Click CMS Desktop to reveal the dropdown menu; select Editorial > Assets.
From the top left of the large central panel, select New Asset, then Article from the dropdown menu.
The new article window appears. In Blox CMS, anything underlined in red is required information. Type the headline of the article in the Title field.
Enter your article content either by directly typing into the text box or using the Paste as Plain Text button to copy and paste from a word processor.
Use the Start Date/Time field below the text entry area to determine your article publish time.
For immediate publish: save the article when it is done (allowing for caching time).
For publishing at a future date: click the calendar icon. The article will publish automatically at the date and time set.
Set the display priority.
On the right side of the panel, there are three important tabs: Tags, Related, and Other.
To add a section: click Tags > Sections > Add.
A section is required for a story to appear on the homepage and section pages.
The Select Sections screen will pop up; you then can choose the sections of the publication to which the article is to be assigned. You can select multiple sections at one time. When you are satisfied with the sections chosen, click Add Sections. Please drag and drop to put the most specific section at the top (i.e. K-12 Education instead of News).
Add five or more keywords in addition to the slugline (i.e. #05062020slug). Click Tags > Keywords > Add.
You can click the magic wand in the article text editor on the left side to get suggested keywords based on your text.
Under the Related tab, there are child assets, sibling assets and parent assets.
To add a new asset: choose the types of assets (child, sibling, parent) first. Then click Add. Find Assets will allow you to search for existing files.
In the settings of the block, click on Appearance. Click on the arrow to see the options for additional content.
Choose the type of content and number of assets. Set the display mode as a regular vertical list.
To add additional content: click Related > Content > Add and then select the type of content. You can change the title.
Types of additional content: Bio Box, Correction, Did You Know?, Editor's Note, If You Go, Just The Facts, More Coverage, More Information, Places To Go, Pull Quotes, Sports, Story Highlights, Update
To manage the article's workflow: Choose the Other tab.
At the bottom of the screen, click Save. The View button will become active. Click View to see what your new asset will look like when published.
When satisfied with the appearance of your new article asset, click the down arrow next to Save, and select Save and Close. You can also promote it to the next step in the workflow at this point.
To log your hours: go to https://myhr.umsystem.edu/ > Self-Service > Time > Report Time.
Please log your shifts as you work them to prevent missed punches.
Pay remittances are only available online. To view your paycheck in myHR, click the Payroll tab.
Some reminders for student employees:
Employees are responsible for accurately reporting hours, including clocking out for meal and rest breaks. When working a shift longer than six hours, the reasonable expectation is that employees will take at least a 30-minute unpaid meal break. Meals, classes/meetings and other breaks are non-compensable.
UM System guidelines prevent student employees from working more than an average of 28 hours/week (roughly 121 hours/month) across all positions on campus. The Missourian limits your average weekly hours to about 20. If you consistently work more than 28 hours/week, you compromise your part-time, non-exempt status. That aside, we don't want you to put your academic pursuits in jeopardy.
Weekends and special events may necessitate extended shifts. Those instances require a supervisor's approval. Most newsroom shifts do not exceed eight hours, and they should never exceed 12. Overtime is not authorized.
If your shift has waiting time or other lulls, speak to your supervisor about how or if you should schedule around it. Some wait time is compensable, but it isn't always in the best interest of your time management or ours to keep you on the clock during non-busy periods, especially when you're signed on for a long shift.
Answer the phone: "Columbia Missourian, this is [your name], may I help you?"
Email phone messages to reporters right away, or call the reporter yourself. DO NOT give reporters' phone numbers to sources. DOUBLE-CHECK PHONE NUMBERS AND NAMES / SPELLINGS.
Check voicemail is MSG Wait is lit.
Press the phone line, then press MSG Wait.
The passcode is 573-882-5720.
You can answer incoming calls on any newsroom phone by picking up the receiver and dialing 82.
To transfer a call:
If the call is on hold, press the phone line again to take it off hold.
Press Transfer, the 5-digit extension, then Transfer again.
Hang up the phone.
Give the caller the number to which you are transfering them in case of a problem.
We use subheads a lot (which is great!), and there are options in Blox to make them stand out more and also automatically make them a subhead in print.
We don't want to just bold the subheads. They get lost in the story, and it won't translate over in print.
Going to Heading 4 gives you a slightly larger subhead and automates it for print. To go larger, which may be appropriate for some stories, you could use Heading 3. You can always combine Heading 3 and Heading 4 to have multiple levels of subheads with hierarchy.
To get Heading 3 or Heading 4 into a story: Highlight the line you want to be a subhead, and select the heading from the dropdown that says Format: Normal Text in the text editor.
