Style Guide - The Pacific Tribune

[vc_row css=”.vc_custom_1476835230750{margin-top: -35px !important;}” flex_horiz_align=”center” tdc_css=”eyJhbGwiOnsibWFyZ2luLXRvcCI6IjMwIiwiZGlzcGxheSI6IiJ9fQ==”][vc_column width=”2/3″][vc_column_text custom_title=”Style Guide”]The Pacific Tribune publishes news, entertainment, sports, and lifestyle articles across our site as well as a number of other platforms on the web. While we do publish a majority of the mainstream headlines, we also cover a lot of downright weird stories that don’t get enough coverage (or any coverage at all) in other outlets. Mainstream or strange, we still value consistency and accuracy across our platform.

This style guide was last updated on October 17, 2016, and is updated regularly to ensure it remains relevant and responds accordingly to changes in language and common, casual usage.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]News: When writing news articles, always refrain from offering opinions or slanting the story in one way or another. News articles should be as non-biased and objective as possible; and should not knowingly contain slander, defamatory, libelous information or hate speech.

Opinion: Opinion articles should be categorized as either an editorial, a letter to the editor, or an Op-Ed, and should not knowingly contain slander, defamatory, libelous information or hate speech.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Capitalization: Initial-cap every word in headlines (our CMS will do this automatically), with no end punctuation (unless it is a question mark, or, very rarely, exclamation).

Lists: Please retain the “The” in superlative headlines (e.g., “The 30 Most Inspiring Films,” “The 25 Best GIFs of 2012”).

Questions as headlines: With the exception of quizzes, generally avoid questions as headlines, particularly news headlines posed as ones that can be answered with a “yes” or “no” (e.g., “Will Hillary Clinton…”).

Subheadings and lists: Use common sense re: capitalization. Err on the side of consistency. If most sentences are full sentences, capitalize the first word only, use end punctuation, and treat as a normal sentence for all subheds in list. If list reads more like titles of images/things (e.g., “Grumpy Cat,” “This Guy,” “Your Brother,” recipe names), initial-cap each word (except for prepositions, articles, conjunctions that are three letters or fewer — and, at, but, for, of, etc.) and do not use end punctuation. REMINDER: In headlines/subheadings with initial-capped words, always cap “Is,” which, although a puny word, is indeed a verb![/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]External (links to other sites): Should always open in a new window. To achieve this, click the ‘Link Options’ dial and check the box that says “Open Link in New Tab.

Internal (links to articles or pages on the Tribune): You can use your best judgement, but keep in mind that all links have the downside of taking readers away from your article – potentially before completely reading your article.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Quotes:

Use [sic] after a word to indicate a misspelling in written quoted material.
When paraphrasing a quote, use […] between the two quotes that you are combining together. Refrain from removing important context or taking quotes out of context in a way that would create a false narrative.

Attribution: Generally, all quotes should have attribution, even if it is obvious who is speaking. A colon after the sentence that directly precedes a quote is fine; otherwise, aim for attribution within or after the first sentence of a quote. “Says” and “said” are preferred verbs for attribution; avoid “she notes,” “he laughs,” “they contend,” etc. “Explain” is also frequently misused; is the person quoted really explaining something?

In crowdsourced posts or posts with anecdotes by several different editors/people, quotation marks around the blurb are not necessary. Just add a “—FirstName LastName” (or “—Anonymous”) after the anecdote.

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Someone up the editorial chain at the Pacific Tribune should be told who your anonymous source is, except in the most extreme cases. That may be your vertical editor or someone in management.
Avoid using anonymous sources for negative quotes.
Think about how the reader will perceive the use of an anonymous source — if a reader were to ask you, “Hey, why didn’t you use that guy’s name?” is your answer something they would understand?
The number of anonymous sources isn’t as important as the knowledge those sources have. Five randos isn’t as useful as one person who actually knows what they’re talking about.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Style using the word “redacted” in all caps and in brackets: e.g., “If you have not done so already, [REDACTED] can contact [REDACTED], who may have a certain level of experience with these people.”[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]In most cases, spell out on first reference and follow with the acronym in parentheses (if there are subsequent references): e.g., “body mass index (BMI).” Lowercase acronyms with six letters or more (Nasdaq); exception is NASCAR. Possessive acronyms ending in “S” — like CBS or PBS — should take an ‘s, not just an apostrophe (CBS’s sitcoms, PBS’s programs, etc.). Abbreviations should always be written in all caps, even if the abbreviation includes a preposition with fewer than four letters (e.g., DOD for Department of Defense, DOS for Department of State, etc. Exception: GoT for Game of Thrones). Well-known acronyms and abbreviations do not need to be spelled out, even on first reference. Use your judgment, but we’ve provided a list of some that don’t need to be spelled out over on our acronyms and abbreviations page.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Use periods and no spaces when referring to someone’s initials in running copy (e.g., “We call him J.B. back home”); the only exception to this is in Q&As (see Entertainment section), when initials precede colons.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Format university names with more than one location as follows: University of California, Berkeley, on first reference; UC Berkeley on subsequent references.

