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.
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.
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.
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.
Before promoting a story, check to make sure you have done these things:
Does the article have assigned sections?
Have you added relevant keywords?
Have you added the slug keyword (#MMDDYYYYslug)? Does it match the budget (check with your editor)?
Have you set a display priority (5 is the standard)?
Have you added related articles as sibling assets?
Have you written a summary?
Does your article have you as the author and byline?
Have you previewed the article?