(MAC 213)
Department of Mass Communication (DIP. 2)
Mr. Anslem O. (Lecturer)
1 MODULE 1
• What is a copy? • Copy is a written or typed content developed by a writer, designer or a newsman with the aim of printing or publishing the work. • Copy is always a first-hand manuscript which is later transformed to main work after editing and proof reading.
• In journalism, copy could come in form of : Advert copy, news copy, PR copy, art copy etc.
2 Sources of Raw Materials for Copy
Interviews, Speeches from monitored events on radio and television, Direct observation, Research, News releases, News agencies, PR sources, Polls, Internet etc.
COMPOSITIONS OF A COPY A copy should be: • Legible and readable • Clear and meaningful • Simple and direct • Relevant
3 What is Editing?
• Editing is the process of creatively enhancing written or graphic works to gain desired results by replacing unwanted elements with valued information. • Writing is a process, and a key part of that process is editing. Editing qualifies literary works. • Editing begins with the writer, reporter or designer who first edits psychological and emotional noise off his or her brain before writing a copy. • Writers edit as they write. Editors write as they edit. Editing and writing can hardly be separated.
4 What is Copy Editing? • Copy editing is the act of removing unwanted elements from a copy and the addition of valued information by an editor in order to create a readable, accurate, meaningful, moral and defamation-free content. THE EDITOR Editor is a creative and intelligent critic who edits a copy. He is a walking dictionary and knower of many things. Functions /Duties of an Editor Editors have three main functions, namely creative, managerial and police functions.
• Creative function: (a)Judges the day‟s news and decides how
to present it.
(b) Compiles singles stories from materials originating from
variety of sources.
5 (c) Checks for errors and corrects mistakes (d) Writes headlines, captions and cutlines
• Managerial function: (a)He directs the work of art/graphic designers in photo selection and display. (b) He is responsible for copy fitting. (C) He keeps time copy and filler. Time copy is a story that is not easily perishable, which can be kept for future use (e.g., how to make a good home).
• Police Function (Gate keeping): (a) He Guards against libelous contents (b) He Assures confidentiality and objectivity (to guard public confidence, fair play and good taste.) (c) Clarifies the news and makes it meaningful by improving the flow and correctness of language.
6 Qualities of a Good Copy Editor
1. Creative 2. Has good command of English 3. Smart 4. Good sense of judgment 5. Responsive 6. knowledgeable 7. honest 8. humble 9. Cool headed. Why do we Edit a Copy? a. To gain clarity, correctness, and accuracy of facts b. Correct grammatical errors and wrongs spellings c. To avoid publishing defamatory and obscene contents d. To guide printing activities e. To maintain reputation f. To make contents legible and readable
7 Exercise 1
• A writer is also an editor. Discuss. • As a copy editor, how would you edit the cartoon of a graphic designer even when you do not know how to draw?
Answer the questions and keep them for submission.
8 MODULE 2
• Editorial Staff and their Responsibilities • Editor-in-chief: He is also called Editor. He heads the editorial department. He is responsible for all the paper‟s content, with the exception of advertising. • Editorial page editor: He is directly under the editor-in- chief. Also called the associate editor, he is responsible for the editorial page and the “op ed” (opposite the editorial page) page. • Managing editor: Also reporting to the editor-in chief is managing editor, who is responsible for the day-to-day operation of the newsroom. He hires and fires staff.
9 • City editor: The city editor (or metropolitan editor) works for the managing editor and is responsible for local news coverage, including assignments for local reporters.
• Desk editors: Depending on the size of paper, other news sections such as sports, business, entertainment and features will have editors supervising them. These sections are seen as desks, and their editors are called desk editors, who are indeed copy editors working at special desks. They edit and design their pages subject to the news editor‟s supervision.
• News editor: He is responsible for preparing copy insertions into the pages. The news editor supervises copyeditors (who edit stories and write headlines), oversees the design of the pages, and decides where stories will be placed. On major stories, the news editor will often consult with the managing editor and other sub-editors before a decision is made.
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• Reporters: They are the first gatekeepers in the series of gatekeepers in the editorial department. While on the field, they make decisions on the aspects of a story to spotlight. That is, after their editors may have first given them directions on this. However, the way a reporter carries out the orders of his editor is entirely up to him. Reporters go out to fetch stories and write them. There are three kinds of reporters. a. General assignment reporters: They cover various kinds of issues or events. b. Beat reporters: They cover definite areas (an organization) such as the courts, police, and the legislature. c. Specialist reporters: They handle more complex subjects (not necessarily an organization) like energy, business, environment and urban issues.
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• . Other staff include: hired columnists, staff photographers, advert and art editors, layout editors and printers.
