WVUToday Style Guide

If you write content for WVUToday, this guide is for you. If you write anything that you would like to be considered for WVUToday, this guide is for you. If you’re interested in publicizing your college or unit internally and to the wider world, this guide is for you.

Because WVUToday is read and viewed by so many, we strive for consistency in style and message, a task that rests with every communicator at WVU.

We hope you find this guide helpful in your role telling the University’s stories.

Creating/Identifying the Story

How to recognize stories with strong news hooks.

Focus on “What’s New?”

• Is it related to current events?
• Is this related to ongoing topics of local, state, national, or global interest?

Consider the Content

• Does it address any of the University’s five strategic priorities — education, discovery, health, service, experiences?
• Does it address the college/school’s priorities?
• Does it affect a key WVU or college/unit audience, including prospective students, their parents, alumni/donors, or other decision-makers?
• Does it include compelling or unique elements?

What’s the Impact?

• How does this affect our daily lives?
• How does this affect the field of study?
• What is the impact on the state?
• What is the impact beyond the state?

Some Things That Are Not (Usually) News

• A meeting, event, conference, or the like.
• Publication in a particular journal.
• A grant.
• However, these activities can serve as a peg for a bigger story you want to tell, like West Virginia University researchers have made great progress in curing Alzheimer’s disease and the research is published in The Most Important Medical Journal.
• Remember, it’s not the publication, grant, meeting, event, grant, etc. that’s the news; it’s the research, work, impact that is news and is the lede. Ask yourself, West Virginia University is doing what?

Story Formation Tips

When writing stories, here are some elements to keep in mind.

Choosing Your Vehicle

Media Releases

Traditional Media Releases are excellent vehicles for in-depth research articles, announcements of large grants, or dean-level changes in personnel, for example.

Traditional releases nearly always address one of the five strategic priorities — education, discovery, health, service, experiences, or a combination of them — and will always have a broad University perspective that communicates how this information will help people or change lives.

Requirements or What We Need:

• Use Helvetica 12 (or Arial if not available to you) in your releases.
• Use a horizontal photo at least 600 pixels wide with a 3:2 ratio for your feature image.
• Other photos, graphics, illustrations, etc. can be used on the sidebar.
• Include photo captions that clearly note which picture they describe. Add the captions at the end of the release so all information is in one document.
• Include photo credit: (WVU Photo/Photographer Name) or (Submitted Photo). Do not use “stock” photos.
• Hyperlink West Virginia University.
• Hyperlink college/school/unit/student organization name.
• Hyperlink faculty names to their pages.
• Hyperlink mentions of achievements or events to past stories.
• For fun, include a social media post that succinctly describes your story (sometimes, it’s a great way to discover a lede).

This is the Word document format that should be followed.

HEADLINE

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — Your well-crafted lede.

And you write more in this paragraph.

Then you write some more in the next one.

And so on for about a page-and-a-half (less if you can, perhaps more for research articles).

Then you end it.

-WVU-

Writer Initials/mm/dd/yy

MEDIA CONTACT: Your Name (Hard Return)
Your title (Hard Return)
Your College/School (hard return)
304-293-####; Your.Email@mail.wvu.edu

Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday

Here’s what it looks like on WVUToday.

Expert Pitches

Perhaps your story is more focused, yet still has the potential for earned media. Expert Pitches are useful tools, especially when developed in response to something happening in the news cycle. To be successful, you should pay close attention to both what’s happening in the world around you and know what faculty or another expert in your college/school/unit can comment on it.

Requirements or What We Need:

• Use Helvetica 12 point.
• Text quotes (not too lengthy).
• Use a horizontal photo at least 600 pixels wide with a 3:2 ratio for your feature image.
• Other photos, graphics, illustrations, etc.
• Include photo captions that clearly note which picture they describe. Add the captions at the end of the release so all information is in one document.
• Include photo credit: (WVU Photo/Photographer Name) or (Submitted Photo). Do not use “stock” photos.
• Include contact information for the expert or the communicator who can quickly reach the expert.