Longform articles are useful for engaging the reader in a longer story with visual elements. The longform presentation drops the side rail and goes full-width. We want to make sure longform articles remain special, so we don't overuse them. We also lose the ads on the page, so advertising will begin pushing back if we overuse it.
Stories that we use longform for are usually at a minimum 1,500 words and have very strong and/or multiple visual elements — photos, graphics, video. With some new tools, we can also begin incorporating info boxes and pull quotes.
To start, change the presentation mode of the article to longform.
At this point, you can embed images and other assets through the article. To embed, drag from the Related Assets panel into the story. You can add images, video, graphics, collections, etc. from child assets. If you have related articles as sibling assets, you can embed these as well. On the Related Content tab, you can drag and drop info boxes and also use the pull quote style.
Any photos not embedded will default to a gallery at the top of the article.
Once the assets are embedded, you can double-click and control several things — alignment, width and presentation. On photos, we can go full-bleed and do a parallax (scrolling photo). The double-click options will be available in all article assets (regular and longform presentation), but some are going to make more sense in longform. I've shown some of the different options in this article (you'll have to be logged into Blox to see it).
Left / Right: aligns the element to the left or right. You can use left and right options to spread out half-width items.
Center: aligns center. What you typically want for full-width items.
Half: uses half the width of the gallery. It readjusts and typically will apply at full-width on mobile.
Full: full-width. Typically stretches outside of the text gallery.
Headline Link: a plain blue link, using the headline as the link text.
Summary: an image (if available) with headline and summary in a box.
Asset Presentation: the standard presentation for the type of asset (an image is an image, an HTML asset shows the asset, a collection shows a scrolling gallery, etc.).
Parallax: scrolling photo.
Full-Bleed: full-bleed photo.
Mosaic: mosaic presentation of images in a collection (photo gallery).
What it typically is: photos, links, PDFs, HTML assets, graphics and sidebar articles. These are the items directly related to an asset. Think about what is under a budget line — T, P, G, D. These are all part of the same package and should be children of the main asset.
Where they show up on the parent (unless embedded in the story):
Standard photos: at the top of the story; multiple photos will go in a gallery
Mugshots (photos with presentation: mugshot): in the side rail
HTML assets: at the bottom of the story
Graphics: treated the same way as photos (highly recommended these are embedded in the article)
Links: right rail
PDFs: right rail
Sidebar articles: right rail (summary is included in this link)
Important note: assets that are children to another asset will not appear in blocks on the homepage or section pages. This prevents a PDF or individual photo from showing up alone on a homepage or section page. That said, related articles (not direct sidebards) should not be added as children to assets or they will disappear from blocks. Related articles should be sibling assets.
What it typically is: assets tangentially related to other assets. We most commonly think of these as related articles (other columns by the same author, a story about the same event from last year, other stories tied to a location or topic, etc.). It can also include photos, collections, HTML assets, PDFs, etc.
Also, sibling assets create a reciprocal relationship. When Article B is added as a sibling to Article A, Article A shows up as a sibling on Article B.
Where they show up: on the right rail as standard links.
What it typically is: we most often think of it as an article, but the parent would be the main asset (in whatever form — photo, gallery, article, etc.) that has the directly related pieces.
Where they show up: there is a link to the parent asset that apepars at the bottom of the child asset. So if a reader gets to an individual photo, they would see a link to the related gallery and/or article.
Print corrections should follow this basic construction: "Casey Smith is an art teacher at Paxton Keeley Elementary School. An article on Page 1A Thursday incorrectly identified Smith's occupation."
Corrections never say "should have said."
Corrections run on Page 1A or, if room is needed for more, on page 2A. If there are additional corrections for Page 2A, put at the bottom of the corrections box on Page 1A: "Please see additional corrections on Page 2A."
Online corrections should follow these basic constructions:
For articles: on the article, go to the Related tab and click on Content. Add new and select Correction. Type the correction in the box.
An asterisk should be placed at the start of every correction:
*The MU mascot is a Bengal tiger. An earlier version of this article misidentified the mascot.
An asterisk also should be noted in the story immediately following the corrected copy:
The MU mascot is a Bengal* tiger.
For photos: corrected captions should be noted in the caption field:
CORRECTED CAPTION: Casey Smith loads a bag of canned goods into a truck Tuesday as part of Columbia's annual food drive. A total of 73 bags of canned goods were collected on Tuesday alone. An earlier version of this caption misstated the number of bags loaded by the city on Tuesday.
For graphics: corrections should be noted underneath the corrected graphic in the caption field:
CORRECTION: Jimmy John's is located on Broadway. An earlier version of this graphic incorrectly stated its location.