Abbreviate universities as UPenn, UConn, etc.

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Spell out states names in copy when a city precedes it: e.g., “This happened in Boca Raton, Florida.”
LA is acceptable for Los Angeles on first reference, but other city abbreviations (NYC, SF, DC) should not be used on first reference in body copy.
Descriptions of a Long Island background should include a specific town, e.g., “He’s from Manhasset, New York” (not “He’s from Long Island, New York”). As an adjective, “Long Island” can stand alone without “New York” — e.g., “The Long Island singer recorded her first album at the age of 18.”
Please use datelines in all original reported news stories, spelling out both the city and state or country name in full. Our style is as follows:
EL PASO, Texas — Running copy lorem ipsum etc etc etc
See below for US city names that are well-known enough to stand alone without a state, both in datelines and running text (supplementing the list in AP). (Note: Just use “Washington” for DC datelines.) Stories published by BuzzFeed’s international bureaus may use state names following the city names below for clarity at their discretion.
- Atlanta, Atlantic City, Austin, Baltimore, Berkeley, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Denver, Detroit, Honolulu, Houston, Indianapolis, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Memphis, Miami (and Miami Beach), Milwaukee, Minneapolis, Nashville, New Orleans, New York, Oakland, Oklahoma City, Orlando, Philadelphia, Phoenix, Pittsburgh, Sacramento, St. Louis, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Diego, San Francisco, Seattle, Washington, DC.
Other prominent smaller US regions may not require a state to ID them, but the context must be considered. These include:
- Albany, Aspen, Bel-Air, Beverly Hills, Big Sur, Buffalo, Cape Cod, Compton, Des Moines, Fort Lauderdale, the Hamptons, Harlem, Hollywood, Malibu, Martha’s Vineyard, Nantucket, New York’s five boroughs (Brooklyn, Bronx, Manhattan, Queens, Staten Island), Santa Fe, Santa Monica, Silicon Valley, Soho (NYC and London), South Beach, Times Square.
Foreign cities and regions that can stand alone (for Canadian provinces, adding the province name after a city is sufficient — “Montreal, Quebec,” not “Montreal, Quebec, Canada”):
- Acapulco, Amsterdam, Athens, Baghdad, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beijing, Belfast, Berlin, Budapest, Buenos Aires, Brussels, Cairo, Copenhagen, Dublin, Edinburgh, Florence, Geneva, Glasgow, Havana, Hong Kong, Istanbul, Jerusalem, Kiev, Lisbon, Liverpool, London, Madrid, Manila, Mexico City, Milan, Monte Carlo, Montreal, Moscow, Mumbai, Munich, Nairobi, Oslo, Ottawa, Panama City, Paris, Prague, Quebec, Rio de Janeiro, Rome, Saigon, Sarajevo, Seoul, Shanghai, Singapore, St. Petersburg, Stockholm, Sydney, Tehran, Tel Aviv, Tokyo, Toronto, Tuscany, Vancouver, Vatican City, Venice, Vienna, Warsaw, Zurich.

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September 1961, spring 1955 are preferred over September of 1961, spring of 1955 in news stories
In most stories, format full dates as: Oct. 3, 1983. In features and essays, however, it is acceptable to spell out dates in full (October 3, 1983). Do not use 1st, 2nd, 3rd, etc., in dates.
Capitalize the names of months in all uses. When a month is used with a specific date, abbreviate only Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., and Dec. Spell out the month when using alone, or with a year alone.
When a phrase lists only a month and a year, do not separate the year with commas. When a phrase refers to a month, day, and year, set off the year with commas.
1. Examples (these apply to headlines and subheadings as well):March 1983 was a good month because that’s when I came into the world.
  Feb. 4 was the coldest day of the month.
  His birthday is April 17.
  Feb. 14, 2009, was the worst Valentine’s Day ever.
  Episode 3 airs Saturday, Feb. 1, at 10:30 p.m.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Spell out one through nine, use numerals for 10 and above (exception: OK to use numerals for numbers under 10 in lists of headlines, like in Celeb Gossip Roundup stories. Also OK to use numerals in news-y headlines like this “10 People Shot, 3 Killed At Detroit Barber Shop”).

