“Author bylines and photos need to be bigger and more prominent! We're developing strong voices on the site ... but they need help standing out. Gawker works best when you know that each post is coming from a specific person or individual.”
—Max Read
Showing posts with label Bylines. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Bylines. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 31, 2014
Monday, September 22, 2014
The New Bylines at the New Yorker and Washington Post
I’m a big fan of bylines. So it was energizing to see that the New Yorker and the Washington Post have recently incorporated these marketing tactics into their website templates. In a sentence or two, articles by staffers now give the reader a glimpse of who the author is, thus humanzing the publication.
To be sure, Slate has always bylined each article; Vanity Fair, in its print magazine, runs a blurb about each author; and most publications acknowledge guest contributors. To my knowledge, however, the below two outlets are blazing the bylined way in the mainstream media.
A few examples:
The New Yorker
● Lauren Collins began working at The New Yorker in 2003 and became a staff writer in 2008.
● John McPhee began contributing to The New Yorker in 1963.
● Anthony Lane has been a film critic for The New Yorker since 1993.
● Steve Coll, a staff writer, is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and reports on issues of intelligence and national security in the United States and abroad.
● Roger Angell, a senior editor and a staff writer, has contributed to The New Yorker since 1944, and became a fiction editor in 1956.
The Washington Post
● Karen Tumulty is a national political correspondent for The Washington Post, where she received the 2013 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.
● Radley Balko blogs about criminal justice, the drug war and civil liberties for The Washington Post. He is the author of the book Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces.
● Matt Zapotosky covers the federal district courthouse in Alexandria, where he tries to break news from a windowless office in which he is not allowed to bring his cellphone.
● Reid Wilson covers state politics and policy for the Washington Post's GovBeat blog. He's a former editor in chief of The Hotline, the premier tip sheet on campaigns and elections, and he's a complete political junkie.
● Manuel Roig-Franzia is a writer in The Washington Post’s Style section. His long-form articles span a broad range of subjects, including politics, power and the culture of Washington, as well as profiling major political figures and authors.
● Caitlin Dewey runs The Intersect blog, writing about digital and Internet culture. Before joining the Post, she was an associate online editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
To be sure, Slate has always bylined each article; Vanity Fair, in its print magazine, runs a blurb about each author; and most publications acknowledge guest contributors. To my knowledge, however, the below two outlets are blazing the bylined way in the mainstream media.
A few examples:
The New Yorker
● Lauren Collins began working at The New Yorker in 2003 and became a staff writer in 2008.
● John McPhee began contributing to The New Yorker in 1963.
● Anthony Lane has been a film critic for The New Yorker since 1993.
● Steve Coll, a staff writer, is the dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at Columbia University, and reports on issues of intelligence and national security in the United States and abroad.
● Roger Angell, a senior editor and a staff writer, has contributed to The New Yorker since 1944, and became a fiction editor in 1956.
The Washington Post
● Karen Tumulty is a national political correspondent for The Washington Post, where she received the 2013 Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting.
● Radley Balko blogs about criminal justice, the drug war and civil liberties for The Washington Post. He is the author of the book Rise of the Warrior Cop: The Militarization of America's Police Forces.
● Matt Zapotosky covers the federal district courthouse in Alexandria, where he tries to break news from a windowless office in which he is not allowed to bring his cellphone.
● Reid Wilson covers state politics and policy for the Washington Post's GovBeat blog. He's a former editor in chief of The Hotline, the premier tip sheet on campaigns and elections, and he's a complete political junkie.
● Manuel Roig-Franzia is a writer in The Washington Post’s Style section. His long-form articles span a broad range of subjects, including politics, power and the culture of Washington, as well as profiling major political figures and authors.
● Caitlin Dewey runs The Intersect blog, writing about digital and Internet culture. Before joining the Post, she was an associate online editor at Kiplinger’s Personal Finance.
Monday, March 3, 2014
Why Doesn't Slate Follow a Standard Format for Its Bylines?
Here are the bylines of four Slate staffers:
1. Amanda Hess is a Slate staff writer. Email her at amanda.hess@slate.com, or follow her on Twitter.
2. David Weigel is a Slate political reporter. You can reach him at daveweigel@gmail.com, or tweet at him @daveweigel.
3. John Dickerson is Slate’s chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. Read his series on the presidency and on risk. Follow him on Twitter.
4. Matthew Yglesias is Slate’s business and economics correspondent. He is the author of The Rent Is Too Damn High.
The first part is consistent:
“[Name] is a [Slate’s] [job title].”
But shouldn't the subsequent syntax be standardized? For example, is it,
“You can reach him at [email address].”
or
“Email her at [email address].”
Similarly, is it
“Follow her on Twitter.”
or
“tweet at him @[handle].”
Nitpicky? Yes. Happily, Slate has nitpickers on staff.
1. Amanda Hess is a Slate staff writer. Email her at amanda.hess@slate.com, or follow her on Twitter.
2. David Weigel is a Slate political reporter. You can reach him at daveweigel@gmail.com, or tweet at him @daveweigel.
3. John Dickerson is Slate’s chief political correspondent and author of On Her Trail. Read his series on the presidency and on risk. Follow him on Twitter.
4. Matthew Yglesias is Slate’s business and economics correspondent. He is the author of The Rent Is Too Damn High.
The first part is consistent:
“[Name] is a [Slate’s] [job title].”
But shouldn't the subsequent syntax be standardized? For example, is it,
“You can reach him at [email address].”
or
“Email her at [email address].”
Similarly, is it
“Follow her on Twitter.”
or
“tweet at him @[handle].”
Nitpicky? Yes. Happily, Slate has nitpickers on staff.
Sunday, December 1, 2013
Howard Kurtz’s Byline Is Awful
I've written about bylines, both good and bad. Here's a bad byline:
1. There are no links.
2. The word “currently” makes it sound like this is a temp gig.
3. Do we need to know when he joined Fox?
4. Do we need to know the subject of his debut segment?
5. Why not say “hosts” instead of “serves as host of”?
Related: How to Make Your Byline a Marketing Goldmine
Howard Kurtz currently serves as host of Fox News Channel’s (FNC) MediaBuzz (Sundays 11 a.m.-12 p.m. ET). Based in Washington, D.C., he joined the network in July 2013 and debuted on Special Report with Bret Baier to discuss the media's coverage of the George Zimmerman murder trial.
1. There are no links.
2. The word “currently” makes it sound like this is a temp gig.
3. Do we need to know when he joined Fox?
4. Do we need to know the subject of his debut segment?
5. Why not say “hosts” instead of “serves as host of”?
Related: How to Make Your Byline a Marketing Goldmine
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