Services
Mr. Richard McDonough is able to provide a variety of services in communications. Among those services are ones listed below. If interested in discussing ways Mr. McDonough may be able to enhance your news media operations, please click here.
Assignment Desk Editor:
Able to assign news stories to individuals to write/produce/photograph/videotape/broadcast based on the daily, short-term, and long-term needs of the news media operation as well as based on the skills and interests of the specific individuals. Able to keep abreast of potential news stories that would be of interest to the readers/viewers/listeners of the news media operation. Able to maintain a reminder file of potential follow-up news stories.
Content Manager:
Able to add text, images, video, audio, links, and other items into news articles and news columns utilizing the Content Management Systems within the WordPress and Squarespace software programs.
Fact Checker:
Able to independently review individual news stories produced by others and confirm each specific piece of information in the individual news stories. Able to request sources, as needed, of each specific piece of information from each individual that wrote/produced/photographed/videotaped/broadcast aspects of each news story. Able to flag specific pieces of information if the sources for that information cannot be confirmed or if sources are not considered reputable.
Headline Writer:
Able to review individual news stories and determine a short title that conveys accurately the information included in each news story and encourages readers/viewers/listeners to read/view/listen to each news story. Able to, if appropriate, determine a second short sub-title that provides additional details for each news story.
Interviewer:
Able to prepare questions and ask those questions of news sources by telephone, through email, through video links, or in person.
Journalist:
Able to report individual news stories based on events and/or news releases from an interested parties. Able to include the key elements of who, what, where, why, and how. Able to compose news stories that meet the style of writing of the news media operation. Able to prepare news stories that fit the print space, time allotments, or other measurements of the news media operation. Able to include quotes, where appropriate, from one or more specific officials and/or one or more specific representatives involved in the news story. Able to perform research and analysis. Aware of the time sensitive nature of individual news stories. Able to prepare, if requested, Enterprise News Stories that are self-generated and require extensive research and analysis. Able to develop news stories that would be of interest to the target audience of the news media operations.
News Editor:
Able to independently review individual news stories produced by others. Able to edit for grammar and punctuation. Able to edit individual news stories to meet the style of writing of the news media operation. Able to edit individual news stories to fit the print space, time allotments, or other measurements of the news media operation. Able to ask for the sources of the information included in individual news stories and confirm, if determined appropriate, the veracity of the information. Able to give approval for the edited news stories to be published/broadcast/streamed.
News Producer:
Able to combine key elements of a Researcher, Reporter, and Journalist to create content for news stories that will be handed off to reporters, journalists, and/or news readers for those other people to provide the finished products to the
readers/viewers/listeners of the news media operation.
News Reader:
Able to read news stories produced by others on broadcast and/or streaming news media. Able to speak clearly, pronounce words correctly, and control emotions during broadcast and/or streaming productions. Able to follow time constraints within broadcast and/or streaming productions.
Opinion Writer:
Able to research and review key aspects of an issue. Able to argue both sides (or multiple sides) of an issue. Able to select a specific side determined to be your view or the view of the news media operation. Able to write an opinion piece by focusing on key elements that favor the point-of-view selected. Able to give credence, where appropriate, to the other side(s) to provide a modicum of balance, though with the knowledge that balance is not the goal of an opinion piece. Able to understand that the goal of an opinion piece is to present a point-of-view with specific information to confirm that specific point-of-view.
Reporter:
Able to report the basics of individual news stories based on events and/or news releases from an interested parties. Able to include the key elements of who, what, where, why, and how. Able to compose news stories that meet the style of writing of the news media operation. Able to prepare news stories that fit the print space, time allotments, or other measurements of the news media operation. Able to include quotes, where appropriate, from one or more specific officials and/or one or more specific representatives involved in the news story. Aware of the time sensitive nature of individual news stories. Able to prepare, if requested, Evergreen News Stories that are not time sensitive, but are of interest to the target audience of the news media operations.
Researcher:
Able to gather information needed by others to prepare news stories. Able to prepare questions to be asked by others as they prepare news stories. Able to create, maintain, and update, as needed, a database of key sources from all sectors of the news media operation. Able to include in the database all critical contact information including such items full names, business street addresses, home street addresses, postal mailing addresses, direct landline business telephone numbers, indirect landline business telephone numbers, direct mobile telephone numbers, indirect mobile telephone numbers, home telephone numbers, direct email addresses, indirect email addresses, direct fax numbers, indirect fax numbers, and any other items of specific interest.
Re-Write Reporter:
Able to review and verify content in news releases provided to news media operations by public relations representatives and/or others with vested interests in news stories. Able to re-write the news releases into journalistically-sound news stories.
Social Media Producer:
Able to produce content for a variety of social media platforms, including Facebook, Instgram, LinkedIn, Pinterest, Twitter, and YouTube. Able to drive traffic to digital news sites by linking social media platforms to the digital news sites.
Website Designer:
Able to design the layouts as well as prepare the text, images, videos, and links for websites using HTML, PHP and MySQL, and Squarespace software programs.