Be consistent when writing out numbers in succession (e.g., “9, 10, and 11” NOT “nine, 10, and 11”); same applies to ranges of numbers (e.g., “We are expecting eight to ten people.”)
Use a comma in numbers expressing quantity that are four digits or more.
Never start a sentence with a numeral — UNLESS a year starts a sentence (“2013 was a totally bodacious year”), but try to avoid this. Otherwise, spell out a number that starts a sentence (“Thirty-five cats live on that island.”)
Use 1 in 4 voters (figures) if it’s a large sampling. But spell six out of nine senators because these are finite numbers under 10.
More than 1 in 4 children are obese (not “is”).

In headlines: For lists, always use a numeral. “9 Adorable Photos Of Monkeys Riding Cats,” “54 Amazing GIFs Of Naked Presidents”

If a number is not referencing the number of items in a list, then spell it out. “Eight-Minute Video Of Hillary Clinton,” “Five Out Of Nine Supreme Court Justices Prefer Cats Over Dogs,” etc.

Millions and billions: Always use numerals (6 million people).

Percentages: Use figure + percent sign —unless a percentage starts a sentence, in which case spell out the number and use the word “percent.” (“The survey showed that 88% of people would rather hang out with Lil Bub than Anne Hathaway,” “Eighty-five percent of the staff voted for a pizza party.”)

Exception: OWS terms “the 1 percent” and “the 99 percent.”

Prices: 99 cents, $8, $2 billion deficit

Do not include “.00” in a price: e.g., $17 (not $17.00).
When a price includes both figures and words, never hyphenate, even when preceding a noun: e.g., “the $1.7 million house” (not $1.7-million).
Spell out foreign currency rather than using symbols (euros, yen, etc.), except for British pounds (£), which we use the symbol for in all posts (use option + 3 on non-UK keyboards). For nations that also use dollars, clarify by using the currency’s abbreviation following the number: e.g., $100 AUD, $25 CAD.

Phone numbers: 917-000-0000; 800-TRIBUNE

Sizes: For clothing, format as size 8, size 10, etc., in all uses. For bra sizes, format as 34B, 36DD, etc.
Sports: Scores: 5–3 (with an en dash); not “5 to 3.” (Also, no comma necessary after “won” in a sentence such as “The Knicks won 110–98.”)
- Use digits for scores, statistics, and yard lines. Spell out everything else under 10 (e.g., ninth inning, first quarter, third base).

Temperature: Expressed as numeral + “degrees.” No need to repeat the word “degrees” if it’s implied. (e.g., “It was 5 degrees out, but it felt like -10.”)

Use numerals to express ranges of temperature (“It’s going up to the 30s today”). No need to include “Fahrenheit” if it’s clear from the context.

Time: Use numerals for time of day: 4:00, 4 a.m., 8 p.m. ET, 9 p.m. ET/8 CT (when referring to programming times), 2 in the morning, noon, midnight

Weights and Measures: Generally, use figures and spell out “inches,” “feet,” “yards,” “miles,” etc., to indicate depth, height, length, width, weight, and distance. (Exception: noun phrases like “8×10s”.) However, in the context of a list, for instance, it is also acceptable to use foot and inch marks (5’6”) to indicate a person’s height if spelling out “5 feet 6 inches” in context appears stilted/looks awkward. Use your judgment.

Examples:
She is 5 feet 6 inches tall; the 5-foot-11-inch man; the 6-foot man; the basketball team signed a 7-footer; the orca whale is 26 feet long.
The ship is 200 feet long, 100 feet wide, and 50 feet high.
The room is 20 feet by 15 feet; the 20-by-15-foot room.
Forecasters are predicting 8 inches of snow tonight.
The 750-square-foot apartment.
He autographed 8×10s.

Miscellaneous: 8 mm film, 8-track tape, Hot 97, 55 mph, $150K

Addresses: For New York City street and avenue names that use numbers, always use figures in street names (6th Street, 23rd Street) and spell out the number in avenue names (Second Avenue, Tenth Avenue).

Ages:

Use numerals for specific ages (“The 5-year-old had a party,” “She was turning 30”).
Spell out decades (“in your thirties”) and variations (“The twentysomethings…”).

