All Newsline posts are written in the present tense. This makes the timeline more readable.
Incorrect
Liberia closed most of the country’s borders due to the Ebola outbreak.
Clooney appeared in Gravity, co-starring with Sandra Bullock.
Correct
Liberia closes most of the country’s borders due to the Ebola outbreak.
Clooney appears in Gravity, co-starring with Sandra Bullock.
This does not mean that you have to change every verb in the text to present tense. The present tense applies to the main action verb in the sentence (shown in red).
Musk enters Twitter headquarters, after he completed the purchase of the company
Clooney kisses Matt Damon, even though he lost the bet.
Active and Passive verbs #
Please be aware that even though some verbs end in -ed they are still in the present tense.
Correct
Rowling releases the book (preferred)
The book is released by Rowling
Incorrect
The book releases
Click here to read more about Active and Passive verbs
Avoid using the word”new” #
Please avoid using the word “new” or “latest” in posts. This usually happens with latest news. For example, when an artist releases a new film.
While the event is new now, as time goes by it will become old, and the post will become incorrect. If “new” was added to each post, then we would have a newsline cluttered with “new” items, even though only the latest one is actually new.
Incorrect
Downey appears in his new film Iron Man 3
Downey’s latest film, Iron Man 3, is released.
Correct
Downey appears in Iron Man 3
Downey’s film, Iron Man 3, is released.
