VOTY Online Handbook

VOICE OF THE YOUTH ONLINE Organization and Style Handbook

Mina Deocareza Christian Alamodin

Contents I.

II.

III.

IV.

V.

VI.

Profiles A. CreatiVoices Productions B. Voice of the Youth Network C. VOTY Online Vision and Mission of VOTY Online A. Mission B. Vision Admins A. Publisher B. Managing Editor C. Associate Editor Application and Retention A. Qualifications B. Application C. Retention D. Trainings Guidelines A. General Writing Mechanics B. News Articles C. Features D. Press Releases or PRs E. Opinion Pieces Posting your articles A. Setting up your Wordpress.com account B. Editing your Wordpress.com profile C. Posting an article

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I.

Profiles A. CreatiVoices Productions CreatiVoices Productions is the premiere and only online voice-over company based in the Philippines. CreatiVoices Productions stands out from the competition by delivering voice-over projects within 72 hours after the order is made. CreatiVoices Productions also has an access to a pool of talented voice artists who can cater to the customer’s various needs. Finally, CreatiVoices Productions spur the development of voice artists in the Philippines through its signature training seminar, VoiceWorx.

Founded and currently being led by Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales, CreatiVoices Productions promises to deliver any type of VO, voice acting, and hosting needs that the client will ask for with on time and exemplary results.

B. Voice Of The Youth Network The Voice of the Youth Network is a movement by youths of different communities and provinces that aims to give the youth a voice in matters that concern them. The Network, also known as VOTY, aims to inspire, inform, and involve the youth in order to gear them towards becoming significant members of the society.

VOTY has established several mediums where the youth can express their concerns and opinions about things that matter. There are youth-oriented radio shows that air on different AM channels. The VOTY Dispatch has been revitalized to deliver stories about events that aim towards the advancement of the youth. Most recently, VOTY Online aims to use the power of the internet to reach and touch the tech-savvy majority of today.

Through these mediums, The Voice of the Youth Network hopes to spark a change among the Filipino youth and begin making positive change towards the betterment of the Filipino people.

C. VOTY Online VOTY Online is the online arm of the Voice of the Youth Network. VOTY Online publishes various content regarding events, current affairs, gadgets, and other fields of interest that are of significant interest to the youth.

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II.

Mission and Vision of VOTY Online A. Vision We are a group of young writers—both student and professional—who want to make a positive change towards the Philippine society. We aim to make the Voice of the Filipino Youth be heard across the nation and around the world.

We aspire to empower, inform, and involve our fellow youth into action with our work. We hope for a Philippines that is led by leaders who came out of the proactive youth who have found their voice.

B. Mission We plan to reach our goal by writing about news, events, products, and opportunities that we believe can make a positive impact towards the Filipino youth. We will also achieve this by featuring shining examples of youth living their lives towards the improvement of the quality of life of their fellow countrymen. Finally, we aim to give the Filipino youth an avenue to amicably and intellectually discuss relevant issues in the Filipino nation using the information that they will receive out of VOTY Online.

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III.

Admins A. Publisher: Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” De Leon Gonzales Pocholo “The VoiceMaster” Gonzales is the brain and figure behind the conceptualization of VOTY Online. Gonzales, a prominent voice acting authority and youth advocate, has been active in instilling inspiration and promoting advocacies of the youth since 1996 with the establishment of the Voice of the Youth Network. He felt that the youth need to have a more visible presence on the ever changing media landscape, and called for the creation of VOTY Online. Learn more about him by visiting http://creativoices.com and http://pochology.com.

B. Managing Editor: Mina Deocareza Mina Deocareza is a superwoman from Quezon City, Philippines. She holds a creative writing degree from UP Diliman and makes a living through writing.

She works as an editor for MSN Philippines, a news website owned by Microsoft. She also writes for WhenInManila.com, Kasal.com, and Nurture Wellness Village. Her works have already appeared in Men’s Health Magazine, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Clavel Sneaker Magazine. She blogs at http://lrtqueen.com.

C. Associate Editor: Christian Alamodin Christian Alamodin can hold his own out in the world. As a Communication graduate from the Ateneo de Manila University, he has grasped what it means to write and capture relevant content and spin them into a relevant article. He is currently working as a sports writer for an international betting company. His involvement in an organization that teaches children English during his college years strengthened his belief in VOTY and VOTY Online. He blogs at http://alamodinyun.wordpress.com.

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IV.

Application and Retention A. Qualifications VOTY Online is open to all young people who have passion for writing.

Although we do not require our writers to be professionals or to hold degrees in writing and similar courses, we expect our members to have excellent written communication skills. We also like to work with people who are open minded.

It is inevitable for us to receive criticisms from time to time and what is important is that we learn from our mistakes.

B. Application Interested individuals just need to fill out the VOTY Online Signup Form.

Afterwards, the applicant will receive an email containing the official application form. He should accomplish it and provide all the required information. Then, he should send it back to the editor for evaluation. Successful applicants will receive their logins after.

