A Short(ish) Punchy Title in Title Case

A brief subtitle or deck in sentence case, bold italics, but no period at end

—By Your Name

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A feature photo that you have LEGAL WRITTEN PERMISSION TO USE with caption and credit, italics (Feature photo, State Theater; Photo Credit, Alyssa Maria Melani)

• It’s best to use an original, but you may also use one with a Creative Commons license (e.g., Unsplash or other open-access photobanks) or other paid digital license (e.g., you may have access to Adobe Stock).  If you go the permissions route, be sure to credit the photographer; e.g. Photo by Element5 Digital on Unsplash or Feature photo by WavebreakmediaMicro on stock.adobe.com.
• For copyright purposes, we may not use photos taken from the internet without written permission of the photographer/owner. See the bottom of this document for more information.

[Insert a horizontal line and begin story]

Your story goes here. Body text, left justified, single-spaced paragraphs. Google Docs should automatically set a “space after paragraphs” but you can do so manually if need be (Format/Line & paragraph spacing/Add space after paragraph). Do not put an extra blank line space/hard return between grafs.

Following this format will make it easier to import into WordPress for our magazine later.

Subheaders, bold, to break up sections as necessary, in sentence case (only first word and proper nouns capitalized)

Embedded links for quotes or information from printed or online sources; e.g, Speaking to the New York Times, Professor Modrak called Schlissel’s termination “a huge relief”; according to the Office of Budget and Planning, the University’s six-year graduation rate is 93.4%. No citations in parentheses or works cited are needed, but it is very important to note where the quote came from, so readers don’t mistake it for an interview you conducted yourself.

For interviews you conducted, you can just say so-and-so said, but be sure to use their full name, profession, location, or other identifying information on first reference. (John Smith, a UM pre-health major, said he “plays Wordle first thing every morning.”) You do not have to say “I interviewed.”

 

Formatting sources

 

For quotes or information from print or online sources use embedded links and name the sources.

• Speaking to the New York Times, Professor Modrak called Schlissel’s termination “a huge relief.”
• For the most recent cohort, the University reports that its six-year graduation rate is 93.4%.

 

For interviews you did, use the source’s full name on first use, then last name thereafter.

 

No citations in parentheses or works cited are needed, but make the source clear, especially if a quote comes from a source other than an interview you did.

 

Keep hyperlinks brief; for linked articles, for example use a short verb phrase rather than the article title.

 

Using Images

 

Photo permissions: Since we are going public, we need to make sure we have a legal right to use any photos in our articles.  To simplify:

• If you took the photo in a public space (e.g., outside a restaurant) or of an interview subject, you’re generally good to go. Only iffy area might be inside a store or restaurant (ask permission) or if you take a picture of a person that you are planning to sell commercially, which might require a release from the subject. For more information, see this piece from Lifehacker on Photography in Public.
• If the photo came from Unsplash or another stock service, you should be ok, but do credit the photographer and embed a hyperlink if available. Unsplash also has images that require a fee so make sure yours is freely available.
• If the photo came from the internet (Instagram, a store website, a Google image search, etc.), it’s a no-go without written permission from the owner. Unlike with text excerpts, alas, there’s no “fair use.” The only expectation is if the image is explicitly captioned with a Creative Commons license.

 

Photo credits. No matter where the image came from, make sure to include a caption and credit for your feature photo at the end of your article text. If available, please include a link either to the photo or the artist’s account:

• Feature photo by Siora Photography on Unsplash.

• Feature Photo: Ann Arbor in 2020 Summer—the COVID era, by Yanzi Chen

 

Conflicts of interest

 

Be sure to disclose any potential conflicts of interest in your article; for example, if you are related to or work for/with a source or if you have a financial interest in the story you are reporting on.

Feature Photo: Ann Arbor in 2020 Summer—the COVID era, by Yanzi Chen