The five-day convention consisted mainly of one-hour sessions dealing with every journalistic topic thinkable. I attended sessions on multimedia, editing, editorial planning, resume building, job hunting and, of course, news design.
One of the best news design presenters I listened to was Michael Koretzky from Florida Atlantic University. His sessions were titled "Chicken Salad" because you make chicken salad from chicken sh*t, and news design involves similar sifting.
Here are some highlights of his informative and colorful session:
- Headlines should communicate an angle, not a topic; decks tell the story
- Likewise, you cannot design a topic. You CAN design an angle.
- Take lists of information out of stories. Pull them out and make them fact boxes.
- Simple design works
- A centerpiece needs to include people.
- Pull elements out of the story to use as display text.
His last salutation encompassed the presentation:
Think big. Shoot defiantly. Write directly. Design boldly.
I really like his last idea. Maybe you guys should put that up in your newsroom.
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