Decades: ’90s / 1990s (Not: 90’s, 1990’s, 90s, nineties, eighties, or any other combination!)

Demographics (e.g., in Entertainment stories):

In 18 to 49, there was…
- 18- to 49-year-olds…
- In the 18-to-49 demographic…

Fractions: When spelling out fractions in running copy, hyphenate: “You’ll need one-third of a cup of sugar for that recipe,” “More than one-half of the student body voted for removing soda machines from campus.”

Here’s a link to HTML codes for fractions.
In “and a half” constructions (e.g., “In two and a half weeks…”), no hyphenation is necessary.
When spelled out (i.e., at the start of a sentence), hyphenate all compound numbers from twenty-one through ninety-nine.

Grades (as in school): He was in the first grade; she was a first-grader; they were both first-grade teachers. Use figures for grades 10–12.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Refrain from using profanity. The only exception to this rule are instances where the profanity is part of a quote. If you plan to include the profane quote in your headline, check with your vertical editor first.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Ampersands: Generally do not use spaces on either side of ampersands in constructions like Q&A, R&B, etc.

Apostrophes:

Use ‘s for all singular possessive nouns (e.g., Chris’s, Katniss’s). Exceptions:
Corporation or brand names that are pluralized (e.g., General Motors’).
Proper nouns ending in “s” that make a “z” sound (e.g., BuzzFeed News’, Serena Williams’).
When a proper noun is already plural, the usual rule for possessives applies: The Smiths’, Rolling Stones’, the United States’ policies.
Do not use an apostrophe when a word is primarily descriptive rather than possessive: e.g., homeowners association, kids department, teachers college, writers room.
Contrary to AP: Words ending with an “s” sound before a word that begins with “s” take an apostrophe + “s”: for appearance’s sake, for conscience’s sake (but for goodness’ sake).
Personal pronouns never take apostrophes.

Colons:

A full sentence should always precede a colon.
Complete sentences following a colon are capped; incomplete sentences following a colon are not capped.
In US stories, avoid using colons to introduce quotes that are less than two sentences long.

Commas:

The Pacific Tribune uses the serial comma: e.g., “We picked up cyan, magenta, yellow, and black balloons for the party.”
With “too”:
- When “too” is used in the sense of “in addition,” use a comma (e.g., “I ate a slice of pie and three cookies, too.”), but omit the comma when “too” refers to the subject of the sentence (e.g., “Oh, you like cats? I like cats too.”).
- Also use commas with “too” when you want to emphasize an abrupt change of thought (e.g., per Chicago Manual of Style, “He didn’t know at first what hit him, but then, too, he hadn’t ever walked in a field strewn with garden rakes.”).
- Use a comma after “too” if it starts a sentence — used in the sense of “also” — though avoid this when possible, as it can look awkward.
No commas before “Jr.” or “Sr.” in names.
To create a list within a sentence, use numbers or lowercase letters and right-facing parenthesis and separate items with a comma (e.g., When I grow up, I want to own a farm that has a) acres and acres of land, b) goats of all shapes and sizes, and c) a pack of huskies for dogsledding).
Do not use a comma between words repeated for emphasis: e.g., “It’s what makes her her” (not “It’s what makes her, her”).

Ellipses: For ellipses, use three dots in a row, no spaces between each dot: …

If ellipses are used to indicate a mid-sentence pause, don’t use a space on either side. (e.g., “We could go there…or not.”)
If ellipses are used to indicate a trailing off in thought or a long pause before a full sentence, insert a space before the next sentence. (e.g., “I don’t know… Certainly, I don’t think it will be good.”)
If ellipses are used after a full sentence to indicate omission of a full sentence or more (as in a quote), use a period followed by a space before inserting ellipses. (e.g., “We moved to New Orleans in 2010. … By 2012, we were back in New York.”)
If ellipses are used to indicate omission of words rather than a full sentence or are inserted mid-sentence, use a space on either side of the ellipses. (e.g., “I adopted the cat yesterday and he’s the best. He’s already made himself right at home” would become “I adopted a cat yesterday … He’s already made himself right at home”; “Let’s hang out on Saturday and do something fun because the weather is supposed to be nice” would become “Let’s hang out on Saturday … the weather is supposed to be nice.”)
If ellipses are used at the beginning of a sub-buzz/subheading, do not follow with a space, and generally lowercase the word following the ellipses.
When inserting an ellipsis in a written quote, use brackets to indicate they were added by an editor and not part of the original text.
More on ellipses here.

