Who are you?
It may be obvious to you, or you may still be trying to figure it out. But it’s a question that must be answered if you are mentioned in the GLEANER. For our purposes it’s important to know your first and last name and how you are connected to the story you are mentioned in. Easy enough, right? Well there’s a little more to it.
Attribution:
When someone is mentioned by name for the first time in a GLEANER article (first reference) they should be identified by: Name, Organization, Position within the organization.
Examples:
· John Smith, Sunnytown Church member
· Jeff Jeffries, mission trip participant
· Barack Obama, United States president
We think it’s wonderful if you have an additional title such as Sister/Brother, Elder, Esq., World’s Greatest Dad… but you need not include them in your attribution as we will simply delete them from the article before it is printed in the GLEANER.
If you are blessed to have a suffix, such as Max Torkelsen II, NPUC president, it is appropriate to include the suffix, followed by a comma, the first time your name is mentioned. GLEANER style does not include commas on both sides of the suffix (Max Torkelsen, II,).
Even if the only time your name is mentioned is in a photo caption we still need to know your first/last name and how you are connected to the story.
Second Reference:
Once you have established who someone is in an article we don’t need that explanation every time their name is mentioned. A last name reference will do. “Smith worked on the project for six months.”
Authors:
Our readers also want to know who is writing stories they see in the GLEANER. If you write a story we need similar attribution to the people mentioned in the story: Name, Church or Organization, Connection to the group or story.
When I write an article for the GLEANER, I am “CJ Anderson, GLEANER intern.” When I write an article for my home church I am “CJ Anderson, Cedar Creek Church member.” If you are a church communication director or secretary that’s an appropriate title to include.
Have a style question for the GLEANER editorial staff? Add it as a comment and we’ll provide an answer in a future post.