Wiki source for GettingPS
@@=====**Speech Types**=====@@
[[http://wiki.votesmart.org/SpeechesGuide <-- Back to the Speeches Guide]]
[[http://wiki.votesmart.org/TrainingMaterials <--Back to Training Materials]]
>>**Public Statement Links**
[[SpeechesGuide Speeches Guide]]
[[FieldBoxes Field Boxes]]
[[Text Do Take/Do Not Take]]
[[Finishing Helpful Hints/FAQ]]
[[speechesinternexpectations Intern Expectations]]>>**===Type:===**
We label different public statements by assigning a "Type" according to the following rules. We do not use the types provided by the official. We use our own rules to ensure consistency. It can be difficult to determine the Type of a public statement. **Pay attention.** This sometimes requires judgment calls, but if you are at all uncertain, ask your supervisor.
- __//Speech//__: Speeches are long form, in the first person, and generally delivered to a live audience. In many cases the official's website will indicate that a public statement is a speech. Sometimes they are called remarks.
- __//Letter//__: Anything that includes the full text of a letter from an official/candidate.
- __//Interview//__: An interview of the official/candidate conducted by someone who is not also an official/candidate. Interviews most often come from the TV Transcript Source list. If there is a statement by the official/candidate followed by Q &A from the press, mark as a Press Conference. If the interview is located //within// a news article mark as a News Article.
- __//Press Release//__: The official/candidate's words which are preceded, followed by, or embedded in third-person editorializing.
- __//Statement//__: The official/candidate's words accompanied by no, or merely introductory, third-person remarks. If these remarks include editorializing, mark as Press Release. Note: many releases titled as Statements by the official's website are actually Press Releases by our rules.
*Newsletters are considered statements if they are entirely written by the official/candidate.
*Blogs and Columns are also categorized as statements when they are written in the first person.
- __//Issue Position//__: This may or may not be the official/candidate's words detailing their stance on a specific issue. Found under the "Issues and Legislation" section of the individual's website, these are rarely dated. Releases from the Pressroom section of a website are rarely Issue Positions - ask your supervisor if you are unsure. In addition to congressional, presidential, and gubernatorial issue positions, we will collect position statements for state legislative candidates in the general election stage, when available.
- __//Op-Ed//__: A **published** article written by the official/candidate. If the column has not been published, or you cannot find where it has been published, mark as a Statement.
- __//Press Conference//__: These are frequently marked as a Press Conference, Media Stake-Out, or Briefing. Typically consists of a short speech by the official/candidate followed by a substantial Q & A period. This is different from an Interview.
- __//Pledge//__: Generally originating from some political organization. If there is an individual link for a candidate's signed pledge, take that link, and create a new public statement. If there is one link to the pledge with a list of signers, use that link and share the single public statement with all of the signers - very like a letter with many signatories.
- __//Debate//__: These generally only come up during election years. They consist of two or more candidates debating an issue in a public forum. They are taken much like statements, but be sure to use the TV transcript title formatting if applicable.
- __//Hearing//__: These are hearings held by committees. They consist of opening statements and testimonies. We always take the opening statements and testimonies by officials that we cover.
- __//Floor Speech//__: These are remarks delivered by current congressmen or senators on the floor of the house or senate which is in Washington, DC. Floor speeches always come from the congressional record, and everything from the congressional record is a floor speech. This means, **the type "Floor Speech", the URL "http://thomas.loc.gov", and the location "Washington, DC" always go together.**
- __//Social Media//__: These are statements from social media, typically Twitter. If a "thread" is present, take the initial tweet in the title box and the related threaded tweets in the text box. Always end what's in the text box with the official's Twitter handle.
- __//Executive Order//__: These are the official legal executive actions from the president and governors. Some are located on the governor's website, some are housed on the secretary of state's site. NOTE: Press releases containing the link to an executive order should be classified as a press release - use this classification only for the actual executive order text.
++- __//News Article//__: A published article in which **full sentences** from the official/candidate are quoted. Check to be sure these same statements have not already been entered into Admin in a different form. If there is an interview within a news article, mark as a News Article.++
===Collecting and Entering Statements in Admin===
The official/candidate's words accompanied by no, or merely introductory, third-person remarks. If these remarks include editorializing mark as Press Release. Note: many releases titled as Statements are actually Press Releases.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/6xLgnG0"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6xLgnG0.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Press Releases in Admin===
Press Release: The official/candidate's words which are preceded, followed by, or embedded in third-person editorializing.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/yiYG4qo"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yiYG4qo.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Letters in Admin===
Anything that includes the full text of a letter from an official/candidate. If there is a press release followed by the full text of a letter, mark it as a Letter. Letters frequently have multiple signatories; be sure to tag all of them. Check the section on tagging officials below. If there is a release with a link to a PDF letter, please open up the PDF and use the actual letter. The letter signed by the official is far more informative of the official's position than the press secretary's summary.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/fcPccd5"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/fcPccd5.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Speeches from the Congressional Record===
1. Use Thomas, also known as the Library of Congress, to access the Congressional Record: http://thomas.loc.gov/.
2. Select a Representative or Senator.
3. Specify a date range according to the schedule you are working on.
4. Open each acceptable statement in a new tab and click "Printer Friendly". Do this immediately as the pages will time out.
5. Close all tabs which do not meet Congressional Record Statement guidelines.
6. Use the Find function (Ctrl + F) to locate sections in the transcript where an official speaks.
7. Select those sections where the official's statements meet the Congressional Record Statement guidelines.
8. If the official is one of several officials speaking, start entry after typing in BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT and indicate endings and new beginnings with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
9. Check through the text for unnecessary line breaks or page numbers. Delete to make the text flow smoothly. Check for line breaks interrupting "CO2". Delete. Do not include BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT for these deletions. Check for the symbol □ which may be interrupting the flow of the text (often found in the word "servicemembers"). Delete any you find.
10. URL: http://thomas.loc.gov (no / at the end like in the picture below)
11. Location: Washington, DC
12. Make sure to tag whatever Act is in the title, even if they don't discuss it.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/5HNAa3M"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/5HNAa3M.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
++===Collecting and Entering News Articles in Admin===
When working on almost every schedule, you will inevitably come across various news items. These may take the form of New Articles, Radio shows, or in some cases Blogs. You will be able to tell when you come across these items, as you will likely be redirected to the news paper, radio station, or blog's website.
Often there will be a news item included in the Press section of an official or candidate's website. In most cases there will be a link to the original article.
~-Click on this link.
~-Copy the full article. If the article is extremely long and the official/candidate has only a very short quote, enter only the beginning paragraphs necessary for context, BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT, and the section containing the quote from the official/candidate. End with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
~-Delete advertisements and picture captions. This requires scanning the entire article.
~- Be sure to include the By Author line at the beginning of the speech text
You should be looking for a published article or transcript in which full sentences from the official/candidate are quoted. Check to be sure these same statements have not already been entered into Admin in a different form. If there is an interview within a news article, mark as a News Article.++
===Issue Position Guidelines===
[[Issue]]
1. Open the official/candidate's official or campaign website.
2. Open the //Issues//, //Issues and Legislation//, or whatever the section with Issue Positions might be called. This can sometimes be difficult to find. If you do not find the Issue Position section immediately, look in the //Press// or the //Biography// sections - do not give up looking for the Issue Positions until you have checked through every section of the website.
3. Open all Issue Positions in separate tabs.
4. Look through each Issue Position - if there are links to the official/candidate's stance on subcategories of the issue, open these as well in separate tabs. Be sure these subcategories are not merely lists of legislation, voting record, press releases, etc. Each position on a subcategory of an issue will be entered into Admin as its own statement, but will be clearly marked in the **title** to show what issue it is a subcategory of - see below.
5. Copy and paste text from the candidate website into Admin. Make sure that there is a space between each paragraph.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/yBopYiw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yBopYiw.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
**==== Entering Media Transcript Statements:====**
~- Open the Public Statements page in admin for the official.
~- Open each transcript or program from a particular media source in a new tab.
~- Check each to be sure a official is actually speaking and is not the topic of the conversation. Close the tabs where an official is not quoted.
~- Check through Admin to be sure the remaining public statements/quotes/transcripts have not already been entered from another source. Close any which have already been entered into Admin. Be careful - they may have different titles so be sure to read the beginning of the text.