Who is a sub-editor? • NB: All the editors under the news editor are sub- editors (they are also copy editors apart from the layout editor, reporters, photographers, and photo editor). The news editor is therefore the chief sub-editor.
• The sub-editor does the following: (a) edits news text (b) he improves on news text and writes headlines (c) proofreading, fact checking, grammar checking, spell-checking. (d) editing for style and content (e) Design and layout editing. NB: The editor-in-chief (editor)generally edits a copy before printing if the need arises.
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12 Exercise 2 a. Discuss the relationship between news editor and sub-editors. b. Reporters are the first gatekeepers. Discuss.
Answer the questions and keep them for submission.
13 MODULE 3
Editing Process a. Photojournalists and reporters fetch stories from their areas, type and save them on the computer. b. The copy editor (sub-editor) edits the stories, maintaining editorial policy and house style. He schedules them for publication. c. He writes headlines, selects worthy photos and writes cut lines. also, he creates space for adverts, editorials and other elements. d. The news editor checks and proofreads the work of the sub-editor and gives directives. e. Stories go to the composing room where high-speed computarised photocomposing machines convert electronic impulses into images and words.
14 Editing Principles a. Accuracy: This involves checking and crosschecking names, figures and verifying facts which are of utmost importance. b. Attribution: This involves giving credit to the news source. It could be by clearly writing the name and designation of the source and quoting what he or she says. c. Balance and fairness: Balance is giving both sides of the picture, while fairness is not taking sides. It also means not providing support to political parties, institutions, communities or individuals, etc., through the columns of the newspaper. d. Brevity: It is telling a story, as it should be, without beating around the bush.
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Clarity: This involves making stories easy to understand and not complex.
Readability: Typefaces should not be choked. The average length of a sentence should not exceed 18 words, which is standard. Objectivity: Personal bias or ideas should not creep into a story. This is the act of being neutral. Human interest: Using a style that arouses human interest is what the craft of editing is all about. Sub editors should see the events from the readers‟ point of view and the news stories keeping the reader ever in mind along with his hopes, fears and aspirations.
16 Editing Guidelines (do and don’ts) a. Give the main points of the news in the first paragraph. b. Tell the story in headline and use a verb to give it vigour. c. Check names, titles, facts, figures, dates, and address where ever slightest doubt exists. The sub-editor know the reference book which will clear the doubt. d. Both sides of the story in a dispute must be given e. Use short sentences and short paragraphs f. Repeat names in court cases rather than refer to them as accused, witness, etc g. Be careful about foreign or unfamiliar names. h. Do not begin sentences with words like „despite‟ or „because‟
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i. Do not use vague phrases like a „ serious charge‟ or a „certain offence‟. j. Be careful about pronouns. The misuse of the relative pronoun and punctuation are the most common grammatical errors in the news stories. k. Avoid stating the obvious, like: „the policeman holds gun…‟
Editing Symbols Editing symbols are directional symbols used by editors to mark corrections on a copy.
Next slide shows the editing symbols…………………
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Editing Symbols
19 Analysing News Stories
• Story A Four aircraft passengers, the pilot and three people travelling in a car were killed when a twin-engined Beechcraft Baron aircraft hit an electric power line and crashed near Abuja airport this week.
• Story B Eight people died when an aircraft crashed near Abuja airport this week. The pilot and four passengers died when their twin-engined Beechcraft Baron hit a power line. The plane then crashed into a car on a road near the airport, killing three more people.
Analysis: Story A is ambiguous and uninteresting. It tries to give details in a swift manner. Story B is simple and understandable. It adopts short sentences and tries to explain actions in a more detailed way.
20 A. The man ran swiftly across the street to help the defenceless boy who was being brutally beaten. ( This is wrong because of too many adverbial dramas) B. The man ran across the street to help the boy who was being beaten. (Right)
The most effective way to add drama to a sentence is to choose the verbs carefully. For example, try changing the verb “ran” to “strolled”, “walked”, “flew” or “thundered”.
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• Right • Wrong Import duty on meat and Duty on imported meat and vegetables will be reduced vegetables will be reduced by ten percent. The special by ten percent and the subsidy for rice exporters special subsidy for rice will be increased by five exporters will be increased percent. These changes will by five percent but these come into effect after the changes will not come into next budget. effect until after the next budget.
22 Exercise 3 a. Edit the story below using the editing symbols World’s Longest Ca t The guninness world record holderfor longes t cat is named Leo, a 100 per Cent pure breed domestic cat cat which is 48 inh. tall from stately the tip of the his nose to the end of his tail. It weigh pound 35. guinness contends that, leo is the same siz as an eight years old child and his paw hit hit into a siz two child‟s shoe. b. Why is attribution necessary in news stories? Answer the questions and keep them for submission.
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