Today's nitpicking question: datelines

[Cadet]

Some datelines are easy. When you dateline a Broncos game, it's in Denver. Even if you dateline a Cardinals game Glendale, readers still get it. They know it's the Arizona Cardinals.

Other datelines are confusing, especially for preps. Do you dateline with the common reference? Or the geographic location? Or the school's mailing address?

In my greater coverage area is rural Podunk High School. The common assumption is that Podunk High is located in Podunk. This is what people say when they speak of PHS.

However, PHS technically is located on land that is part of the Village of Bumble****. Bumble**** is not a household name, even to those in the area. Confusion will ensue if I dateline my stories from Bumble****.

To confuse the issue, PHS has a Bigcity County mailing address (not a P.O. Box, either, but the legal street and emergency response address). But even more confusion will ensue if I dateline my stories from Bigcity or even Bigcity County.

So do I use the common reference, the technical definition or the mailing address? Or just stick with what is least confusing for readers?

Thanks in advance for the help.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

hmmmm... i've always gone with mailing address

 

[Rockbottom]

hmmmm... i've always gone with mailing address

Doing so will have you datelining Fighting Irish home tilts with this: NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- ... which, I guess, is more descriptive than SOUTH BEND, Ind., but not nearly as *accurate* if you ask me.

rb

 

[Ledbetter]

I'd go with where you actually are, though that might be the heart of the problem.

If the Village of Bumble**** is in your coverage area, people should be used to seeing it.

Ole Miss is technically in University, Miss., according to the mailing address, but every dateline reads Oxford.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

good call, guys...

hmmm. so cadet, you should know this already, don't listen to my ass

 

[blondebomber]

hmmmm... i've always gone with mailing address

And you've been making this major, running mistake for how long?

 

[Rockbottom]

good call, guys...

hmmm. so cadet, you should know this already, don't listen to my ass

rb

 

[Cadet]

Ole Miss is technically in University, Miss., according to the mailing address, but every dateline reads Oxford.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You go with the common reference, right? Same with South Bend...

For the record, the Village of Bumble**** may have a population of 13 people. It's not a common reference and, really, I'm not sure why Podunk just doesn't incorporate it. The kids from Bumble****, if there actually are any, go to Podunk High School.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

hmmmm... i've always gone with mailing address

And you've been making this major, running mistake for how long?

haven't had many datelines where it's been a problem

 

[shotglass]

Cadet, that probably should be a paper-wide style. Check with your news desk and see how they handle datelines from that school.

 

[WildBillyCrazyCat]

The dateline is the first fact of your story. It should be correct.

It's not always the mailing address. I usually look to see if there are any local police officers staffing the game. You can usually get an accurate read of your juristiction based on where the police come from.

Example, from a dateline that a lot of people got wrong: When the Columbine massacre happened, the Jefferson County sheriff's office responded, because the school is not located in Littleton, but actually in an unincorporated section of Jefferson County.

 

[HoopsMcCann]

and, honestly, is being accurate really a "major" mistake?

 

[Cadet]

Cadet, that probably should be a paper-wide style. Check with your news desk and see how they handle datelines from that school.

In theory

I'm actually writing our first sports desk style guide and trying to establish some consistency. This is already a conversation I've had with others across the newsroom, and there has been no consensus. Therefore, I bring the question to the SportsJournalists.com masses!

 

[blondebomber]

Ole Miss is technically in University, Miss., according to the mailing address, but every dateline reads Oxford.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You go with the common reference, right? Same with South Bend...

For the record, the Village of Bumble**** may have a population of 13 people. It's not a common reference and, really, I'm not sure why Podunk just doesn't incorporate it. The kids from Bumble****, if there actually are any, go to Podunk High School.

I don't know my Mississippi geography, but what Ledbetter wrote is confusing. He says Ole Miss is "technically" in University, Miss., because that's the mailing address. Those two things don't necessarily have anything to do with each other.

 

[shotglass]

I know we had the problem with State College, Penn State's town, vs. University Park, which is the mailing address. We shifted to State College a few years ago because that's where everybody thinks Penn State is.

Whether that's right or wrong ... I don't know.

 

[ServeItUp]

Good for you, Cadet. Fight the consistency battle.

At my rag, sports style is different from news style in a lot of areas. Yet my Monday and Tuesday pages get proofed by... wait for it... the news copy desk because the sports guys (save the desk guy) take Sunday and Monday off. And so, my pages get proofed in news style because no one in sports bothered to a.) put together a sports style guide or b.) pass sports style along to me when I arrived earlier this year, or at any time since.

 

[blondebomber]

and, honestly, is being accurate really a "major" mistake?

Ummmm ... if you always use the mailing address, then you're not being accurate. You're guessing (and PROBABLY getting it right).

 

[HoopsMcCann]

I know we had the problem with State College, Penn State's town, vs. University Park, which is the mailing address. We shifted to State College a few years ago because that's where everybody thinks Penn State is.

Whether that's right or wrong ... I don't know.

i knew that was another problem one -- although, i've seen my fair share of university park datelines

 

[Ledbetter]

Ole Miss is technically in University, Miss., according to the mailing address, but every dateline reads Oxford.

See, this is what I'm talking about. You go with the common reference, right? Same with South Bend...

For the record, the Village of Bumble**** may have a population of 13 people. It's not a common reference and, really, I'm not sure why Podunk just doesn't incorporate it. The kids from Bumble****, if there actually are any, go to Podunk High School.

I don't know my Mississippi geography, but what Ledbetter wrote is confusing. He says Ole Miss is "technically" in University, Miss., because that's the mailing address. Those two things don't necessarily have anything to do with each other.

The mailing address for the entire campus is University, Miss., but the campus is located inside the city limits of Oxford.

It's just a postal thing, but technically all games are played in University.

 

[spnited]

Games are NOT played in Univrsity, Miss., or Stanford, Calif. They are played in the cities of Oxford and Palo Alto.

A post office address is NOT a dateline.

Simple solution, does University, Miss., or Stanford, Calif., or Notre Dame, Ind., or (the worst AP dateline!) Air Force Academy, Colo., have a town/city/borough/township government separate from the incorporated government of which it is a section?

The one I have never figured out (Help me, shottie) is University Park-State College. Which is the incorporated town/city with a town/city governent?