For slideshows: corrections should be noted in the description tab field and appear above the introductory paragraph for the corrected slideshow:
CORRECTION: In the fourth photo of this slideshow, Casey Smith, depicted licking an ice cream cone, is 5 years old. An earlier version of this slideshow incorrectly stated his age.
When a correction is made, add #correction in the Keywords tab of the asset.
Check:
Davis Funeral Chapel: should be starting to email obituaries
Death notices run online and on page 2A on days we publish.
Headline: "Death notices for date (i.e. June 18, 2020)"
Put the names of those included in the text in the summary (i.e. "Death notices for Elmer P. Hornig and Carolyn Wells.").
Keywords: #datedeathnotices (i.e. #06182020deathnotices), #deathnotices, each name separately.
Add addresses for all locations of services and other events.
Don't include condolences/tributes or remembrances.
Death noties run just once.
Age: Be sure to check the math by looking at date of birth and date of death.
Residence: The town the person lived in at the time of death. If they were a longtime Columbia or area resident and had moved away from here, add that in (i.e. "Edith Beale, 50, a native and longtime Columbia resident who moved to Hawaii in 2008...").
Visitation: Example: "Visitation will be from 10 to 11 a.m. Friday at Parker Funeral Home, 22 N. Tenth St."
Services:
If services immediately follow visitation hours: "Services will follow at the funeral home."
If services are later and/or elsewhere: "Services will be at 2 p.m. Friday at Parker Funeral Home, 22 N. Tenth St."
Put your name and contact number on the top of the obit checklist.
Obtain exact date of birth for the deceased and write it on the top of the obit checklist.
Slug the obit. Write the slug on the top of the obit sheet.
Use the day of the week AND date AND year of death.
Abbreviate all months in dates (i.e. Feb. 10)
"Died earlier," not "preceded in death."
Call on the cause of death if they were younger than 55.
Try to contact family.
AC all name spellings.
States are abbreviated according to AP style (Tenn., Ill., etc.) — no Mo. for Missouri unless it is confusing (i.e. California, Mo., Mexico, Mo.)
Great-grandchild is hyphenated.
In addresses given for memorials and funeral homes, St., Ave. and Blvd. are the only ones abbreviated.
The Rev. [Insert Name]
Include all surviving siblings and immediate relatives.
Use courtesy titles on second and subsequent references (Mr., Mrs., etc.). See the stylebook for more information.
"Funeral Services" is redundant — just write "services."
Copy checklist and obit sheet. Then place in Today's Obits basket.
Attack obit checklist to obit sheet. Then place in the copy desk basket.
Do we publish family obits as received?
Yes. Please post family obits the way they are written, but be sure to read them over to make sure there are no typos or obvious mistakes. Post under the section Obituaries: Family Obits and use #fulldatelastnamefamilyobit as the keyword.
When do we embark on a life story?
People who have spent at least one year of their adult life (post-college) in Columbia and if the funeral service is at least three days in the future.
How many days do we roll a life story?
Typically just two, but sometimes if the person is extremely important to the community, we may make an exception.
Should we put obits on the budget?
Please. If there is no life story, make sure the copy desk can read that (in blue) on the budget so the desk will know to run the family obit ASAP without waiting to determine where a life story will come through.
When do we give up on a life story?
Generally after 48 hours of no luck and no expectation of having any.
What do we include in the night note?
It can’t hurt to let everyone know that a life story is either still in play or has been spiked. Also, if a GA reporter is not continuing a life story that is still in play, please tell the next ACE to assign someone and get a hand-off (i.e. get the name/number of a reporter who may have made some contacts so the new reporter can check in with the old reporter). Early a.m. ACEs, please check the overnight email to see if an obit came in after hours.
For the morning:
Turn on the budget screen and log into https://avcontrol.jour.missouri.edu. Click on the Budget Area screen and turn the display on and video source to Info Spread. For the 11 a.m. budget meeting, you'll need to change it to the Editor Desk to navigate the stories.
Pull up the Boone County Fire / EMS and Columbia Police Department scanners. Make sure if you have to leave the desk that you have a reporter sit at the desk to listen to the scanner.
Pull up the Boone County Fire / Rescue and Columbia Police Department dispatches. The CPD dispatch is usually pretty far behind, but it's good to have anyway.
Pull up the daily Missourian budget and Blox.
Check the Boone County Sheriff's Department 0:700 Report — it shows who's in jail and on what charge. You should be looking for familiar names, big bonds and felony charges.
Check the Missouri State Highway Patrol (Troop F) report for serious or fatal crashes near Colukmbia (typically in Boone County).
Send a student to check the Columbia Police Department blotter. It's located on the corner of Sixth and Walnut Streets in the lobby to the left of the door. Make sure they're looking for familiar names as well as felony amounts of drugs, murder, rape, anything dealing with children, etc. Although it may seem obvious, make sure they take a notebook and a pen with them.
