Attend the event and arrive early. Pick up a program. Interview at least one organizer, one participant and one audience member, as appropriate.

Sweep/big picture

Besides including the basic elements listed below, think about the bigger picture -- how does this event fit in with other events or themes at De Anza or in the world?

Three event highlights

Examples: A soloist, a list of some of the compositions played, a description of whatever got the most applause. Is it the professor or director’s last concert? Was there a special guest performer? For fair-type events, what was the most popular area and why? What did you find most interesting, and what can you find out about it?

Quotations

Get quotations from three or more participants and/or audience members. Get quotations from an organizer. What stood out for them? For students, get the name, age and major. For staff or faculty, get the name and position. Check spelling of all names.

Lead

Write a lead about one of the highlights or what you found most interesting about the event. Do not lead with the information from the flyer, e.g. DON’T write: De Anza students learned about campus clubs at Club Day April 24 –you could have written that before you got there. DO write: The electronic stylings of De Anza College students Aaron Reyes and Victor Ma reverberated through the main quad, while students learned about the campus clubs they can join. In the next paragraph, give the date, etc.

Photos

Take many photos, and then choose 5-10 to upload. Include close-ups of interesting things or faces, medium shots showing what a person or small group is doing, and a few wide shots showing the entire event. Choose the best, clearest, most interesting photos. Do not send multiple photos of the same thing, but 5-10 different photos so that editors can decide what is best.

Cutlines (captions)

Include a separate cutline for each photo. For photos in which five or fewer faces can be seen, you need the names of each person. For students, get the name, age and major. For staff or faculty, get the name and position. Check spelling of all names. In the cutline, describe in the present tense what is happening in the photo.

Examples:

• Jeannie Nguyen, 19, music major, tunes up her cello as she prepares for the June 22 De Anza Symphony Concert at the Visual and Performing Arts Center.

• A miniature Volkswagen illustrates the concept of inertia as part of a science project by Daniel Lopez, which he presented at the De Anza Math & Science Fair June 13.

• (from left) Maria LaVigne, 19; Teresa Than, 20, and Lauren Li, 20, demonstrate salsa dancing June 25 at the De Anza Dance Concert.