C. Retention VOTY Online is not so strict when it comes to retention policies. However, members are expected to deliver quality works that only need minimal editing.

Accuracy of facts is also a must, so as to avoid getting into trouble. The publisher and the editors have the right to take down any article that is deemed to be inappropriate for the site and for its intended audience. Articles of poor quality as well as those that violate the law, including intellectual property rights, shall be taken down, too.

D. Trainings We will conduct some small workshops from time to time not just to be unified in terms of style but also to ensure everyone is improving. Members are also encouraged to read and do all the things they find important in their craft’s improvement.

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V.

Guidelines A. General Writing Mechanics 1. Basics a. Write in sentence case (also known as downstyle). Example: She graduated from UP Diliman. This also applies to titles. b. Titles and headlines should be caps-lowercase. Example: Filipino Delegates Bag Gold Medal in International Math Quiz Bee c. Basic writing mechanics must be observed in writing any type of content. d. Do not your sentences with coordinating conjunctions (and, or, but, etc.) e. In writing any type of content for VOTY Online, it is important that the content written for VOTY Online is in line with the thrust of the organization, which is Inform, Inspire, Involve, and Empower the youth. f. Look through at least three sources of information regarding the topic that is to be discussed to understand its nature. g. If the topic to be discussed has been featured on media, read on the information disclosed to them. h. Be curious but courteous. Do your best to not offend and/or misrepresent the subject of the article. i. Be professional and meet deadlines that were set for the article. j. Keep a professional tone for news and press releases; acquire a more energetic and upbeat for features and related content types.

B. News Articles 1. The Headline a. Headlines must be short and concise. b. It should be able to encapsulate the essence of the article. c. Headlines should be written in tense case only. Exceptions are acronyms for organizations, programs, and the like.

2. The Body a. The Inverted Pyramid must be implemented when writing news articles. b. Choose between the 5 W’s (Who, What, When, Where, Why) and 1 H (How) as the foremost information presented in the article. It is

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c. d. e. f.

g. h. i. j.

important that the chosen question is the angle most relevant to the youth.

News articles must be kept short, sweet, and simple.

It is imperative that news writers should incorporate as much relevant information as possible in the article.

If possible, reporters should acquire usable quotes from relevant individuals.

A formal tone should be kept. Minimum word count for every type of content is 350. Press release word count is to be determined in the future.

Remember: Always do your homework. Research.

Every side involved in the story should be covered.

Get quotes from sources relevant to the event.

Conduct independent research in order to clarify and learn unfamiliar information.

C. Feature Articles 1. Despite the difference between the content types, the same amount of research and legwork must be done for feature articles.

2. It is acceptable to adapt a less formal tone for feature articles.

3. Creativity in angles and writing styles is highly encouraged.

4. In writing profiles, it is important to cover every aspect of the subject’s life to make a compelling portrait of him/her.

D. Press Releases or PRs 1. Write in a formal, sales-y tone in the release (unless specified otherwise by the end client).

2. All relevant information the EC wants included in the article must be integrated thoroughly to the press release.

3. Title must capture the attention of the audience.

E. Opinion Pieces 1. In any editorial and/or opinion pieces, the opening statement/paragraph should directly dictate the stance of the entire piece.

2. Build up the thesis of the opinion piece by providing facts and figures acquired out of extensive research.

3. It is also important to give a suggestion how the problem tackled by the piece can be resolved. Always end an opinion piece in a positive note.

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VI.

Posting your articles A. Setting up your Wordpress.com account (if you still do not have one) 1. Go to https://wordpress.com.

2. Create your free account. Do not forget to verify your account by accessing the email address you used to sign up for it.

3. Take note of your chosen username as well as the email address you used for your account. These two will be used to set up your VOTY Online account since we use Wordpress.com.

4. Give your username and email address to the managing editor. An invitation will be sent to your email afterwards.

5. Approve the invitation by clicking on the link provided in the email.

B. Editing your Wordpress Profile 1.

2.

3.

4.

On the left side of the dashboard, look for Users.

Hover your pointer on it and click on My Profile.

Make the necessary changes.

Upload your photo on the right side as well. Then, click on Update Profile.

C. Posting your article 1. Log in to your account and click on New Post on the upper right part of your dashboard.

2. Write your article.

3. Upload necessary photos by clicking on Add Media under the title bar.

Your photo should be 480x640 or 480x640 pixels. Do not forget to put captions and delete unused photos.

4. Write your title.

5. Enter tags. They are keywords that are relevant to your post. Or, if you are going to google your article, what are some terms you will use to find it online? Example: restaurants, universities, manila, food, culture.

Separate them by using commas (,).

6. Enter the category. Here, you just have to ask yourself. Is it an event, an opportunity, or a feature?

7. Set a featured image. Just choose among the ones you uploaded on your post.

8. Hit Submit for Review or Publish to Voice of the Youth Online (it depends on what account type you have).

Congratulations! You’re now ready to post. If you have other concerns, send an email to mina.deocareza@voty.org or roeminadeocareza@gmail.com.

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