UH News story tips | University of Hawaiʻi System News

Story development

All UH News stories should answer these questions

Why is this a story? What makes it interesting? Why would anyone want to read/view this story? This is the most important question.
Who is the story about (name, title, official UH affiliation including department and campus)?
What is that person/group/organization doing?
When will this occur or when did this occur?
How is it being done and by what means, sources of funding, costs, possible collaborators/partners, etc.?

UH News stories can take many forms, including:

Note: Statements and multimedia content would typically require one to two paragraphs introductory/clarifying paragraphs.

Short, catchy headlines work best
Try and front load important key words first (e.g. “Marine shells on display at Sinclair Library” is better than “Sinclair Library features display of marine shells”)
Avoid acronyms (e.g. “Smith appointed to national nursing board” is better than “Smith appointed to ABCD board”)

Larger blocks of text make reading on screens difficult—keep paragraphs and sentences short
Story should be written for the general public not media
Don’t bury the lead
Use subheadings and bullets to break up text
You don’t have to include everything in the story (link to the news release, or other websites for more information)
Include important links

Great photos or illustrations make a story
Remember caption information
Include links if there are more photos available online (e.g. Flickr or Facebook albums)
UH News photo sizes: Full width story images are 676 pixels wide, headshots 200 pixels to 300 pixels wide

Set your resolution high–You will get better quality photos and more cropping options whenever you can’t get close enough to your subject(s).
Turn digital zoom off—Try to get as close as possible to the subject rather than zooming in when you take a shot. Digital zooms are a software trick that can make photos look blurry or pixelated. You will get better quality photos cropped, than zoomed in.
Turn the phone sideways—Use the “landscape” orientation when taking photos to get more in, especially when shooting group shots or if you want to capture the background, too.
Take more photos—Someone blinked. The angle didn’t work. The more photos you take, the better chance you have to find a winner. Where you’d take one, try taking five.
Hold your phone steady—Ever hold your camera at arm’s length to get a shot? You’re asking for trouble. To get a good, sharp image, turn yourself into a human tripod. Hold the camera with both hands and pull your arms into your chest or stomach. You’re instantly sturdier and so are your photos. Or use a nearby wall, railing or any sturdy object to brace yourself and/or your camera.

Include videos and/or video links related to your story (videos can be embedded into stories)

Remember the UH Style Guide, available online.