LAW 393 Lecture Notes - Lecture 2: Graphics Software, Ap Stylebook, Espn Bottomline
What makes a good copy editor?
They're managers AND leaders
They have:
-A love for grammar, style, punctuation and tightening
-A love for good writing and potential
-Knowledge of graphics processes and typefaces
-An interest in all things news
Publisher
Tops the organizational ladder. Ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a newspaper
Editor
or Editor In Chief, Executive Editor: responsible for all editorial content of the newspaper (local and
international)
Managing editor
Directly in charge of a newsroom
Assigning editor
or City Editor, works with reporters on local stories
Copy-Desk Chief
in charge of copy desk - checkpoint before stories pass on to the web/print
Photo editor
In charge of pictures
Web editor
In charge of online
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SEO Headline
Search Engine Optimized Headlines. Written so that they are easily found online
Copy flow
The flow/ladder of roles and work in a newsroom. The line that a story follows to make it to publication
THREE R's OF COPY EDITING
Reader-centered: focused on what the reader wants and needs
Readable: Clear and tight, loose ends tied up and all questions answered
Right: Objective, accurate, legal, ethical
What does macro editing include?
Making sure:
-stories are worth running
-they have good leads and are organized
-they don't have unanswered questions
-stories are accurate
-objective
-and legal/ethical
What does micro editing include?
-Grammar and usage
-Punctuation, capitalization, numbers, and abbreviations (AP style)
-Spelling/typos
-Copy is tightly written
What makes a story worth running?
It
-Directly affects your audience, or
-It interests your audience, or
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-Focused on PEOPLE
Two factors deciding length of story:
1. How much will your audience care about this story?
2. How much of the available space is this story worth compared with the other stories we want to run?
Hard news lead
It's a bottom-line lead, telling the gist of the story in the first paragraph.
In order of who, then what
Two ways of writing the WHO (hard news)
1. Immediate ID lead (when subject is well-known)
2. Delayed ID lead (when subject is not well-known)
Time, day and place
Appear after the WHO and WHAT, and appear in that order (time, day, place)
Feature stories/soft news
-Less timely, more opinionated, and more focused on personality.
-Written present-tense
Soft news leads
Uses a SOFT LEAD - starting with description, dialogue, character, anecdote or personal address to
reader.
Often use IMMEDIATE-ID
Nut graf
is the bottom line or summary of the story. In features, it appears toward the bottom.
Main problem with soft news stories
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Document Summary
A love for grammar, style, punctuation and tightening. Ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a newspaper. Editor or editor in chief, executive editor: responsible for all editorial content of the newspaper (local and international) Assigning editor or city editor, works with reporters on local stories. Copy-desk chief in charge of copy desk - checkpoint before stories pass on to the web/print. Written so that they are easily found online. The flow/ladder of roles and work in a newsroom. The line that a story follows to make it to publication. Reader-centered: focused on what the reader wants and needs. Readable: clear and tight, loose ends tied up and all questions answered. It"s a bottom-line lead, telling the gist of the story in the first paragraph. Two ways of writing the who (hard news: immediate id lead (when subject is well-known, delayed id lead (when subject is not well-known)