Em dash: Create the em dash with keystroke option + shift + hyphen (on Macs).

Use spaces on either side of the em dash.
Try to avoid use of the em dash when parentheses, commas, or a semicolon would work just as well.
If an em dash is used to indicate interrupted speech, set it flush with the text and closing quotation mark: “I’m throwing my dog a bar mitz—”

En dash: Create the en dash with keystroke option + hyphen (on Macs).

Use the en dash (not hyphen) in sports scores (e.g., 5–3), date ranges (e.g., 1999–2005, 1980–83), and compound noun constructions such as “the New York–New Jersey border,” “the US–Mexico border.”
Use the en dash for clarity when using open compound nouns as modifiers (e.g., “a cool tennis shoe–rain boot hybrid,” “a New York–born man,” “a non–high school friend”).
Do not use spaces on either side of the en dash.

Hyphens:

NEVER use a hyphen after an adverb — aka most “-ly” words (e.g., “It was a poorly written book,” NOT “poorly-written”).
Note that other adverbs besides ones ending in “-ly” don’t need hyphens (“the almost empty glass,” “an often misunderstood rule,” “a very strong beer,” etc.) unless their meaning is ambiguous (e.g., “a little-regarded athlete,” “a still-unknown number,” “a well-known presenter”).
Do use hyphens for clarity in the following situations (per Chicago Manual of Style):
When compound modifiers such as “open-mouthed” or “full-length” precede a noun, hyphenation usually lends clarity. With the exception of proper nouns (such as “United States”) and compounds formed by an adverb ending in “ly” plus an adjective, it is never incorrect to hyphenate adjectival compounds before a noun (e.g., “A First-Rate Movie,” “Five-Alarm Chili”).
Hyphens are usually not used when a phrase is made up entirely of nouns (e.g., “video game console,” “crime scene cleanup,” “health care reform,” “toilet paper roll”), especially when the modifying compound noun can be found in the dictionary.
When adding a prefix before a compound adjective, use hyphens between all components (e.g., “a non-habit-forming drug”) — but in extreme cases it’s better to reword the sentence to avoid awkward punctuation.
In a list where an element of the modifying phrase is not repeated, use a suspended hyphen, like so: “a university-owned and -operated bookstore”; “second-, third-, and fourth-grade teachers.”
Slashes are OK in specific contexts (like “and/or”), but use hyphens for basic compounds and double titles like “singer-songwriter” (not “singer/songwriter”) or “writer-director.”
When a modifying phrase is longer than a couple of words, quotation marks can sometimes be easier to read than a ton of hyphens (e.g., He heaved a “back to the drawing board” sigh).
When a hyphenated compound noun is part of a modifying phrase, use an en dash after the hyphenated noun (e.g., “an editor-in-chief–approved plan”).

Italics & Quotation Marks: Use italics for the names of movies, television shows, newspapers, magazines, books, album titles, plays, art exhibitions/collections, web series, podcasts, radio programs, video games (including console, browser, and arcade; apps, however, should be roman, capped); use quotations for names of movie/play scenes, television episodes, articles, chapters, song titles, individual pieces of art, and names of studies. Local news affiliates should be in roman type.

Italicize titles of newsletters that contain more than one article and will be broken down into article-like sections, but use roman type (no quotation marks) for other (typically shorter, less dense) newsletters.
Italicize titles of films, but use roman type for franchises in the general sense/when they act as a descriptor: e.g., “He has tons of Star Wars memorabilia”; “I can’t wait to see Star Wars: The Force Awakens”; “I got a Fast & Furious tattoo.” Italicize franchise names, however, when referring to a media series: e.g., “theSaw movies,” “the Song of Ice and Fire books”; “What’s your favorite Fast & Furious movie?”
Board games, card games, and spoken games should be capitalized and in roman type (e.g., Monopoly, Uno, Never Have I Ever).
Titles of issues (including the word “issue”) should be capitalized and in roman type: e.g., Now Toronto’s Body Issue.
Still unsure? Here’s a handy cheat sheet for when to italicize vs. use quotes.
Normally, titles that should be italicized (movie names, TV shows, books, etc.) are set off with quotes in headlines (since they cannot be italicized in headlines/list subheds in our CMS). DO NOT, however, put newspaper or magazine titles in quotes in headlines — because it just looks weird! Treat with no special punctuation (e.g., Check Out What Vanity Fair Has To Say; Meet The New York Times Editor Who Rules).
Keep all punctuation (including apostrophe + s) that follows italicized, bolded, or colored (via links) words in roman.
When using binomial nomenclature, italicize both genus (capitalized) and species (lowercase) names (e.g., Homo sapiens).
For foreign words: If a word or phrase is unfamiliar to an English-speaking audience and it doesn’t appear in MW, set in italics; use good judgment (e.g., no need to italicize terms as commonplace as “muy bueno” or “hola”). In identity posts and other stories by and targeted to people who speak a non-English language, italics are generally unnecessary for foreign words.

