201 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
201 lines
6.9 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
topics
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about-us
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style-book
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1435304
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# Telegraph style book: basic principles
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12:01AM GMT 19 Feb 2008
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**We are quality media** Remember at all times that _The Daily Telegraph_ and
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_The Sunday Telegraph_ are quality newspapers and Telegraph.co.uk is a quality
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website. The content of all our media are characterised by their accuracy,
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integrity, literacy and lack of sensationalism. Our readers are educated and
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intelligent people. Everything we write and publish, in whatever medium,
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should be informed by these precepts.
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**Responsibility** It cannot be emphasised strongly enough that conformity
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with style, accurate use of the English language and accuracy in use of facts,
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quotes and other information in an article are the responsibility of the
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writer.
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* [Telegraph Style Book: Introduction][1]
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No journalist should expect his or her line editors to spot mistakes or
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solecisms or to be there to correct them. While executives handling copy and
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production journalists should be alert to any errors and should correct them
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when spotted, the responsibility for any that get into the paper will lie
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solely with the author. It is highly unprofessional for any writer to leave
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any aspect of his or her work to be clarified by any other journalist.
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For this reason especially, as well in respect for the integrity of the writer
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whose byline will appear on the piece, no changes of fact should be made to
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copy by executives or production journalists without the knowledge of the
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writer.
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Nomenclature, etc should be changed only when what has been written is in
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breach of house style.
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## Related Articles
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* [Introduction][2]
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10 Jan 2008
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**There** is no better maxim than the one most of us were taught in our early
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days in journalism: "Who, what, where, when" should form the cornerstones of
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every story. The "Why" may well provide the thrust of the story but the first
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four criteria must never be neglected.
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**Convey** the message as you would speak it. Few people who are worth
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listening to speak in sentences of more than 30 words. Try to avoid multiple
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subordinate clauses as they breed confusion. Concision is one of the greatest
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virtues of expression and, therefore, of journalism.
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**Never** take for granted the reader's understanding of a subject. It is not
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insulting to set things out simply and logically. Do not, however, patronise
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by remarks such as "the author Charles Dickens". We have an educated
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readership and there are certain assumptions about their general knowledge
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that we can make. It is precisely because our readership is generally well-
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educated, though, that mistakes are easily spotted, and we are easily
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diminished by them.
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**Each** story should be self-contained, with an explanation, however brief,
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of what has gone before. Always presume that the reader has been on a desert
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island, without benefit of media.
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**Aim** for common sense and question apparent nonsenses, such as pike in
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village ponds that swallow small dogs. Use your own yardstick as to what is
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feasible but do check. Good journalism at all levels is largely about the
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development of judgment.
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**Be** temperate in language, especially in headlines. Keeping a sense of
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proportion, recognising that "storms" and "fury" are often merely
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disagreements or differences of opinion, shows balance and maturity and is
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part of the Telegraph's appeal.
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Profanities are always to be avoided in news coverage and to be used only when
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absolutely essential in other coverage. The most obscene swear words are never
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to be used in any circumstances. Language of a sexually explicit nature should
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only be used when essential - such as in certain court reports or features
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about health or relationships - and never gratuitously or for effect.
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**Avoid** tabloid constructions and agency-speak. "Television addict,
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Mansfield butcher John Smith" should be John Smith, a butcher from Mansfield
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who is addicted to television. Also, NOT: London's West End; the famous
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anything (if it is famous there is no need to say so). Steer clear of words
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such as "spotted" and "dubbed" and use "saw" and "called" or "nick-named".
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Further examples of such horrors are to be found in the A to Z.
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Be wary of the way agencies seek to "classify" people. One is to identify a
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person as a grandparent. They may be grandparents in their early forties and a
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false picture can emerge. Unless it's relevant, stick to the age.
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Unless we are certain something is exclusive to us, avoid the construction
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"told the Daily Telegraph". Even then use extremely sparingly: it is a vulgar
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tabloid device and much more easily replaced by the word "said".
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Suspicion is advisable, too, in giving the value of houses. It is, these days,
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at best theoretical.
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**Attribute** everything. Without care, it is easy when putting a subject's
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words into reported speech to render his or her claims and opinions into
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statements of fact. Even if sources are anonymous, it is important to source
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in its opening paragraph any claim on which a story is constructed: otherwise,
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why should the reader read on?
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**Avoid** cliches. They cripple news stories with their tiredness and the
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laziness with which they are used. Fashionable phrases rarely have a
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usefulness that lasts more than a few weeks.
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They are also often glib and inaccurate and are never an acceptable substitute
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for proper descriptions of events. A cliche or pun in a headline may be new to
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you, but it quite possibly isn't to the readers: avoid tired old jokes of the
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"Life's a beach" variety.
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Please bear in mind that newspapers publish and printers print. _The Daily
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Telegraph_ does not print stories: it publishes them.
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Adherence to these and all the other rules set out in this guide will not in
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itself create a first-class journalist or indeed a first-class newspaper or
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first-class website, but it will be the start of such process.
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[X][3] Share & bookmark
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[What are these?][4]
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* Share: [Share][3] [ ][5] [ ][6]
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[Tweet][7]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/topics/about-us/style-book/1435304/Telegraph-style-
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book-basic-principles.html
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Telegraph
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## [Style Book][8]
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* ### [News »][9]
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[X][3] Share & bookmark
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Delicious Facebook Google Messenger Reddit Twitter
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Digg Fark LinkedIn Google Buzz StumbleUpon Y! Buzz
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[What are these?][4]
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Share:
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* [ ][3]
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* [ ][5]
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* [ ][6]
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* [Tweet][7]
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* Advertisement
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![][10]
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Advertisement
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[EDITOR'S CHOICE »][11]
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### [Gil Scott-Heron: 'A voice for Shakespeare'][12]
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[![Gil Scott-Heron][13]][12]
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Composer, musician, poet and author whose writing provided a vivid commentary
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on the black American experience.
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### [Beekeeping diary: the new colonies arrive][14]
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### [Spectacular light show dazzles Sydney][15]
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### [WS Gilbert: a knight for our times][16]
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### [The Telegraph's Matt is Hay Festival star][17]
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Advertisement
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Classified Advertising
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* [Services][18]
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* [Property][19]
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* [Motoring][20]
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[Find your ideal job with Telegraph Jobs][21]
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