How to Use Asia Starz News Desk
1. The most important part of the News Desk is the Topics Sheet, where writers pitch and reserve topics before writing articles. The other parts are Topic Assignments and Suggestions and TV Shows Guide.
2. Regular writers may not write an article without pitching or reserving the topic in the Topics Sheet in the News Desk.
3. Senior writers should reserve their topics in their respective section in the topics sheet before writing their articles.
4. Regular writers may either reserve stories from the list [THE LIST] or enlist trending topics of their choice [THE PITCH]. For pitched topics, wait for editor's approval before writing.
5. Any writer may write a note beside a topic that has been previously taken but was erroneously pitched or approved.
6. To reserve, write your name beside the dummy title under Reporter. [Don't forget to change the dummy title to a unique one in your submitted article.] Write "Ongoing" under Status beside the story you are currently writing and change it to "Filed" after submitting before moving to the next article. Check it later on if the editor "Returned" or "Published" the article.
7. To pitch a story, check today and yesterday's topics sheets in the News Desk first [CTRL+F] to avoid duplicate articles. Write a dummy title [not just keywords] to show which angle of the story you are focusing on [as other writers may write on the same subject but on different angles]. If you submit a duplicate article, it will be "Returned" for you to rewrite.
8. Pitch or reserve 5 topics only at a time. Also, pitch and reserve only the topics that you can surely finish within the day.
9. All pitched and reserved topics must be submitted before 11 p.m. (Manila time). Writers who do not meet the deadline will receive warning during first and second offenses and suspension in succeeding offenses.
10. Search the dummy title on Google News [or other news generators] and look for 2 best publication sources. One publication source is provided for available topics so you have to look for another one. Don't forget to incorporate the sources in the article.
Asia Starz Article Formatting Guide
1. The summary and the lead should be the same but the summary may also be the shortened version of the lead. This is why the lead should immediately explain the title; no need to give an essay-like introduction as this is not fiction or creative writing.
2. Only photos from Reuters.
2a. If there is no available from in the Asia Starz database for your article, go to Google Images and look for a Reuters photo.
2b. If there is no Reuters photo available, look for a photo from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, which must not be professionally taken. Selfies are highly recommended.
2c. If there is still no available photo from Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, take a screen shot from a YouTube video. It must be an interesting and relevant scene.
2d. When the photo is from Instagram, Twitter, Facebook or YouTube, don't forget to write name of owner of the account in the credit.
3. The photo should have 3 labels, which are title, description and credit (as per Writing Rules). Strategically add 2-3 news keywords in the title/description, especially if the photo is from a social networking site. You may either edit or copy/paste the caption provided by Reuters and Getty Images.
4. Don't forget to tick one category, add 4 related articles and 5-10 news keywords/tags and write your name as the reporter before clicking Submit to Editor or Publish. Just leave Topics blank.
5. Writers may use their real name or a pen name. Pen names should sound like a real name. Avoid using strange-sounding names and incomplete names.
