Time to meet the dreaded deadline

With just over a week left to get your entry in to the HP Newsletter competition, Transition Timestalks you through the final countdown

'PUNCTUALITY is the thief of time," wrote Oscar Wilde. With just over a week till the closing date, the deadline is looming, folks.

Deadlines are the bane of journalists, sub-editors and editors alike, who always want to put more into their work than time constraints allow. But news, by its very nature, is immediate. In the 24-hour news culture we now live in, it is essential to be organised and be able to move fast.

Former Washington Postjournalist Bill Walsh once noted that the difficulty with newspaper editing is that "the deadlines don't allow for the polish that you expect in books or even magazines". The perfectionist in you will always want to make it better. And that's a good thing. It's important to strive for excellence.

The simple truth, however, is that meeting deadlines in journalism is as important as finding good stories in the first place. If your breaking news doesn't make it to the printing press on time, it may get picked up on by a rival media source and published before you, which hurts.

But one week is a lifetime in journalism. So there's no need to crack up just yet. Organisation is key. At this point your editor should know what is still left to do, how long it's going to take and who should be doing it. Have you got all the copy needed to fill four pages? Has space been left for adequate margins and gutters between columns? Have you edited down stories that are too long? Has a sub-editor cleared all copy of any errors? Once you can answer yes to all these questions, you can then focus on design.

Does your design template match the news style of your newsletter? Does the printed version look as clear and bright as it did when on the computer screen? Do you have the right paper and printing facilities to bring the whole thing together?

Don't underestimate the importance of the printing aspect of this competition. The judges, while interested in your news stories, will also be keen to see how well you have been able to use the limited printing facilities you have in school. So make sure images and illustrations are clear and colourful and that there is a good balance between text and pictures. Use good-quality paper for the final draft. The last thing you want is to fall out of the judges' favour by failing on the basics.

Most importantly of all, try to have fun. Journalism is one of the most exciting careers there is. It sounds like a contradiction in terms but the pressure of producing a quality publication in a short space of time can actually be quite exhilarating.

The closing date for the HP Irish TimesNewsletter competition is Friday November 28th. Remember, you need to send three copies of your newsletter. For entries from both Northern Ireland and the Republic the address to send them to is:

HP Newsletter Competition, Real Events, Cathedral Court, Fumbally Lane, Dublin 8.

• For more info: www.hp.com/ie/ newslettercompetition