Writing A News Conference Story

Think about the atmosphere, what you heard and how other people reacted.

What was the most important point made. Lead with that.

Make sure to give us the basics. You want to avoid giving us a list of items, but you want to cover all the bases and answer the questions:

Who

What

Where

When

Why

How

Make sure you spell names correctly and that you use titles. Titles are only capitalized when they precede the name of a person.

Here’s what the AP Stylebook says about titles:

titles  In general, confine capitalization to formal titles used directly before an individual’s name. The basic guidelines: LOWERCASE: Lowercase and spell out titles when they are not used with an [more…]
Chapter T ; Updated on Aug 27, 2018

capitalization  In general, avoid unnecessary capitals. Use a capital letter only if you can justify it by one of the principles listed here. Many words and phrases, including special cases, are listed [more…]
Chapter C ; Updated on May 21, 2002

titles  Capitalize or use lowercase according to guidelines in titles in Stylebook’s main section. Job descriptions, field positions and informal titles are lowercase: coach John Calipari; forward Alex [more…]
Chapter Sports Guidelines ; Created on Feb 03, 2015

legislative titles  FIRST-REFERENCE FORM: Use Rep., Reps., Sen. and Sens. as formal titles before one or more names. Spell out and lowercase representative and senator in other uses. Spell out other [more…]
Chapter L ; Updated on May 01, 2020

nobility  References to members of the nobility in nations that have a system of rank present special problems because nobles frequently are known by their titles rather than their given or family [more…]
Chapter N

religious titles  The first reference to a clergyman or clergywoman normally should include a capitalized title before the individual’s name. In many cases, the Rev. is the designation that applies [more…]
Chapter R

religious titles  The first reference to a clergyman or clergywoman normally should include a capitalized title before the individual’s name. In many cases, the Rev. is the designation that applies [more…]
Chapter Religion Guidelines

academic titles  Capitalize and spell out formal titles such as chancellor, chair, etc., when they precede a name. Lowercase elsewhere. Lowercase modifiers such as department in department Chair Jerome [more…]
Chapter A ; Updated on May 01, 2020

preacher  A job description, not a formal religious title. Do not capitalize. See titles and religious titles.
Chapter Religion Guidelines

military titles  Capitalize a military rank when used as a formal title before an individual’s name. See the lists that follow to determine whether the title should be spelled out or abbreviated in [more…]
Chapter M

minister  It is not a formal title in most religions, with exceptions such as the Nation of Islam, and is not capitalized. Where it is a formal title, it should be capitalized before the name: Minister [more…]
Chapter M ; Updated on May 29, 2002

minister  It is not a formal title in most religions, with exceptions such as the Nation of Islam, and is not capitalized. Where it is a formal title, it should be capitalized before the name: [more…]
Chapter Religion Guidelines ; Updated on May 29, 2002

fire department  See the governmental bodies entry for the basic rules on capitalization. See titles and military titles for guidelines on titles.
Chapter F

recipe titles  Recipe titles that appear in stories or regular text are not capitalized (unless the recipe title includes proper nouns). Recipe titles at the top of actual recipes are written in all [more…]
Chapter Food Guidelines ; Created on Jan 15, 2016

priest  A vocational description, not a formal title. Do not capitalize. See religious titles and the entries for the Roman Catholic Church and Episcopal Church in the Religion chapter.
Chapter P

priest  A vocational description, not a formal title. Do not capitalize. See religious titles and the entries for the Roman Catholic Church and Episcopal Church.
Chapter Religion Guidelines

editor  Capitalize editor before a name only when it is an official corporate or organizational title. Do not capitalize as a job description. See titles.
Chapter E

composition titles  Apply these guidelines to the titles of books, movies, plays, poems, albums, songs, operas, radio and television programs, lectures, speeches, and works of art: — Capitalize all [more…]
Chapter C ; Updated on Feb 02, 2018

Roman Catholic Church  The church teaches that its bishops have been established as the successors of the apostles through generations of ceremonies in which authority was passed down by a laying-on of [more…]
Chapter Religion Guidelines ; Updated on May 01, 2002

shah  Capitalize when used as a title before a name: Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi of Iran. The Shah of Iran commonly is known only by this title, which is, in effect, an alternate name. Capitalize Shah of [more…]
Chapter S Load More

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

%d bloggers like this: