Why Every Intranet Article Should Have a Byline

One word: transparency

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  • Rarely should content appear bylined by nobody, an anonymous contributor, or an alias (e.g., The Benefits Team).
  • Definition of rare: Infrequently occurring; uncommon; scarce: a rare event

A Word About Transparency

  • In reality, we know that a company is never as transparent as it claims to be. When was the last time you knew what your colleagues were paid or which lawsuits were brought against the firm?
  • Nevertheless, transparency is a principle increasingly enfolded into corporate values. The spirit to embrace and foster constructive communication, which is a good thing.

Transparency With News

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  • An often-heard claim is that “it’s a team effort” and really, if anyone should be credited in the byline, it’s the entire department.
  • The Department Name-as-byline is just one more way to obfuscate ownership and accountability.
  • You must stand your ground and don’t give in to anonymous content.
  • Calling out the company’s values is one way to reinforce your argument.
  • Sometimes the demand for a byline is enough for them to withdraw their submission or request, which shows just how “important” or “urgent” the item was in the first place.

Byline Benefits

  • Allows readers to contact the contributor to learn more about the topic, to send praise, and to thank the person for writing about project X, department Y, or person Z.
  • Gives authority to the person who bylined the article.
  • Builds trust between the employee and the “authority” (or expert) who bylined the piece.
  • Encourages others to pitch in and submit or write content. (Hey, if Meredith can write an article for company news, so can I!)
  • Encourages other forms of information sharing across the company, so that material and knowledge doesn’t remain confined to one group.
  • If there is a mistake in the article that needs to be corrected (e.g., a typo, a misattribution), people know who to contact.
  • To pitch similar stories

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Many internal comms teams don’t have an editorial strategy. I’m here to fix that. Newsletter: https://mistereditorial.substack.com/.

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Mister Editorial

Many internal comms teams don’t have an editorial strategy. I’m here to fix that. Newsletter: https://mistereditorial.substack.com/.