Defence

Defence Magazine content guidelines

These guidelines are intended to help authors prepare articles for Defence Magazine.

Article submissions are welcomed from all areas of Defence. All articles should have relevance to the whole of Defence and, while describing the activities or achievements of a particular Group or Service, authors should consider how the content of their article will affect Defence personnel at all levels and the wider community.

Mission:

• To be the corporate communication tool for the Department of Defence. To support the business of Defence, as told by its people, particularly from a civilian point of view, both to stand apart from and to augment the Service newspapers.

Aims:

• To provide interesting, considered and topical stories for Defence readers (these should cover the major issues and be informative and, above all, relevant).
• To contribute to the Defence mission by illuminating what the whole department does.
• To be the leading corporate communication tool for the Secretary of Defence, the CDF and Groups and Services in the print medium.
• To reflect APS and Defence values (and the APS Code of Conduct) within the Defence environment.

Editorial and Clearance Process

Once articles are submitted, they will be subject to a rigorous editorial process prior to being published. Authors should not expect their submissions to be printed exactly as supplied in word length or style. Any significant changes to the content will be brought to the attention of the author prior to publication.

Clearance of articles must be at 1 Star or SES Band 1 level.

Article submissions

All submissions should be made to the editor via email to michael.weaver@defencenews.gov.au or defence.magazine@defence.gov.au. Story ideas and deadlines should be discussed with the editor in the first instance by email or by phoning (02) 6265 7117.

Submission Requirements

You must include the following with your submission:

• the article in Word format (including author’s name);
• images for publication in high-resolution JPEG files (including photo attribution and caption information); and
• confirmation of clearance by 1 Star or SES Band 1 officer.

Word Limits

The following word limits must be strictly followed.

One page article:

• No pictures - up to 750 words
• One small picture - 600-700 words
• One large picture - 500 words

Short 150-200 word articles may also be accommodated in the News section, with or without an accompanying image.

Stylistic guidelines

Articles published in the Defence Magazine should be journalistic in style, not written in the same way as a policy or academic paper.

The Macquarie Dictionary should be used to check spelling.

The Inverted Pyramid

The inverted pyramid is a structure that forms the basis of every news story. Put simply, every news story should have all of the important information at the top of the article and less important information at the bottom. The reason for this structure is to get the point of the story across as quickly as possible before the reader’s attention is lost – articles must quickly capture the reader’s attention.

• What happened / are the implications / are the facts / will happen next?
• Who is responsible / will be affected / developed the idea / said something / was involved?
• When – did it happen / will it happen?
• Where did or will it take place / was it developed?
• Why did or will it occur / was it developed / this course of action?
• How did it happen / many people were involved / will it be implemented / will it affect people?

The first few paragraphs should encapsulate the main facts of the story precisely and concisely. As the reader moves through the story, the information should become more detailed – it may carry quotations from people involved and provide more specific information about background, implementation and outcomes.

For further information, contact the Editor on (02) 6265 7117 or email defence.magazine@defence.gov.au.