~- Copy the entire transcript and enter it into Admin. Make sure there is a return between each paragraph of text, and between such things as the title, host, and guest information. Remove the website navigation information, such as "Back", "Print", etc. Delete the date, time, and location from the text.
~- //There will be different formatting depending on the type of public statement it is. Please be sure to look at the appropriate formatting information below.//
**Interview, TV Show, or Radio Show**
**===Television Transcripts===**
The TV Transcript schedule can be found in Google Documents. Each one will have a different format, of course, which you will have to diligently search to be sure you collect all the transcripts and quotes for officials that we collect. The transcript may not have the official listed with his/her title such as Senator, Representative++ or Cabinet Member++.
-Each network has different website styles and set ups, so please make sure to look around for the transcripts of interviews. Make sure you get information from all pages that are applicable.
-Open the Public Statements page in admin for the official quoted in the transcript.
-Enter into Admin. Take questions and answers for interviews and debates. Begin with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT and end with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
-Go to the website of the TV channel or radio station (see listed below). Find either the exact transcript, or, if no transcript is available, the video and cite this for the URL. Be sure you are citing the correct URL. Ask your supervisor if you should take transcripts for which there is no direct source.
~- Date: Date of the interview, located at the top of the transcript
~- Location: Unknown
~- Type: Interview
~- URL: URL of the transcript/quote/program
~- Title: Leave in the title you copied from the transcript. Above this, type the appropriate title from the TWO options below. Copy this title into the Title box. Include 1-3 word description of what the transcript interview is about.
~- (Network) "(Show)" - Transcript //Use the exact network name as shown in the list below//
~~- ex. MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: Gun Control
~- (Network) Interview - Transcript
~~- ex. MSNBC Interview - Transcript: Same Sex Marriage
//Networks//
ABC
CBS
CNBC
CNN
Fox News
MSNBC
NBC
NPR
PBS
The public statements team should through the list of shows annually to weed out inactive shows and add shows that have become active.
[[http://wiki.votesmart.org/SpeechesGuide <-- Back to the Speeches Guide]]
[[http://wiki.votesmart.org/TrainingMaterials <--Back to Training Materials]]
>>**Public Statement Links**
[[SpeechesGuide Speeches Guide]]
[[FieldBoxes Field Boxes]]
[[Text Do Take/Do Not Take]]
[[Finishing Helpful Hints/FAQ]]
[[speechesinternexpectations Intern Expectations]]>>**===Type:===**
We label different public statements by assigning a "Type" according to the following rules. We do not use the types provided by the official. We use our own rules to ensure consistency. It can be difficult to determine the Type of a public statement. **Pay attention.** This sometimes requires judgment calls, but if you are at all uncertain, ask your supervisor.
- __//Speech//__: Speeches are long form, in the first person, and generally delivered to a live audience. In many cases the official's website will indicate that a public statement is a speech. Sometimes they are called remarks.
- __//Letter//__: Anything that includes the full text of a letter from an official/candidate.
- __//Interview//__: An interview of the official/candidate conducted by someone who is not also an official/candidate. Interviews most often come from the TV Transcript Source list. If there is a statement by the official/candidate followed by Q &A from the press, mark as a Press Conference. If the interview is located //within// a news article mark as a News Article.
- __//Press Release//__: The official/candidate's words which are preceded, followed by, or embedded in third-person editorializing.
- __//Statement//__: The official/candidate's words accompanied by no, or merely introductory, third-person remarks. If these remarks include editorializing, mark as Press Release. Note: many releases titled as Statements by the official's website are actually Press Releases by our rules.
*Newsletters are considered statements if they are entirely written by the official/candidate.
*Blogs and Columns are also categorized as statements when they are written in the first person.
- __//Issue Position//__: This may or may not be the official/candidate's words detailing their stance on a specific issue. Found under the "Issues and Legislation" section of the individual's website, these are rarely dated. Releases from the Pressroom section of a website are rarely Issue Positions - ask your supervisor if you are unsure. In addition to congressional, presidential, and gubernatorial issue positions, we will collect position statements for state legislative candidates in the general election stage, when available.
- __//Op-Ed//__: A **published** article written by the official/candidate. If the column has not been published, or you cannot find where it has been published, mark as a Statement.
- __//Press Conference//__: These are frequently marked as a Press Conference, Media Stake-Out, or Briefing. Typically consists of a short speech by the official/candidate followed by a substantial Q & A period. This is different from an Interview.
- __//Pledge//__: Generally originating from some political organization. If there is an individual link for a candidate's signed pledge, take that link, and create a new public statement. If there is one link to the pledge with a list of signers, use that link and share the single public statement with all of the signers - very like a letter with many signatories.
- __//Debate//__: These generally only come up during election years. They consist of two or more candidates debating an issue in a public forum. They are taken much like statements, but be sure to use the TV transcript title formatting if applicable.
- __//Hearing//__: These are hearings held by committees. They consist of opening statements and testimonies. We always take the opening statements and testimonies by officials that we cover.
- __//Floor Speech//__: These are remarks delivered by current congressmen or senators on the floor of the house or senate which is in Washington, DC. Floor speeches always come from the congressional record, and everything from the congressional record is a floor speech. This means, **the type "Floor Speech", the URL "http://thomas.loc.gov", and the location "Washington, DC" always go together.**
- __//Social Media//__: These are statements from social media, typically Twitter. If a "thread" is present, take the initial tweet in the title box and the related threaded tweets in the text box. Always end what's in the text box with the official's Twitter handle.
- __//Executive Order//__: These are the official legal executive actions from the president and governors. Some are located on the governor's website, some are housed on the secretary of state's site. NOTE: Press releases containing the link to an executive order should be classified as a press release - use this classification only for the actual executive order text.
++- __//News Article//__: A published article in which **full sentences** from the official/candidate are quoted. Check to be sure these same statements have not already been entered into Admin in a different form. If there is an interview within a news article, mark as a News Article.++
===Collecting and Entering Statements in Admin===
The official/candidate's words accompanied by no, or merely introductory, third-person remarks. If these remarks include editorializing mark as Press Release. Note: many releases titled as Statements are actually Press Releases.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/6xLgnG0"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/6xLgnG0.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Press Releases in Admin===
Press Release: The official/candidate's words which are preceded, followed by, or embedded in third-person editorializing.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/yiYG4qo"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yiYG4qo.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Letters in Admin===
Anything that includes the full text of a letter from an official/candidate. If there is a press release followed by the full text of a letter, mark it as a Letter. Letters frequently have multiple signatories; be sure to tag all of them. Check the section on tagging officials below. If there is a release with a link to a PDF letter, please open up the PDF and use the actual letter. The letter signed by the official is far more informative of the official's position than the press secretary's summary.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/fcPccd5"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/fcPccd5.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
===Collecting and Entering Speeches from the Congressional Record===
1. Use Thomas, also known as the Library of Congress, to access the Congressional Record: http://thomas.loc.gov/.
2. Select a Representative or Senator.
3. Specify a date range according to the schedule you are working on.
4. Open each acceptable statement in a new tab and click "Printer Friendly". Do this immediately as the pages will time out.
5. Close all tabs which do not meet Congressional Record Statement guidelines.
6. Use the Find function (Ctrl + F) to locate sections in the transcript where an official speaks.
7. Select those sections where the official's statements meet the Congressional Record Statement guidelines.
8. If the official is one of several officials speaking, start entry after typing in BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT and indicate endings and new beginnings with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
9. Check through the text for unnecessary line breaks or page numbers. Delete to make the text flow smoothly. Check for line breaks interrupting "CO2". Delete. Do not include BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT for these deletions. Check for the symbol □ which may be interrupting the flow of the text (often found in the word "servicemembers"). Delete any you find.
10. URL: http://thomas.loc.gov (no / at the end like in the picture below)
11. Location: Washington, DC
12. Make sure to tag whatever Act is in the title, even if they don't discuss it.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/5HNAa3M"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/5HNAa3M.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
++===Collecting and Entering News Articles in Admin===
When working on almost every schedule, you will inevitably come across various news items. These may take the form of New Articles, Radio shows, or in some cases Blogs. You will be able to tell when you come across these items, as you will likely be redirected to the news paper, radio station, or blog's website.
