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Topic: When the AP picks up your stories
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| Author | Message |
| NewbieNewsie | Posted – 1/30/2005 1:07:53 PM | show profile I recently wrote a story for the small newspaper I work for and the AP picked it up and a bunch of the big metros picked it up on their Web sites and I think one may have actually printed it. Anyway, they wrote a less local lede and took my byline off of it and credited it to our paper. I'm a newbie, so it was pretty exciting to show my family, but do you think it's something worth keeping in mind for future job interviews and such, like bringing the AP clip and my original clip to show? Thanks!! |
| dreambig | Posted – 1/30/2005 3:24:10 PM | show profile not exactly I would only offer the original clip as it is probably a better example of your work before it has been edited to death by the AP. But the good news is, that all those big papers that the story went into can now go on your resume as in... Articles have appeared in the Washington Post, New York Times, etc. |
| NewbieNewsie | Posted – 1/30/2005 3:47:10 PM | show profile ... Thanks for the help! I went out and purchased the Sunday edition of one of the big papers (700,000 Sunday circ.) and was excited to see it made it in (without the byline and edited all around, but it was all my reporting). Anyway, whether or not it is that important for my career, it's been a highlight! |
| zookeeper | Posted – 1/30/2005 3:49:48 PM | show profile Congratulations! That's great news, and certainly a good sign of things to come. |
| seeyouinheck | Posted – 1/30/2005 4:42:55 PM | show profile even better They sometimes will pick up my stories and keep my byline. Of course, the photog gets an extra $25 for each of the pics they use but the writer gets zilch. |
| sheilamullan | Posted – 1/30/2005 6:29:20 PM | show profile presumably Hello CuyWrite: Only you know the nature of what the story was. But I'd definitely go back and do a real hard re-think: did the wires pick it up because there was no other way to have obtained this particular piece of news, or did they pick it up because it was excellent newsgathering and/or writing? The 2 mean very different things. But bottom line, your name is getting out there with the big editors. Well done. Sheila |
| cornfrost | Posted – 1/31/2005 4:54:21 AM | show profile I do not agree with nysun. I think it's a great idea to include both clips. It lends legitimacy to your work. And it's a fine idea to let an interviewer know the AP noticed your work favorably. |
| cornfrost | Posted – 1/31/2005 5:00:46 AM | show profile But I think it's a terrible idea, as nysun suggests, to turn this into something on your resume that says ''articles have appeared in the WashPost, NYT....''. An interviewer could easily call your bluff. And if the article that appeared in the WashPost turns out to be an AP revise of a story you originally wrote for your local paper -- well, that reflects badly on you. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 1/31/2005 9:35:02 AM | show profile Unfortunately, such articles aren't really useful for clipping. When I was working in newspapers, I was asked by the chief of a small bureau responsible for my area to file a story on a trial. The chief himself had been covering the issue, but wouldn't be able to attend that day. I filed the same story that was used in the local paper with the AP, which took my byline off, edited it and ran it on the state circuit. I never used the AP copy for clips purposes, but I did put a line on my resume and in cover letters saying that I had written stories that were picked up by the AP. If you're proud of the story, then use the original clip as part of your collection, but I wouldn't necessarily put the AP copy with it because it would detract from your original story. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| itsc2 | Posted – 1/31/2005 11:12:13 AM | show profile I think Cy has the right idea -- it's probably better to let your original work stand with YOUR byline and also maybe mention that your work has been picked up by the AP (but, as someone said, don't word it so that it appears you've been writing for the NYTimes, Post, etc.) In addition to being a slight distortion of the facts to use the AP version of of the clip, I think it sort of detracts from it and makes you look a little amatuerish, like you're overly excited about having your work picked up (not that it's not something to be happy about, but I think you don't want to give the appearance of acting like this is the greatest thing to ever happen to your work.) |
| whosays | Posted – 1/31/2005 12:38:23 PM | show profile You have to understand that stories aren't actually ''picked up'' by AP -- they are fed to AP by your newspaper, a condition of being a member of the association. This is how your newspaper gets most of its non-staff-written stories. As such, it's rather silly to claim to have been published in X, Y and Z big papers when all that really happened was the papers dipped into the pool of stories submitted by AP members and pulled out a good one. Most of the stories sent to AP (and NYTNS, Scripps Howard, Gannett News Service and other wires) include the byline and the name of the originating paper, because some member papers put full credit to the originating writer/photographer and paper in their codes of ethics, as a point of credibilitythey believe is important to readers. In short, what you have on your hands is a thrill and fun and something to savor and be proud of, but not something to include in your clips or to put on a resume. |
| tnik | Posted – 1/31/2005 3:45:50 PM | show profile As someone who works for the AP, I don't know about this ''pool'' you're referring to, whosays. Perhaps you're thinking of another service? CuyWrite's story is pretty much what we do: We either stumble on a member story we think would interest other members or, more frequently, members send us the stories to see if we want to pick them up. If they're picked up, we usually strip the byline, credit the paper and recast for a broader audience. But there's no AP wire of member-submitted stories. (Now, a member can ask for a story they saw in another paper, but that's a different situation.) We receive many member stories each day that we never put on the wire. In any case, CuyWrite, I think you should be proud. Like other said, it should hardly be the hallmark of your career, but it does mean you found an original enough story the AP felt others members should know about. |
| dreambig | Posted – 1/31/2005 4:48:28 PM | show profile | email poster So wait, i'm curious...is there any appropriate way to list what papers your story (through the AP) has appeared in on your resume? I had a story that was picked up by the Guardian (UK), washingonpost.com, the LA Times, etc. How would I include this on my resume? |
| whosays | Posted – 1/31/2005 10:02:58 PM | show profile >>But there's no AP wire of member-submitted stories. (Now, a member can ask for a story they saw in another paper, but that's a different situation.) We receive many member stories each day that we never put on the wire.<< Yes, the stories sent out on the AP wire are selected by AP editors. But, I can assure you as an editor responsible many years for submitting for two West Coast dailies, the member papers do indeed submit stories to the AP (and other wire services) every day for consideration to be put on the AP's regional and/or national circuit. Stories of regional or national interest are coded to go electronically to wire services; that way, the news is fresh. AP reporters work hard, but in the LA bureau, at least, there aren't enough of them to cover the geographic area no matter how hard they work. Your mileage may vary in NYC. |
| NewbieNewsie | Posted – 2/1/2005 7:53:32 PM | show profile Thanks for the feedback Here's an idea: If a bigger newspaper runs a story I wrote with my byline on it and maybe even my newspaper, as in: Joe Smith Daily Herald reporter Can you say, ''My work has appeared in [insert bigger paper]''? Or is still the not a big deal really? |
| whosays | Posted – 2/1/2005 9:21:49 PM | show profile Semantically you'd be correct, but since that wording is used for stories written specifically for a publication, you'd also be deceptive. |
| Cyrus | Posted – 2/2/2005 9:45:56 AM | show profile Your question about byline and including your paper is moot. If the AP picks up a story and retains the byline of the member paper's staffer, they will strip the name of the member publication and replace it with standard language like ''Special to the AP'' or something similar. I've forgotten the exact verbiage. ------ Cyrus Afzali Astoria Communications www.astoriacomm.com |
| whosays | Posted – 2/2/2005 10:20:55 AM | show profile Cy, that must be a very recent policy. Up to three years ago, the stories came across credited to the member paper, not saying anything like ''special to ...'' If there has been a change, then I tip my hat to the editor of my city's paper who has to chase down the names of the originating papers (as must have happened with the original poster's story). |
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