Our editorial team welcomes feature content from writers across campus. Got a story with potential, but a little fuzzy about the approach? Let’s brainstorm. We’ll talk through angle, formats, and ideas for visuals with you.
Contact Cate Weeks at 702-895-2626 or cate.weeks@unlv.edu.
1. Assess the Content
Is it a feature story with some element of emotional drama?
All articles should
- Align with our Content Goals
- Be timely
- Appeal to a broad audience both on campus and in the greater community
- Provide an authentic view of the university
- Follow AP Style and UNLV’s Editorial Style Guide
- Be written for a lay audience. Avoid public relations clichés, acronyms, hyperbole, and academic jargon
If your content is notable, but doesn’t quite rise to a feature story level, consider:
- Announcement section of your unit website
- UNLV Today announcement for faculty/staff
- Accomplishments brief
- RAVE/SEND announcements for students
- Class Notes on an alumnus (encourage all alumni to submit regular updates)
- Calendar posting
2. Schedule It
Contact the editorial team with the story pitch, including projected format and your ideal publish date. This helps us coordinate coverage and plan timing of your story to make the most impact.
3. Schedule photo shoot or gather existing artwork
Standard News Center photo: A JPG sized at 2000 x 1333 pixels.
- All News Center features must be accompanied by high-quality artwork.
- Contact UNLV Creative Services to schedule a photo shoot or to access an existing image from the archive.
- If using images from outside sources, ensure that you have proper usage rights.
4. Research, interview, and draft
5. Content edit
Submit your draft to the editorial team. We will edit for organizational structure, clarity, and style. We also may have suggestions to help reinforce institutional messaging.
6. Source review & final approvals
We recommend sending for source reviews and administrative approvals AFTER the content edit.
7. Submit final copy and artwork
Submit your final copy with:
- Suggested headline and deck
- Byline (also can be “UNLV News Center”)
- Photos with cutline information and credit. (If Photo Services took the images, you do not need to send the originals but the D#, if you have it, helps).
- Appropriate hyperlinks in body copy
- If related video, YouTube link
We’ll proofread and publish the story, ensuring it is tagged so it appears on your unit’s website.
8. Promotion
Your story will publish in the News Center and automatically be pushed out through our newsletters and social media accounts, as appropriate. We frequently repurpose content from the News Center for use in other publications and encourage you to do the same through your channels.
9. Curate
Revive your story when it’s relevant again and repromote through newsletters and social media. If needed, add an editor’s note with updated information or new context for the story.