Writing News for the Company Magazine
Writing is the most difficult work imaginable. The writer must not only know
everything possible about the topic, but also must be able to explain and describe, without
opinion, information about which the readers may have little or no information.
Because of those demands, writers, real writers, don't “love to write," they love "to
have written." Real writers write because they must, because they cannot imagine doing
anything else.
Moreover, real writers don't just write, they rewrite, revise, recast. Anything less is
just typewriting. Only four writers ever wrote without rewriting—Matthew, Mark, Luke,
and John. But they had divine guidance.
For writers today, rewriting is essential. It tightens the writing and reduces the length
of the copy by cutting out unnecessary words and by rearranging sentences for greater
impact.
The Second-Day Approach
Writing for the company magazine is not the same as writing for a newspaper. A
newspaper reporter covers a copy today and writes it today for tomorrow morning's
newspaper.
Public relations writers cover a copy today and write it today, but not for tomorrow's
publication. In fact, your copy may not be published until next week or next month or
two months from now. By the time the readers read your copy, it's old news.
Moreover, everyone in the company will have heard the information through the
grapevine—which is 85 percent accurate and very fast—long before the company
magazine is published. In general, the company magazine serves as verification of the
grapevine.
Your task, then, is to make your past copy current in the future.
To do that, use the approach afternoon newspaper reporters have perfected: the
Second-Day Approach: Seek the next action.
If your company receives a contract for $20 million for a new product, that's news.
But there's no way to prevent the grapevine from spreading the word quickly. Long
before your magazine is published, nearly everyone in the company will have heard about
the contract and will have tooled up to produce the product. The contract no longer is
news.
In writing your copy, don't lead with what the readers already know, with the fact that
the company received the contract. Sure, the contract is important, but you don't have to
lead with it. And don't worry about getting the details of the contract into the lead. You're
not writing legal matters; you're writing a story. Save the details for later in the story.
Instead, seek the next action.
Lead your copy with what the company is doing with the contract, how far along the
work is, who is in charge, what progress has been made so far, what the next step is, what
the contract will mean to the company, whether additional employees have been hired, …
the list is endless. All it takes is imagination.
And don't forget a quotation from the boss about the value of the contract to the
company.
Writing Tips
Here are some suggestions to help ensure that your writing is the best you can
produce.
Use short words; they are more powerful than long words.
Use short sentences; they are more powerful than long sentences.
Use short paragraphs because of the narrow columns your copy will occupy. Readers
want plenty of white space in their reading matter. Short words, short sentences, short
paragraphs provide the necessary white space.
Rely heavily upon the six traditional questions, and usually in this order:
Who? … Did What? … or Said What? To Whom? … Why? … Where? … When?
… How
And one more: So What? …
Above all, Get to the Point. Right away.
For example, if your board of directors votes for a 4 percent raise for all employees
effective next fiscal year, don't write that the board met and voted in favor of a 4 percent
raise. Boards—groups of all kinds—do nothing but meet and vote. Your readers want to
know what the board voted for. So write that the board authorized a 4 percent raise for all
employees. You may write so because when the board voted "aye," what it approved
became effective.
Use action verbs rather than "to be" verbs; they're more powerful. The predicate—the
verb—is the focal point of the sentence, the strength of the sentence.
Write in the active voice, in which the subject does the action, because that's
conversational style.
Polish Your Writing
After you've written your copy, read it aloud and listen to the flow of language. Listen
to the words: Do they merge into a meaningful whole? Do they flow smoothly? Does the
language get into the way of the information?
If not, rewrite. Make the writing sing to you; your readers will appreciate it. They
may not realize it consciously, but they will appreciate it unconsciously, because, as they
read silently to themselves, their mind's ear will tell them whether the language is
pleasing.
Use a Copy Editor
You could copy edit your own copy, but it's better to use a copy editor because the
copy editor is like the reader: without your intimate knowledge of the topic.
If you want to edit your own copy, set it aside for a day or so before you do so. You
will tend to forget the details, making copy editing possible. Not easy, possible.
Whoever edits your copy should look for errors of style, spelling, punctuation,
grammar, and so on, of course, but also misuse of words and incomplete and incorrect
information.
Use the Right Word
Use the proper writing aids: your style sheet and the dictionary, particularly the
dictionary.
Speaking English as your native tongue does not guarantee knowledge of the
language. You may be misusing words without realizing it. Look up words, even words
you think you know. You may be surprised.
For example: It's "first come, first served," not "serve." The "lectern" is what the
speaker puts his speech notes upon. The "podium" is what the speaker stands on.
Cheerleaders wave "pompons," not "pom-poms," which are antiaircraft cannons.
"Comprise" is a transitive verb, taking a direct object, so you may not say "is comprised
of."
If you use a thesaurus, use it in conjunction with the dictionary. Don't use a synonym
from a thesaurus without checking the dictionary meaning.
For example, the thesaurus lists "prevent" as a synonym for "stop." But it would be
silly to say, "Prevent it" when you mean, "Stop it."
Avoid unnecessary approximation of numbers. Few numbers are ever round:
$20,000,000 … $250,000 … $2,500,000. More than likely, numbers are $20,583,451 …
$249,737 … $2,522,475. When you round them off, you do so because the detailed
amount is not as important as the general size of the number.
Some numbers, such as distances, rarely are exact. If your company is building a
plant outside of town, "five miles" is sufficient. "’Approximately’ five miles" is
unnecessary detail. And you spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence.
When you do round off numbers, don't insult the readers by telling them so. They
understand.
Moreover—and more important—in listing numbers, you may forget to approximate
every rounded number, which may confuse the reader into thinking that the nonapproximated number, however round, is accurate.
The same admonition holds for use of "he or she," "him or her." If you forget and use
"he," you confuse the readers into thinking that only men are meant. Instead, pluralize
your nouns so you may use plural pronouns.
Stay Out of the Story
It is unprofessional to use the first person pronoun—I, me, my, mine, we, us, our,
ours—in copy, except as part of quotations. Non-quoted usage of first person bestows
upon the writer unwarranted expertise and detracts from the boss's prerogative of writing
opinion.
Write as an observer, not as a participant.