1. Copy editing V:
Packaging information
• Review last week’s assignment
• Look at sidebars, graphs, infographics
• Brainstorm sidebars for U-news stories

2. Visual elements
help readers
 Articles aren’t always best
format – too much grey type
repels
The Chronicle Herald

3. Visual elements
 Use add-ons like
sidebars, fact
boxes and glances
to help readers
visualize key
details
 Add facts, figures
and stats without
interrupting story
flow
The Chronicle Herald

4. Visual elements
 Use key numbers
to communicate
quickly and
clearly
 USA Today
homepage
features live
count of US gov’t.
shutdown cost

5.  Use graphs and
charts to show
evidence to
reader, help
them draw
conclusions/co
mparisons

6. Alternative story forms
 “Alternative story forms
seem to work best with
fact-laden
stories, providing a way
to handle
numbers, time, location
and juxtaposition
references in a
simple, comparative
way.”
• Poynter
Alternative story forms:
 Q & A
 Timeline
 Fact box
 By-the-numbers box

7. Metro Halifax

8. Main story:
Why more guns
on Halifax streets
Sidebars:
1. What to do if
you hear
gunfire
2. No. of
seizures in
HRM 2012
vs. 2011
3. Rate of gun
incidents in
Canadian
cities
4. Gun incident
rates in N.S.
communities
Source: Chronicle
Herald

9. Sidebars
 Explore another angle of story
 Break out statistics
 Show a timeline or background info
 Explain a process
 Round up key quotes
 Show Twitter reaction
 List highlights, tips, logistical details

10. Class exercises
 Look at news story and brainstorm possible sidebars.
 In groups, discuss U-news ideas and sidebar options.

11. Charts and
graphs
Use to illustrate social
evolution, statistical
comparisons, track
trends
Source: Wall Street Journal
Graphics

12. Maps
Illustrate where news
happens – especially
if no other art
Use in stories dealing
with geography, land
or infrastructure
development
Image: National Post

13. Infographics
USA Today cover from May
27, 2010
Illustrates BP oil spill “fix-it”
strategy
Can’t photograph it
Text description
lengthy and complicated
Graphic simplifies it
Source:
http://newspaperdesign.ning.co
m/group/graphics