Check other news reports: KOMU, the Columbia Tribune, KMIZ, KBIA and Twitter.
Start doing death notices.
For the afternoon:
Pull up the Boone County Fire / EMS and Columbia Police Department scanners, the Boone County Fire / Rescue and Columbia Police Department dispatches, the Missourian budget and Blox.
Go into the conference room and turn on the projector using the avcontrol website (it should be up on the computer already). You need to pull up the "Daily Missourian Budget" document.
Check with your reporters to see where they are with their stories and ask about deadlines, ACs/CQs, etc.
CQ the death notices very carefully and file family obituaries as needed.
Make sure you also forward any obituary photos to photoed@columbiamissourian.com so they can process them.
For the weekend:
Do everything on both checklists.
Assign one of your GA reporters to do the print calendar.
Reporter(s)' name(s) and phone number(s) in the notes at the top of the story?
Ask the reporter: "Is this story ACd and CQd?" (Have you, the reporter, checked the spelling of every proper name in the story?)
Make sure the person's name is spelled the same way throughout the story. Eyeball each name. If the reporter obtained the spelling over the phone, make sure they double-check "sound-alikes" like P and B.
Check titles. Ask the reporter for a source on title formulation. If the reporter is vague on this point, look for reliable double-check sources (like the person's email signature or website profile). If the reporter is still unsure, ask them to call the source back to verify. Same goes for names. Encourage reporters to get business cards from sources.
Check names of all entities, including business and organization names. Don't take the reporter's word for it in every case. Check the company or organization's website online.
Check for appropriate and complete first references and that a first reference isn’t repeated in the story. Make sure second references are correct. This is especially important if you have re-organized the story and moved blocks of copy around.
When editing obits and crime or accident briefs, consider yourself on high alert. Do not allow yourself to be distracted. Make sure you check the obit sheet. Errors in obits hurt people deeply. Errors in crime briefs can get us sued. Don’t convict suspects.
Check to see that all five of the Ws are addressed in the story. Often, beginning reporters will leave out the time element. Often, it needs to be in the lead. Also, make sure that the “If You Go” information has been provided by the reporter in event stories. We often tell readers about something that’s happening but neglect to tell them how to get involved.
Check attribution. “How do you know that?” is a question you should ask often. Ask the reporter where they obtained information in the story. Sometimes, reporters don’t know that lifting information from a website is plagiarism. (They also don’t vet the websites they use, so check that the source is authoritative and unbiased.)
Check that age is included when it’s appropriate (and it almost always is). Check that party affiliation is correct, and that any phone numbers and email or website addresses are correct. These are the most common errors in news stories (along with names and titles).
Check the math in a story. If you don’t know how to calculate percentage change, or you don’t know the difference between percentage and percentage points, learn now. NICAR has a great online resource for reporters about math. Bookmark it.
Spell-check every story. Do not ignore the red squiggles.
Check prepositions. Don’t end a sentence with one, and make sure the best one has been employed.
Read the lede out loud. Is it clunky? Does it pump too many facts into one sentence — facts that could be saved for later?
Do most sentences include just one thought?
If you don’t understand the story, don’t send it on. A significant number of errors are the result of a reporter not fully understanding what they are reporting on, and it’s your job to suss this out. Clues: If the reporter says, “I assume…” or “I guess…” in response to your questions, screech to a halt. You may be able to figure it out with the help of the archives, or by talking to an editor. But don’t just let it go.
Check for logic. Does the narrative begin at the beginning and explain what happened next and what happened after that and then and then and then…?
Look for extra words (flabby writing) and redundancy. Cut it. Remove words and then ask the reporter if the meaning has changed. Use active voice to eliminate wordiness: subject, verb, object. Are the words in that order? If not, is there any good reason to use passive voice? Or is the reporter just hedging? “Who did what to whom?”
Eliminate repetition in quotes and in introductions to quotes. (Example: "Rogers said the program would help single parents cope with stress. 'We really want to help single parents cope with stress,' she said.") Eliminate quotes that simply convey information without saying anything interesting, colorful or controversial. Use a quote high in the story. Ask the reporter to dig in their notebook for a good quote. If the reporter has none, find out why.
What questions do you still have about the information? If your instincts give you a reason to ask for further reporting, insist on it. Don’t pass along a story with holes just to get it to the desk.
Are obit articles attached in Django?
Is a new homepage published or set to publish?
Has the night note been written? Are there issues still to be addressed by dayside?
Have social media posts been scheduled?
Have the day’s stories been scored/rescored accordingly for the app?