Semicolons: Use only between two complete sentences or in lists with internal commas (e.g., “We visited Buffalo, New York; Tampa, Florida; and Lima, Ohio”).[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Use one space between a period and the next sentence. Never two.
When beginning a new paragraph, only hit return once. More than one return between a paragraph will cause paragraphs of text to be omitted when the post is converting into a Facebook Instant Article, Google AMP, or Apple New Format.
Be sure to remove any extra paragraph spacing created during the editing and formatting of your article. Extra paragraph spacing before or after your article will prevent your article from being converted into a Facebook Instant Article, Google, AMP, or Apple News Format.
Try to refrain from using
page breaks in your articles as it confuses our system. If you absolutely must use a page break, do not use multiple page breaks one after another.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Categories: Only select the lowest child category. For example, if you are writing a story about Hillary Clinton’s campaign for President, you should only select Hillary Clinton as your category. Our system recognizes that Hillary Clinton is a subcategory of Politics and Elections and your article will fall into those categories automatically since Hillary Clinton category is selected. Selecting both the parent and child categories will confuse our system and cause your article to be excluded from the latest posts block at the top of the homepage.

Tags: You can go as wild as you want with tags, but please do limit your tags only to topics discussed in your article. Tags help to increase the reach of your article in search engines, so the more the merrier.[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]

Keywords may consist of up to two conjoining words. For example, Barack Obama, United States, or Orange County.
You may use up to 10 unique keywords in the SEO meta box, but should always have at least one.
When reasonable, your primary keyword should be included at or near the beginning of your headline.
The first keyword should always be one of the most used words in your article. For example, if you are writing about Elizabeth Warren, then your article should contain several instances of the words Elizabeth Warren.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]Licensing: All images must be available for free use through a Creative Commons License or licensed for commercial reuse. For more information on determining copyright status or where to look for free photography, see our photos and media page.

Format and Size: Your featured image should always be in JPEG format, landscape mode, and should be at least 1200px wide by 630px high. If you need help with this, discuss with your editor and we will try to help you.

Photo captions:

Use parentheses to indicate directional: e.g., President Obama (center) meets with Gov. Chris Christie (right). If listing several names in a bigger group pictured, begin caption with “From left:” (rather than “From left to right:”).
Credits should read: Photographer’s Name / Agency
Photographers Name / Agency should link to the original location of the photo using the following code Photographer’s Name / Agency
Photo captions that are full sentences or sentence fragments should be in sentence case with end punctuation; captions that are just one person’s name should not take a period: e.g., “President Barack Obama” but “Barack Obama and Joe Biden. For dates in photo captions (especially applicable to breaking news), only add the year if the photo was take in a year other than the present one. Use specific dates (“Feb. 26”) rather than days of the week (“on Wednesday”).

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]There are several instances that warrant adding an update to a post. For instance, if you obtain additional information, or if a source has responded to your request for comment after initial publication.

Typically an update should be added to the bottom of a post, labeled “update” in all caps, underlined, and bold font. The update itself should be in regular body font. (Example here.)
If a news story is still developing, add a note at the bottom of the story and link to the Pacific Tribune on Twitter as follows: This is a developing story. Check back for updates and follow the Pacific Tribune on Twitter.‏
Do not add an update to correct inaccurate information that may have been published initially; if something has been corrected, issue a correction. (See “Corrections” section.)
In most cases our editors deny requests for retraction of information given on the record by a source. If you are contacted by a source and asked to retract a comment that they in fact made on the record, please contact your assigned editor immediately to discuss whether a retraction is appropriate.

[/vc_column_text][vc_column_text]See our correction policy for more detailed guidelines on corrections, but all corrections should go at the end of a post, labeled “correction” in all caps, underlined, and bold font. The correction itself should be in regular body font.

Don’t add a correction without first running the proposed correction by your editor or team leader.

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Pacific Tribune Style Guide