Editorial Principles

Editorial principles:
It is important for us to be fair and honest in how we research and report our story. We want to use reliable sources, attribute sources, avoid conflicts of interest, and protect privacy/ copyright/ intellectual property.
We want people to have a voice but avoid any defamatory content.
We want to stand by our journalism code of ethics.

Evaluation of synopsis:
Ben and I discussed our story proposals. I like my story proposal. Lin and I found something to write about that we were both interested in, and I think it could be a good human interest article.

In terms of scope and size, we probably have to narrow down who we talk to…as we do have a deadline…

We have to make sure it has a mixture of policy and of people in the music/entertainment arena. We will use reliable sources.

Our story will incorporate our editorial principles. It will be in the public interest, and be honest and fair in reporting. Lin and I will follow our journalism code of ethics.

We will have images, vox pops, text etc. We will attribute any sources we use, and respect copyright/intellectual property.

Strengths:
Our topic is looking at the importance of smaller venues, changes to liquor/ planning laws, and the value of the local music scene. This is a Sydney issue which is relevant, interesting, and affects us as music lovers in Sydney. Actually our topic affects lots of people who like going out and having the choice to go to small venues and see music/ events/ gigs.

Sydney is full of talent, so why aren't there more choices in nightlife?

Shortfalls:
We have a deadline so we can only do so much in the time frame allocated, as both the researching/ reporting and the computer/ editing/ uploading parts are equally important.

The topic is a big one, so it is important not to get information overload, instead Lin and I need to sift through everything, find a good story and run with it. We have to make sure we get to the heart of the issue…find its soul…we want people to be interested in what we have written!

Things we need to do:
*Interview. Interview. Interview. Of course we need to interview key contacts, chase up people, email/ phone/ face-to-face appointments, etc.
*Brush up on our Dreamweaver abilities, fiddle around with Dreamweaver and Photoshop. Edit our work, take pictures that enhance our story.
*Think of how we are going to do the lay-out.
*Go to some small gigs (it's story-related!)
*Read any related City of Sydney/ NSW Government media releases/ documents about the topic.
*Research topic thoroughly
*Try not to be overwhelmed
*Keep an eye on the DEADLINE
*Divide time for interviewing, researching, writing, taking photographs, editing, doing computer activities, etc.
*Remember our journalism code of ethics!

Approaching difficulties:
There are lots of potential contacts for our Swerve story, however if we encounter difficulties, it is important for us both to remain calm, focussed and in control! I think it is really important for Lin and I to be organised, to find a range of people to interview (so if one person is hard to get hold of then we will just persevere…), and to encourage each other.

In terms of content, I think it is a big issue to research, so it won't be a matter of not having enough information, but having too much information, so it will be a challenge to sort out what information we use, and what we don't use in our article.

It's good that we're working together so we can bounce ideas off each other, and help one another if we have any hiccups along the way. If one interview doesn't work out, maybe we can debrief with each other, keep brainstorming, devise a review plan, launch another interviewee plan of action etc.

Is our idea realistic?
Our idea is realistic but we have to be aware of the time frame. Obviously we won't be able to interview everyone involved with small venues and the live music scene, but we will be able to go and talk to various people involved. It is an extremely current Sydney-based issue so I think it is realistic for us to cover it as a story. However we will have to narrow down who we interview about it. The NSW Government is making changes that will affect small venues so it is an issue that is on the Sydney cultural agenda. As people who love going to live gigs, it affects us, so we want to report about it.

Is our idea fair and balanced?
We are going to research the issue by talking to different people involved e.g. musicians, City of Sydney, NSW Government, venue operators, people that go along to events, etc. It is important to hear from different people. By interviewing various people this will help our story have a good balance of the issues at hand, and letting a diverse range of people have a voice will allow our story to be fair in how we report it. We want our story to be as fair and balanced as possible.

We want our story to be credible by using a range of reliable sources, interviewing people involved in the industry, and making sure we talk to key contacts. It is important as writers to maintain good research and reporting by being fair and balanced in our work.

Audience:
I think the topic Lin and I have chosen is a really interesting and current one. It affects our city. Sydney is full of talented musicians and creativity… I think there needs to be more accessibility to smaller venues, and greater awareness of the local music scene. Smaller venues need to be given more opportunities to hold events/ gigs/ acts.

I hope that different people read our story and see the value of smaller venues, the importance of encouraging local musicians, and the continued promotion of live music.

Our audience could be anyone from students to people who are interested in current Sydney issues. More so, it would be great for music lovers and musicians to read our story as it is music-related.