Word Document Format

This is the Word document format that should be followed.

EXPERT PITCH: Headline

Your well-crafted lede.

Quotes:

“All the words they say.” — Name, Title, WVU College/School/Unit

West Virginia University experts can provide commentary, insights, and opinions on various news topics. Search for an expert by name, title, area of expertise, or college/school/ department in the Experts Database at WVUToday.

-WVU-

Writer Initials/mm/dd/yy

MEDIA CONTACT: Your Name (Hard Return)
Your title (Hard Return)
Your College/School (Hard return)
304-293-####; Your.Email@mail.wvu.edu

Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday.

Here’s what it looks like on WVUToday.

Media Advisories

Another way to engage is with a Media Advisory. Usually for event coverage, the Media Advisory is a simple Who, What, When, and Where of detail. The Advisory can also include notes, an on-site contact, or messages about best interview or filming opportunities.

Requirements or What We Need:

• Use Helvetica 12 point.
• Use a horizontal photo with 3:2 ration and at least 600 pixels wide for your feature image.
• Other photos, graphics, illustrations, etc.
• Include photo captions that clearly note which picture they describe. Add the captions at the end of the release so all information is in one document.
• Include photo credit: (WVU Photo/Photographer name) or (Submitted Photo). Do not use “stock” photos.

Word Document Format

This is the Word document format that should be followed.

MEDIA ADVISORY: Headline

WHO: Is involved

WHAT: Is happening

WHEN: It’s happening (Date, Time)

WHERE: It’s happening (Building, Street Address, City)

NOTES: (Optional, but sometimes necessary.)

-WVU-

Writer Initials/mm/dd/yy

MEDIA CONTACT: Your Name (Hard Return)
Your title (Hard Return)
Your College/School (Hard Return)
304-293-####; Your.Email@mail.wvu.edu

Call 1-855-WVU-NEWS for the latest West Virginia University news and information from WVUToday.

Here’s what it looks like on WVUToday.

Notes About Writing and Associated Press Style

Finding ideas can sometimes be the hard part. Know what’s going on in your college/school/ unit and identify sources who can be points of contact. Look for the people who are “plugged in.” Reinforce the value of what you’re doing by sharing examples.

West Virginia University must be spelled out on first reference and thereafter written as WVU. The institution is also known as the University on second reference.

On most occasions, put WVU in the headline of a story. Your story is usually being distributed to a non-WVU audience. The media organizations are likely getting emails from a variety of colleges and universities. We want them to instantly identify WVU as the source of the information. Headlines should only have the first word or any proper nouns capitalized. All other words should be lowercase.

As a rule, do not link to outside organizations. A few exceptions include links to event sign-ups hosted on other sites and sparing use of links to artist work if used to attract visitors to a WVU event. Linking is important for search engines such as Google. The more links you have in a story and the more links you have to highly-ranked sites such as the WVU.edu page, the more easily the story will be found online.

When attributing a quote or statement to someone, use “she said” instead of “said she” unless the individual’s title follows his or her name. You don’t talk that way, so don’t write that way. Avoid the temptation to use other words instead of “said.” Words like “stated,” “allowed,” etc. are artificial or stilted; however, words like “explained” and “continued” are fine to break up the monotony once in a while.

Example: “I’d like to fire all of my graduate students,” Attila the Hun said.

“I disagree with that approach,” said John Smith, chair of the Department of History.

Avoid the “alphabet soup” of acronyms, which can hinder readability and the reader’s understanding. Certain instantly recognizable acronyms are allowed on first reference, including FBI, CIA, and NASA. But generally, write out the name of the organization on first reference, and use the acronym on second and subsequent references. Do not put the acronym in parentheses following the first reference. If the acronym can’t be understood in context on subsequent references, do not use it at all. We are writing for the public, not the individuals we interview, so use general words like “the organization” and “the conference” to refer back to a body or event’s proper name.

