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Hotbox Magazine Help HowTo: Write a Current Affairs article
Hotbox Magazine Help HowTo: Write a Current Affairs article
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| HowTo: Write a Current Affairs article |
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| Written by Xander Harding | |||
| Wednesday, 24 September 2008 21:13 | |||
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Current Affairs is the section of the magazine that deals with what people are doing about the legalization process of cannabis. This can range from interviewing politicians and other public figures about their stance on legalization or decriminalization to scientists actually doing research to any other cannabis related current event. The section also covers well thought out and researched opinion pieces on a range of topics not limited to cannabis news and commentary. Those familiar with the traditional news style of the inverted pyramid may release a sigh of relief. Hotbox magazine is not interested in distorting writing into this piece of garbage style. Those who have had to write in this style likely felt a great deal of frustration when considering that their stories are incredibly difficult to make interesting and seem to be designed assuming the reader will get bored after the first couple paragraphs. Quite contrary to this, Current Affairs should be interesting, informative and a pleasure to read. As such, there won’t be too many restrictions on writing style. That said, those restrictions that do exist will be militantly enforced. Because of the magazine’s obvious bias, it is imperative arguments are well reasoned and based on fact—and you have the evidence to back these facts up. This cannot be stressed enough if this magazine is expected to have any degree of credibility in arguing a point. Making stuff up or poorly documenting a source only leads to an angry editor who will trash your story entirely. A good example of something I won’t publish: “Pot should be legalized because I like getting high.” This sentence doesn’t convince me of anything except that you’re probably a stoner. Getting high is all well and good, but it doesn’t make for a good argument for the legalization of cannabis. On the other hand, making well thought out comparisons to alcohol, or perhaps pointing out one of the plant’s many other uses may appeal to more than the hedonistic value of smoking pot. Of course, you should cite sources where necessary. But please don't make unwarranted citations. If a claim you're making is obvious, you don't need to cite a source. "According to Christopher Columbus, the world is round" is a good example of an unnecessary citation, whereas “according to what I reckon,” doesn’t sound nearly as convincing as “according to a study done by Scientist X.” Use your judgment and I'm sure you'll do fine. If in doubt, you can always send me an e-mail and I’ll be happy to discuss your story and any complications you may be having.  
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| Last Updated on Friday, 23 January 2009 07:34 |
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