RULE OF THUMB: PREPARE COPY CAREFULLY
News WritingBasicsGAPHOR M. PANIMBANG
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Copyediting Copyediting Headline Writing Story Editing
Rule of Thumb: Prepare copy carefully
It is the art of arranging, correcting, and selecting the quality and type of news
It is also called copyediting.
One who edits copies is called a copyreader or copyeditor
What is Copyreading?
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Edits errors on grammar (spelling, tenses, agreement, etc.)
Edits errors of fact (accuracy check)
Edits verbose copyDeletes opinion or slant
and libelous statementsWrites the headline
Responsibilities of a Copy Editor
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Type an end sign, “-30-” at the end of each story
Always use a pencil to edit copy, never a pen
Writers and editors use standard copyreading marks to make corrections
Proofreaders and typesetters use standard proofreading symbols
Copy Preparation Guidelines
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
Sample Edited Copy
Copyediting Symbols
Symbol Instruction Example
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Copyediting Symbols
Symbol Instruction Example
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
Copyediting Symbols
Symbol Instruction Example
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
Copyediting Symbols
Symbol Instruction Example
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
Copyediting Symbols
Symbol Instruction Example
2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE
Pointers in Copyediting
Avoid unfamiliar abbreviationsPrinciples of CapitalizationNumeralsPunctuations (period, comma, semicolon, colon,
apostrophe, quotation marks, exclamation mark, dash, parenthesis, hyphen, question mark, italicization)
SpellingEditing
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Headline WritingCopyediting Headline Writing Story Editing
Rule of Thumb: Sell the sizzle, not the steak
Principles of Headline
A headline summarizes the storyHeadlines help organize the news for readersHeadlines package feature and in-depth storiesThe headline sells the story to the readersHeadlines prioritize the news for readersHeadlines reflect the style and personality of the
newspaper
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Headline Writing Rules
Use the same headline style throughout the newspaper Use downstyle in writing headlines (also called ”sentence headline”
style) Use upstyle in writing headlines
Headlines should be written so they fit uniformly, usually from column edge to column edge
Each line of a head should express a complete thought The primary headline should contain the most important information
from the story Word economy is the key to successful headline writing Don’t use names in headlines unless a person is being recognized for
an achievement or the person is well-known Use active voice and strong, colorful nouns and verbs in headlines
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Headline Grammar
Put an action verb, expressed or implied, in every headline
Do not begin with a verb, preposition, article or conjunction
Avoid the verb form to be Use present tense verbs in writing
headlines describing past events Use future tense verbs to write
headlines about future events Use numbers in headlines only if
they are important Do not abbreviate days of the week
in headlines Abbreviate the month only when a
specific date follows it
Don’t use articles of speech (a, an, the) in headlines unless the words are part of a title
Substitute a comma for the conjunction and
Use single quote marks in place of double quote marks in a headline
Don’t split a verb phrase Don’t split a preposition and its object Don’t separate an adjective and the
noun it modifies Don’t split names that belong together Use the active voice Use abbreviations only if they are
well-known
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Headline Formats
1. Banner or crossline This is a large one-line headline that goes across three, four, five or six columns
2. Boxed headline Boxed heads are two picas shorter than regular headlines
3. Deck A deck is a second headline for the same story
4. Hammer Hammers are twice the point size and half as long as the main headline
5. Kicker Kickers are half the point size and half as long as the main headline
6. Slammer A combination of a bold kicker and a cross line head on the same line separated by a slash or a colon and set in the same size of type
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Headline Vocabulary
Faculty club strengthened (beefed up) Enrolment decreases (dips) Science Examinations announced (quiz, bared) Contests highlight Animal Week (cap) President Aquino urges for cooperation (bats for, calls for) DepEd Secretary disapproves tuition fee increase (bucks, hike) Nationalism a necessity in education (vital cog) Principal praises Pepito’s humility (lauds, extols) Navarro keynote speaker at YMCA conference ( keynotes YMCA confab) Local staff dominates press title (rules, lords over) Student writers prepare for journalism contest (scribes hone up for Press
tilt) ‘My Little Bossing’ to be shown in January ( booked for)
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The Story EditingCopyediting Headline Writing Story Editing
Rule of Thumb: Consistency, Credibility, ClarityEnd
Basics
Always use a pencil to edit copy, never a penWriters and editors use standard copyreading marksIn calendars, list the day and date followed by an em dash
— then the event, place, time and cost (if any)Verify the spelling of all namesVerify all facts with at least two sourcesVerify all facts with at least two sourcesAll opinion is based on factWrite in third personRead the story at least three times
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Spelling Journalistic style Sentence structure Grammar Punctuation Concise wording Lack of repetition Precise wording Quotes accurately attributed,
punctuated Opinion quotes attributed to source
Read the Story for Mechanics
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Writing Straight News Leads
A straight news lead should be a single paragraph consisting of a single sentence, should contain no more than 30 words, and should summarize, at minimum, the most newsworthy "what," "where" and "when" of the story.
