people who aren’t prepared.

The Enterprise prefers not to have more than two or three people in most shots. Again, the goal is to get an interesting image, and this becomes difficult when the frame is crowded with too many people. There are, of course, exceptions, but the photographer must make the final decision.

A special note to those who work with children: It should be firmly decided which children will be in the picture before the photographer arrives. Do not ask the photographer to make the choices.

A creative youth-group leader will make sure those left out one time will be chosen first another time. Wanting to avoid disappointing the children is not a good reason for crowding too many people into a photo, with uninteresting results. We aim to please, but …

Because of the proliferation of organizations in the Davis-DixonWoodland-Winters area, and because space for pictures becomes more and more difficult to find, The Enterprise regrets that it will no longer take the following kinds of photos: • Pictures publicizing an event to which the public is not invited. Occasionally, such a social or newsworthy event will be covered as it happens. This will be at the discretion of the editors. • Photos showing checks being passed from one person to another, even if it’s a really large check. We can mention how much money is being given, but we prefer to show how the funds are going to be used. • Pictures of the reading of a proclamation. Again, we can mention that the mayor has proclaimed Be Kind to Toads Week or whatever, but we won’t take a photo of the proclamation, or quote the text verbatim. Show the mayor or your members working to help amphibians instead. • Photos featuring a candidate for public office once the campaign season has begun, unless the photo is part of our election coverage. • Pictures showing the passing of a gavel, or the installation of officers. We’d rather picture your new officers involved in one of your activities. • Photos of ribbon cuttings. When you’ve seen one ribbon cutting, you’ve seen them all. • Pictures to publicize rummage sales, flea markets or car washes. That we won’t take photos of these events doesn’t mean we won’t publicize them. We’ll still be happy to run short articles telling of these activities. We’d rather take photos showing what the money from such fundraisers will be used for.

We have chosen these types of pictures for exclusion from our photographer schedule because they reflect the more common types of events taking place among organization in the area. As such, they soon lose their freshness and interest. Other types of events that become too commonplace may be added.

Our photographers may refuse to take a picture, or the editors may decide not to run it, if it is obvious there is no way to make it tell a story. This is why it’s important to think ahead about what the picture is to say and how to say it well. If you tell an editor you will supply props and action and do neither, the paper won’t use an uninteresting photo. Advertising

There are times when advertising will be a more effective way to get your message to readers. The Davis Enterprise advertising department is knowledgable in marketing and advertising, and is available to help with an effective advertising campaign. The services of our professional graphics staff are available at no additional cost. Contact us

Advertising, Newsroom, Business, and Production offices 325 G St., Davis, CA 95616 (next door from our old office) (530) 756-0800

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The Davis Enterprise

P.O. Box 1470

Davis, CA 95617-1078

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