Welcome, dearest Daily Kos Community, to the latest installment of Picks of the Week! It’s been another hellacious week for news, and y’all did a phenomenal job of reporting and recording the horrors and victories of the last seven days, as well as shining your light on stories that need it. The latter, to me, is one of the greatest powers that the open platform of Daily Kos has on offer to those who choose to write here: You can write about anything you want … and it’s so wonderful that you do.
There’s an even dozen of your stories on this week’s list. Here’s a quick reminder on how this list gets populated from stories written Fri.-Thur. of any given week, for those who may be new to this meta series.
Truly, there is no formula. We tend, unsurprisingly, toward stories with solid writing and fresh perspectives, that cover a wide swath of topics. We’re suckers for stories with a personal bent when we can find them. We also aim to feature different writers whenever possible. Finally, with this diary being put out on Saturdays, we do our best to pick stories that haven’t gone stale by the time I hit Publish.
This list isn’t just for this weekly diary, either. Community Picks started out as an email newsletter long before I started at Daily Kos, much less publishing these diaries in August 2018! That means that every staff-chosen Pick of the Week reaches a far wider audience than it might usually find. Pretty cool stuff.
With that in mind, let’s move on to our newest Tip of the Week, a feature recently added by popular demand. Here’s a quick recap of that demand, for those who may be thinking, “I sure didn’t ask for this!”: The 2018 Daily Kos Caucus at Netroots Nation featured a too-short discussion, launched by Community members, about ways to tweak the great content that’s already being created, so as to better conform with the site’s editorial standards. Similar questions have also found their way to the “Picks of the Week” comments. As someone who does a lot of writing—and, more relevantly, a lot of editing—for the site, I’m meandering my way through key elements I think are important for Daily Kos writers to know.
Last week, we touched on quality headlines and ledes, though I think we’ll need to do an interactive mini-workshop sometime in the future. We’ve also talked about headline style rules, and, of course, the all-important Page Break. Speaking of the Page Break, before we get to this week’s list and this week’s Tip, it’s time for one.
See what I did there? It never gets old. Today’s Tip centers around images, and what we call Lead Images (or Title Images) in particular. I can’t understate the importance of using images in your diaries. Visuals add so much! Whether it’s in the reverse-chron/Recents or in the sidebar, a story without images stands out, and not in a good way. They also don’t look great on social media, either.
Every story you write needs a Lead Image. Period. That’s the simpler part of this lesson.
I could launch into a lesson about what makes a good lead image, but for now, I want to talk about three key questions you should ideally be able to answer about any image you upload into the Image Library.
1. Who took or created the image?
2. Who owns the rights to the image?
3. Do we have permission from the owner to use the image?
If you don’t want to deal with these issues, there is a super simple workaround: Only use images that you’ve taken yourself, or use images uploaded by Daily Kos staff, who always know the answers to those three questions before uploading an image. Here’s how!
It would NOT be acceptable, for example, to just grab an image of Nancy Pelosi from an article on CNN, or take a screenshot of it, and attribute it to CNN. That’s not accurate, and it’s not legal, yet it happens a lot. If you want to be on the up-and-up, you must properly attribute any photo you’ve uploaded into the Image Library (who took it and who owns it), and you must make sure you have the right to use that image. That can mean the photographer is you or gave permission to you, commercial usage is permitted under the photo’s Creative Commons license, or it’s public domain.
Remember, photography is an art and a profession. DBAD and steal people’s work.
Bonus points for adding Tags or a great Description to your image to help others find it.
That’s it for now. Feel free to discuss in the comments.
Onward to this week’s picks!
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Eyewitness account of the latest Democratic primary debate
By pitmatic
A resident of Westerville, Ohio shares photos and anecdotes to help illustrate what happens when a Democratic debate comes to town.
NYC firefighters and their loved ones already knew Rudy was a fraud
By Christian Dem in NC
When Rudy Giuliani was mayor of New York City, one particular aspect of his corruption contributed to the unnecessary loss of dozens of lives on 9/11.
Crazy/Stupid Republican of the Day: Rand Paul
By republicinsanity
The Libertarian ophthalmologist-turned-Senator fancies himself a self-made man, but let’s admit it: Having a father in politics makes it far easier to succeed in politics, even if you choose to wear tinfoil hats.
Ableism and the PG&E blackout
By Besame
This look at the massive “voluntary” cut to electricity through the eyes of Bay Area residents with disabilities will make all that spoiled food seem a lot less important.
Trump's kids are fair game: Time to shine a light on these grifters. First up: Princess Ivanka
By Victor Klemperer Respawned
The depths of corruption, greed, and evil that defines the First Children seem to know no depths. This exploration of Ivanka Trump’s dirty business dealings just touches the tip of the iceberg.
A Bus Ride Through Fly-Over Country…
By ReasonaBill
It’s beyond time to stop giving those who hold the worst attitudes in America the most power in politics.
An Intersecting Tale: Berkeley's #WhereDoWeGo Movement Stays Fast. Homeless Sweeps Crew Go Elsewhere
By jpmassar
A new partnership between those without homes and those with resources helps reinforce the concept of strength in numbers.
Voter turnout is predicted to be the highest in a century. Prepare now.
By twocrows1023
Are you prepared to spend hours in line on Election Day 2020? Wouldn't;t you rather be using that time to help others vote? Here’s one solution.
I'm giving birth in the state with the highest maternal death rate. That's not what scares me most.
By ZawnVillines
Bad doctors are everywhere, but patients have more power than they might realize. One expectant mother’s journey through firing providers who weren’t up to snuff.
Plans to Privatize National Parks Outlined in Trump Adminstration Memo
By Dan Bacher
Coming soon to a national forest near you: Food Trucks and so much more.
Horrified? You should be.
Republican Christians Credit God for Killing Elijah Cummings.
By TheCriticalMind
A great statesman died this week, and the worst Christians in America are calling it an Act of God … because he had the gall to challenge Donald Trump.
Yes, really.
Everyone's biased, but we can't fix it until we admit it
By houyhnhnm
No decent person wants to believe they’re racist or sexist or homophobic or bigoted in any way, but the reality is, bias lives in all of us. Denying these facts helps no one.
That’s it for this week, folks. Feel free to let me know in the comments if you think I missed a gem. As always, I’m happy to receive submissions throughout the week via my Kosmail.
Thanks, as always, for all the hard work you do to keep this site amazing. We’re so glad you’re here. Please keep on writing. Your voice matters.