Often there will be a news item included in the Press section of an official or candidate's website. In most cases there will be a link to the original article.
~-Click on this link.
~-Copy the full article. If the article is extremely long and the official/candidate has only a very short quote, enter only the beginning paragraphs necessary for context, BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT, and the section containing the quote from the official/candidate. End with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
~-Delete advertisements and picture captions. This requires scanning the entire article.
~- Be sure to include the By Author line at the beginning of the speech text
You should be looking for a published article or transcript in which full sentences from the official/candidate are quoted. Check to be sure these same statements have not already been entered into Admin in a different form. If there is an interview within a news article, mark as a News Article.++
===Issue Position Guidelines===
[[Issue]]
1. Open the official/candidate's official or campaign website.
2. Open the //Issues//, //Issues and Legislation//, or whatever the section with Issue Positions might be called. This can sometimes be difficult to find. If you do not find the Issue Position section immediately, look in the //Press// or the //Biography// sections - do not give up looking for the Issue Positions until you have checked through every section of the website.
3. Open all Issue Positions in separate tabs.
4. Look through each Issue Position - if there are links to the official/candidate's stance on subcategories of the issue, open these as well in separate tabs. Be sure these subcategories are not merely lists of legislation, voting record, press releases, etc. Each position on a subcategory of an issue will be entered into Admin as its own statement, but will be clearly marked in the **title** to show what issue it is a subcategory of - see below.
5. Copy and paste text from the candidate website into Admin. Make sure that there is a space between each paragraph.
**Example**
@@{{image url=<a href="https://imgur.com/yBopYiw"><img src="https://i.imgur.com/yBopYiw.png" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>}}@@
**==== Entering Media Transcript Statements:====**
~- Open the Public Statements page in admin for the official.
~- Open each transcript or program from a particular media source in a new tab.
~- Check each to be sure a official is actually speaking and is not the topic of the conversation. Close the tabs where an official is not quoted.
~- Check through Admin to be sure the remaining public statements/quotes/transcripts have not already been entered from another source. Close any which have already been entered into Admin. Be careful - they may have different titles so be sure to read the beginning of the text.
~- Copy the entire transcript and enter it into Admin. Make sure there is a return between each paragraph of text, and between such things as the title, host, and guest information. Remove the website navigation information, such as "Back", "Print", etc. Delete the date, time, and location from the text.
~- //There will be different formatting depending on the type of public statement it is. Please be sure to look at the appropriate formatting information below.//
**Interview, TV Show, or Radio Show**
**===Television Transcripts===**
The TV Transcript schedule can be found in Google Documents. Each one will have a different format, of course, which you will have to diligently search to be sure you collect all the transcripts and quotes for officials that we collect. The transcript may not have the official listed with his/her title such as Senator, Representative++ or Cabinet Member++.
-Each network has different website styles and set ups, so please make sure to look around for the transcripts of interviews. Make sure you get information from all pages that are applicable.
-Open the Public Statements page in admin for the official quoted in the transcript.
-Enter into Admin. Take questions and answers for interviews and debates. Begin with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT and end with BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT.
-Go to the website of the TV channel or radio station (see listed below). Find either the exact transcript, or, if no transcript is available, the video and cite this for the URL. Be sure you are citing the correct URL. Ask your supervisor if you should take transcripts for which there is no direct source.
~- Date: Date of the interview, located at the top of the transcript
~- Location: Unknown
~- Type: Interview
~- URL: URL of the transcript/quote/program
~- Title: Leave in the title you copied from the transcript. Above this, type the appropriate title from the TWO options below. Copy this title into the Title box. Include 1-3 word description of what the transcript interview is about.
~- (Network) "(Show)" - Transcript //Use the exact network name as shown in the list below//
~~- ex. MSNBC "Hardball with Chris Matthews" - Transcript: Gun Control
~- (Network) Interview - Transcript
~~- ex. MSNBC Interview - Transcript: Same Sex Marriage
//Networks//
ABC
CBS
CNBC
CNN
Fox News
MSNBC
NBC
NPR
PBS
The public statements team should through the list of shows annually to weed out inactive shows and add shows that have become active.