Example: "Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning.“
• The lead's first verb should express the main "what" of the story and should be placed among the lead's first seven words
• The lead's first verb -- the same one that expresses the main "what" of the story -- should be active voice, not passive voice.
• If there's a "who" involved in the story, the lead should give some indication of who the "who" is.
Example: "An elderly Murfreesboro man died Monday when an early morning fire raged through his Main Street home."
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Writing Straight News Leads
The lead should summarize the "why" and "how" of the story, but only if there's room
Example: "An elderly Murfreesboro man died early Monday morning when fire sparked by faulty wiring raged through his Main Street home.“
If what's in the lead needs to be attributed, place the attribution at the end of the lead
Example: "Faulty wiring most likely sparked the blaze that claimed the life of an elderly Murfreesboro man last week, the city's arson investigator concluded Monday."
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Various Types of News Structure
1. Straight News Story It has a summary lead which answers the most important W’s depending on which the W’s is the most prominent among them
2. News-Feature Story It is classified as news since it is gathered and written daily by reporters as their regular assignment.
3. Fact Story Is a plain exposition of a simple situation or of a series of closely related events which conform to inverted pyramid design.
4. Action Story A narrative involving not merely facts, but dramatic actions – incidents, descriptions of person, perhaps testimonials of witnesses as well as explanatory data.
5. Speech report, quote, and interview Stories
The arrangement of a speech report, a quote story, and of an interview are to a great extent similar.
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Transition/Quote Formula
Direct Quotes:Should be linked to the paragraph before themShould not repeat the transition/lead before themShould have attribution after the first sentence of the quoteCan be longer than one sentence
Direct Quotes:Should be linked to the paragraph before themShould not repeat the transition/lead before themShould have attribution after the first sentence of the quoteCan be longer than one sentence
Transitions:Hold the story togetherCan be fact, indirect quote or a partial quoteUse transitional words to help with the flow (as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In addition, However, Otherwise, ThenUse parts of the direct quotes to create the transition
Transitions:Hold the story togetherCan be fact, indirect quote or a partial quoteUse transitional words to help with the flow (as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In addition, However, Otherwise, ThenUse parts of the direct quotes to create the transition
and so on!!! until the story is complete!Example
Example of T/Q Formula
(Lead) President Barack Obama will speak on Friday to seniors about getting involved in community service work.
(Direct Quote) “Seniors will learn a lot about duty and commitment when they hear President Obama,” Principal Ike Sumter said. “We are so excited that he agreed to come.”
(Fact Transition) Before becoming president, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago.
(Direct Quote) “Our nation was built from the givers, and the doers,” he said. “To keep this nation moving forward, we need more giving and less taking.”
(PQ Transition) President Obama said he believes community service is “extremely valuable lesson” for every teen to have.
(IQ Transition) He also said he believes community service is vital for America’s success.
Straight News Story
1. Straight News Story
Elaboration of a W
Elaboration of a W
Elaboration of a W
Further Elaboration
Summary Lead
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Gaphor M. Panimbang
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Shukran for the
attention!
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