The Office WriterWritten by Peter B. Mann
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In text: Here, too, you should choose an “up” or “down” style. The “down” style: Capitalize only first word of every sentence, plus proper nouns. The “up” style: Capitalize Federal, State, Department, and so on. Your choice of “up” or “down” style will also apply to any subheadings. Whether you choose “up” or “down,” you should always capitalize pronoun “I” and relatives’ titles when used with proper name (for example, “Uncle Dan,” but “my uncle“). Capitalize Mother or Father when addressing parent directly, but not when referring to him or her (“my mother,” “my father”). TYPES OF PRODUCTS The News Article A news article’s first sentence -- “lead” -- is its most important element. The lead must contain as many of key ingredients -- who, what, where, when, why, and how -- as possible. These facts inform reader of main thrust of news and provide a context for understanding what follows. Subsequent paragraphs provide further information. They appear in order of descending importance for a very practical reason: If there is not space enough for entire article, it may be cut from bottom without destroying its essence. This factor distinguishes news article from feature story and editorial. The Press Release A press release is a news article with spin, company propaganda. It reports news about a new product or business development in a positive manner. There is not likely to be a downside included. Of course, that describes a proactive press release; a reactive one might very well include negative information -- if company perceives that it needs to acknowledge certain facts in order to salvage its public image. The Opinion Piece or Editorial Writing an editorial or an opinion piece is similar to writing an essay, although less formal in structure and style. In all three, author asserts a point of view and supports it with logical discourse or facts. The piece may define, describe, or explain a concept or a proposal; evaluate and/or compare ideas, systems, processes, or activities; make and defend a choice among options.Opinion pieces should always be labeled as such. The Feature Story A feature article may take various forms -- a human interest story, a celebrity interview, an in-depth explanation of a current issue or development, a profile of a local leader, saga of a successful business. The list could go on and on. Feature articles are characteristically longer than most news stories. All features attempt to interest reader in something unusual. For instance, an article might examine role of women in Arab societies, new elements in revised SAT, or Internet business that is being outsourced to India. Perhaps a local man has been selected to appear on Jeopardy! There is really no limit to possibilities. For a company publication, more likely topics might be staff reorganization, United Fund drive progress, product development, and an officer profile. And CEO will probably want you to ghost-write a column bearing his/her byline. The Newsletter As editor of a newsletter, you will have a number of key decisions to make at outset. *What size will it be? Most newsletters are 17” x 11” folded to 8 ½” x 11.” *How many pages? Four or any multiple of four. *Binding? If more than four pages, saddle-stitch binding. *Self-mailer? Leave space for recipient name/address, return address, and mailing indicia. *Number of columns per page? *How often will it be published? Matters of Style *Typeface for text and headlines? Type sizes? *What font and size will subheads be? *Should type be flush left and ragged right or fully justified? (Justified type is flush left and right. Ragged right lines end with last full word that fits.) *What size will masthead be? Where will it be placed? *Will articles jump from one page to another or be printed in a continuum? *Will you use artwork or photos? Cut lines or captions? *Where will you place staff box? *Will you list all of contents -- or selected items -- in an article or box on front page? Matters of Content *Chances are topics to be covered were spelled out initially, either by your boss or by organization’s leaders, or perhaps they were dictated by organization’s purpose/function. *Don’t work in a vacuum. Appoint a committee of people representing different parts of company/organization; meet with them in a planning session for each issue. *It’s a good idea to have a mix of news items and feature articles, plus brief notices in boxes that break up page. Variety makes a newsletter lively and keeps reader interested. Article Review Establish procedures for review of your articles by staff members prior to publication. After type is set, arrange for another staff member to proofread, backing you up. About Layout Whether you are doing desktop publishing or sending camera-ready copy to a printer with an offset press, you will have to lay out your pages. To do so, you should create a template with number of columns of width you have chosen and feed your headlines, articles, and artwork into template. You will be able to set type in multiple column widths to enhance visual appeal of your newsletter. Artwork You will probably want to use CEO’s picture with his/her column, and you may also use mug shots of employees who are mentioned in other articles. Original artwork adds sophistication to your newsletter, and if you can afford to hire an artist, you will probably want to follow this course. It will be up to you (and your boss) whether to use a mix of photos and original art or use original art exclusively. Speech Writing If you’re assigned to write a speech for CEO, insist on interviewing her or him about purpose, content, and desired outcome. Listen carefully to CEO’s speech patterns. Short or long sentences? Serious or light demeanor? Articulate or not? Terse or long-winded? Discuss whether to open with a joke or get right down to business, how to structure material, how much time speech should take. The more successful this interview, better speech. http://www.youreditoronline.com
The author has more than 40 years experience as a writer and editor. He was manager of corporate publications for Educational Testing Service, a newsletter editor for Merrill Lynch, and held various positions with educational agencies and as an education reporter for three major dailies. He is retired now but offering his editing skills on the Web.
| | Salt Therapy and its European well-known beneficial effects in respiratory diseasesWritten by LTiba
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The inventor thought this device as an air salinizer that uses forced ionization of indoor air by salt sublimation creating a micro climate of dry aerosol salt therapy in your living space. He used a natural process of salt crystallization to obtain salt micro crystals under 5µm in diameter, invisible to human eyes, being able to penetrate deep into lung. The device uses only natural salt from within mountain of salt, untreated or touched by human processing technology. Based on clinical studies, inhaled saline has bactericide, mucokinetic, hydrophilic, anti inflammatory properties, reducing inflammation in whole respiratory tract, absorbing edema from mucosa lining airway passages leading to widening of airway passages, restoring normal transport of mucus and unclog blockages in bronchi and bronchioles leading to rapid elimination of residual tar and foreign allergens, all of these in a natural process. Edema of nasal mucosa and oropharynx and soft palate, causing nasal obstruction and snoring is diminished, leading to widening of airway passage in nose and tubes of sinuses and improving sinuses drainage and reducing snoring. In auditory tube, edema of Eustachian tube causing ear infection, is also diminished, leading to widening of airway passages, better drainage and better aeration behind tympanic membrane. The salt therapy was found to have beneficial effects in treatment of: •Asthma and Chronic Bronchitis •COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) •Allergic Rhinopathy or Hay Fever •Cystic Fibrosis •Sinusitis •Ear Infections •Smoking Cough •Various acute or chronic respiratory disease •Reduce snoring and activates better sleep by clearing airway passages in oropharyngeal region •Increased resistance to Cold & Flu by opening and clearing nasal airway and improving drainage of sinuses •Humidifies bronchial secretions reducing broncho-spasm and facilitating elimination of smoke residual tar, phlegm expel and other allergens •Improves quality of indoor air by eliminating dust, cigarette smoke, bad odours, mould and mites, having bactericide reduction properties. The salt therapy is a natural method of therapy and does not involve any risk and is finally adapted to living space. However, this is NOT a substitute for medical treatment and should only be used as an adjuvant helping to improve quality of patients’ life, reducing antibiotics and corticoids or steroids intake, reducing rate of annual hospitalizations and decrease frequency of respiratory diseases attacks. For more information, clinical studies and testimonials you can visit web site. The salt therapy device could also be available in some health stores. LTiba WebSite: www.salinetherapy.com +1 / 519.641.SALT NB: The author grants reprint permission to opt-in publications and websites so long as copyright and by-line are included intact and article is not used in spam.
Educated and motivated person, having a multicultural background with extensive knowledge about European health products and practices.
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