A final word to all would-be news writers

If you have read any of the articles produced by Berea College News up until the end of the Spring 2025 semester, there is a high likelihood that the article was written by me.

My name is Austin Warren. I’m a class of 2025 graduate at Berea College majoring in English and minoring in Creative Writing and Philosophy. Those may not be the areas of study you’d expect from a news reporter or news writer, but I made the work my own. To any prospective writers on campus, now it’s your turn.

Let me take a step back. I’ve been doing news writing since the start of the Fall 2022 semester when I signed on at The Pinnacle, the official Berea College student-run newspaper. That’s where I learned the basics of writing news articles under the excellent guidance of alumni Jay Adams, 22’. If not for them and their leadership, I would not have been able to actively write as part of my student labor experience for the past three years. I also have alumna Mack Carmack, 24’, to thank for helping me in my transition from The Pinnacle to Berea College News. Her guidance was just as pivotal to my career as a writer at Berea College.

That leads me to the main point I would like to make. If you are a Berea College student and you are passionate about writing and honing your craft on a consistent basis, then this last article I’ll write for Berea College News is for you. I am passing the torch to whoever will follow me not just in writing news for BCN, but for whoever among the student body is hungry for constant improvement of their craft. BCN has done a lot for me in my three years of writing labor I’ve performed at Berea College, so I will share what I’ve learned with the hope that someone will find my insights useful.

For news writing, it would be wise to acquaint yourself with the Associated Press style. There are many conventions to be aware of, but here is a quick numbered list of the essentials:

1. All titles should be lowercase except for proper nouns.

2. Times should be written as follows:

   1. “The police arrived at the scene around 9:30 p.m.” 

   2. “The police arrived at the scene around 9 p.m.” 

   3. “The police arrived at the scene around midnight.”

   4. “The concert is from 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.”

   5. “The concert is from 10 - 11 p.m.”

   6. “The concert begins at noon.”

3. Numbered entries or lists should be written as “No. 1,” “No. 2,” “No. 3,” etc.

4. Phrases such as “Jonas-brother-themed” should be connected by dashes.

5. Useful headline conventions to be aware of:

   1. Top-10 resources on Berea’s campus

   2. Berea set to open Student Union Center 

6. Phrases to avoid:

   1. Avoid brand names unless you’re talking about the brand.

      1. Kleenex, Chapstick, etc.

   2. Numbers one to nine are to be written out, not anything above 10. Numerals should still be used for ages, percentages, and money.

      1. Nine boxes, 10 boxes, etc.

      2. $9 m or $9 million

      3. 9 years old

      4. 9 percent

In writing news, it is also helpful to follow a reverse pyramid structure. With this structure, the beginning of the article is information-dense whereas other details and more in-depth investigations are saved for later. Practically-speaking, this is good for both drawing the reader in and getting the more straightforward reporting out of the way so you can get into the meatier parts of the story.

As far as article length goes, 650 words is a good baseline, but I have found that trying to push a story to that point when there is not much more to say works to the article’s detriment. Keep your writing more consistent than the length of the articles—it’ll serve you better.

That’s about all that I have for my guidance, but I will say this: you can have all of the knowledge in the world about the Associated Press conventions and the most clear and concise prose, but the wisdom of the craft comes with experience. Keep at it, whether you’re reading this as a news reporter at BCN looking to write an article or simply wanting to hone your craft. Keep at it. There is a place on this campus for hungry writers and storytellers like us.

Thank you to everyone at BCN for making my labor experience at Berea College amazing, and special thanks to Jay Adams, Jacob Dickerson, and Mack Carmack for being stellar professional role models.