Style/Tricks of the Trade
The following are a set of items that provide guidance on article development.
- Headlines: Headlines should be written in Title Case. In other words, Capitalize The First Letter Of Each Word, Including Prepositions And Articles.
- Identifying Yourself in Posts: Please use I, avoid the Royal “we” and please do not identify yourself as “EDCIRCUIT”, i.e. “EDCIRCUIT reached out to the suspect for comment” or “We reached out to the suspect for comment.” You are an independent contributor, you do not represent EDCIRCUIT.
- Correcting a Post: Once you hit “publish” on a post, it goes live and cannot be taken down without EDCIRCUIT’ authorization. If the error in question is a typo, just make the edit. If you are making substantive changes (e.g. changes to the facts) in a post, you’ll need to add in italics at the top or bottom of your post: This post has been updated since it was originally posted, and highlight what was changed. If you have a question as to whether a change is “substantive,” consult with your editor and/or producer.
- Use of Tickers: Our WordPress system allows for you to tag your post with up to 5 stock symbols or “tickers” as they’re known (see operators’ manual for how). This automatically distributes a link to your post to a number of third parties with whom EDCIRCUIT has partnerships. You may only add tickers if your post is specifically about a company. Do not add tickers if your post is in some general or tangential way related to a company. Doing so affects EDCIRCUIT’ relationship with our partners.
- Precision: Be specific and precise with word choices. Note the difference between a criminal conviction and an allegation of wrongdoing, etc. And provide attribution when an allegation is coming from a source.
- Handling Comments: Contributors are responsible for monitoring the conversation that is happening on their articles, calling out, and/or replying to comments that add value or contribute to the discussion. You are prohibited from deleting comments. If you see a comment that is abusive, profane or otherwise does not follow the rules described in our Terms of Service language, alert your editor and producer so the issue can be addressed.
