User:SUFCboy/Wikinews:Prepared stories

From Wikinews, the free news source you can write!
Jump to navigation Jump to search


Many major events are expected, e.g.: the launch of a new product/film/book, a major sporting event, a court case, election or the death of a notable person. The stories we publish at these events are often made up largely of background information that is available before the event. Examples include:

Story preparation is a common practice in news media and quite essential to ensure rapid delivery of the story. However there have been mistakes in the past by major media (notably with US presidential election results. Example: DEWEY DEFEATS TRUMAN)

Story preparation helps to eliminate duplication of effort. Editors can collaborate on a single, common, prepared story rather than working separately on multiple, private, prepared stories.

Preparing a story allows quick response. In the event of a story having two possible outcomes - e.g. a football match or election - writers can prepare two stories for the event.

Creating a prepared story[edit]

  1. Create the article as a subpage of Wikinews:Prepared stories.
  2. Start with a 1-2 sentence summary of the the concerned event. While the final specifics of an event may differ from your version, that can be changed as necessary. Example:
    • Former United States President Gerald Ford has died at his home in Rancho Mirage, California at the age of 92.
  3. The rest of the article should be details already known about the subject. In the case of of obituaries, this can include important details and events in their lives.
  4. Finally, add a photo relevant to the subject if a public domain or Creative Commons-licensed photo can be found. Fair use photos probably should not be used, as their fair use rationale is questionable in a prepared story. If you cannot find one, don't worry about it; it can be added when the article is published.

Before participating in story preparation, please note:[edit]

  • No story developed here is to be published until an official announcement has been made by the parties involved/or a respectable source is found.
  • Please affix the {{prepare}} tag to the top of any prepared stories.
  • When adding categories, please place a colon (:) before the word Category, we don't want readers to come across the story when checking looking through the categories. Remove this when actually publishing.
  • Information which is avaliable before the event should be properly sourced (see WN:CITE).
  • When publishing a story, rename the article to the main article namespace. Don't copy & paste it. This is important, because renaming a page conserves its history.

Obituaries[edit]

We also have prewritten obituaries to enable a quick reaction when notable persons pass away. While it may appear tasteless, it too is common practice in the news media and because of Wikinews' open editing nature you are able to see them.

The Obituaries subpage contains a full list of pre-prepared obituaries. Some still require creation.

Specific events[edit]

These are notable events that are expected in the near future. Some may yet require a prepared story.

Interview preparations[edit]

Please see WN:SOON for the stories being prepared for the upcoming week.

All articles[edit]

All articles in the Story Preparation section can be found in one place:

  • //en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Special:PrefixIndex&prefix=Story+preparation%2F&namespace=4

Entries in italics are redirects. Collaboration pages are at:

  • //en.wikinews.org/w/index.php?title=Special:PrefixIndex&prefix=Story+preparation%2F&namespace=5

Article templates[edit]


SUFCboy/Wikinews:Prepared stories