When writing times, use lowercase letters. Use periods with abbreviations. Also, there’s no need to include zeros for a time that falls on the hour. Do not use 12 noon or 12 midnight. Noon or midnight is sufficient. An example: 4 p.m. and 6:30 a.m. (And remember, midnight is part of the day that precedes it.)

When writing dates, several months are abbreviated when paired with a day: Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. All other months are not abbreviated. Months are not abbreviated when they stand without the day. (Example: They went skiing in January 2019. They will go on vacation in August.) Also, the current year is always understood. Use a year when referring to a year other than the current one.

All ages of persons or animals with names should be expressed in numbers: Heather is 6 years old. Jennifer is 5 months old. Other numbers are generally spelled out until you reach 10. Example: She is purchasing five apples and 11 bananas.

The AP Stylebook has changed its mind about state abbreviations and recommends that state names are spelled out, with the exception of datelines. Also, certain U.S. and international cities stand alone without a state identification. For example, according to AP, it’s simply “Cleveland,” not “Cleveland, Ohio.” There are dozens of U.S. and international cities that can stand alone.

Once the dateline of MORGANTOWN, W.Va. — is established, there is no need to include the state for other West Virginia cities. Only cities in other states need to be distinguished that way.

Titles that follow a person’s name should not be capitalized.

Example: Dr. Clay Marsh, chancellor and executive dean for WVU Health Sciences

You would capitalize most titles before a name.

Example: Speak to Provost Beverly Wendland about the matter.

Some informal titles should never be capitalized, including professor.

Majors are not capitalized unless they contain the name of a language.

Example: Sara is majoring in English. Brett is a math major.

The names of departments and colleges, and other proper names of places are capitalized as long as they are official titles.

Example: Suzanne is a professor in the WVU Department of Psychology. Mark teaches in the geography department. (Hint: The official title is the Department of Geology and Geography.)

When attributing a quote, add the attribution following the first sentence of the quote, not at the end of an entire paragraph. This helps the reader quickly identify who is speaking.

Incorrect example: “The University is moving college students into the 21st century. Students at WVU are being prepared through courses in technology, engineering, and math that spur critical and creative thinking,” professor Jane Smith said.

Correct example: “I grew into adulthood because of my fellowship to Russia,” Matt Smith said. “My time there changed the way I look at the world from then on.”

When writing about a student, always find out that student’s hometown. If it does not fit in the story, it can be placed in an editor’s note at the top of the story or in a photo caption. Often this will determine whether any outlet selects your story for publication.

Hyperlinks

When including hyperlinks in text it is considered best practice to describe where the link you are including will take you.

Correct example: Learn more about the Mountaineer mascot on the program’s website.

Correct example: Visit the Mountaineer mascot website for more information on the beloved mascot of WVU.

Incorrect example: Learn more about the Mountaineer mascot at this link OR here.

Incorrect example: Learn more about the Mountaineer mascot at www.mountaineer.wvu.edu.

The only exception — and this is very rare — is when you are trying to make the individual aware of an exact URL, which might occur for branding purposes or with a commonly used web address change, in which case you should use the hyperlinked URL in the text.

Find more information on the WVU Web Standards Accessibility website.

Other ways the SCM Office of Strategic Communications can help:

• Assist with editing or writing.
• Distribute content.
• Make media pitches.
• Arrange news conferences and interviews.
• Determine how you can best use internal communications like ENews, which reaches faculty and staff and is sent as an email on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, and UNEWS, which students receive Mondays and Thursdays during fall and spring semesters.

If you find you need other help — distribution to a few media outlets, on-the-spot AP Style advice, institutional memory of when things occurred, for example — don’t hesitate to reach out to us.

This guide is a reference to use when faced with style, format, and other basic questions as you promote WVU. It is not all-encompassing and is updated periodically.

Let’s Go!