BrotherhoodNews.com lives off your tips, reports, and news analyses. Since we have no paid staff, our volunteers depend on your eyes and ears to report on stories and events in the brotherhood.

Use the tips below as guidelines for sending your tips, stories or articles.

  • “W” is the letter. Who. What. When. Where. Why. And How. Double-check facts, document quotes, get names right. We want lots of names, places, dates and facts. We can always cut; we can’t invent.
  • BNc isn’t out to knock people down. Above all, be charitable, kind, think the best, and give the benefit of the doubt, when questions and doubts arise. We are a brotherhood, another word for family. But don’t let that keep you from asking questions. Our purpose is to inform and encourage.
  • Stories should be written in the third person, unless recounting a first-person account.
  • We do not accept direct fund-raising appeals. However, the effort behind the appeal may be of interest to the readers. Rather than an appeal, write a story of the effort, and information may be included in the last paragraph for readers who would like to contribute.
  • The more your story conforms to our format, the better chance it has of being included. We are an all-volunteer staff, and sometimes lack of time on our part may keep your story from getting published. When we get a report ready to publish, we’re more likely to post it on the site.
  • One or, at most, two pictures that pertain to the story are a plus.
  • Text is best sent as plain text on the Contact page. If photos or attachments are requested of you by email, do not send Microsoft proprietary files (.doc, .docx, .pub), which not all people use and which may carry viruses and hidden information. Any attachments should be, in order of preference, odt or rtf.
  • The three essential “R’s” to reporting:
    • Research: get all the pertinent facts and get them straight;
    • Relevance: why should the reader be interested in this story; answer the all-important question: “So what?”
    • Revision: make sure you communicate so the reader can understand, with as few words as possible.

How to report an obituary

  • Provide the deceased’s full name, date and place of birth, date and place of death, surviving family members, last ministry, areas of ministry, funeral details. We’re on the Internet, so we don’t have space limitations. We do have to deal with short attention spans, so include the most pertinent facts first, then other information in order of descending “importance” (time, details).
  • Include, if possible, quotes from close friends.
  • For a short newspaper-type obituary, see Johnny Ramsey’s from the Dallas Morning News.
  • Study how obituaries are reported in BNc and read online advice.
  • David Kenney’s tribute to Glen Harris is an excellent example of what we’re looking for.

Where to send your report

To send a press release or news report, use the contact form.

Follow BNC stories