“The statistics describe a troubled but still profitable medium that is critical in the lives of many Americans.”
Editing the wires The mission of newspapers is to interpret, to explain and to amplify. As print media is unable to beat online sources to a story, it is important to write a story and a headline that stresses the latest developments since the original story broke.
Sources of Wire News The Associated Press is the dominant wire service in the United States. Metropolitan newspapers, alliances of such papers and newspaper groups often form supplemental wire services, making it possible for small-town papers to carry story from The New York Times.
How the Wires Operate Sources: Agency’s staff of reporters Stories from subscribers Stingers (Correspondents) Other news agencies
Budgets and Priorities Wire editors must consider significance of the story and allotted space for copy.
Editing Wire Stories Most wire stories carry datelines, unlike local stories. Undated stories carry no datelines, but they do have a credit for the wire service. Combining stories from different wire services can provide readers with a better story. Wire isn’t sacred. No wire service tailors copy for a particular newspaper. You have to do that yourself.
Localizing Wire Stories Convert time to local Adjust for local style If you find a local name or place buried in a wire story, move that angle up or develop it into a sidebar or a story, using the wire service for background. Add the votes of legislators to wire stories. When if there is no local name in the story, ask yourself whether the story has local impact.
DESIGNING THE NEWSPAPER Objectives of Newspaper Design The design should organize the news: place more important stories near the top of the page or in boxes The design should create an attractive page: an attractive design attracts readers The design should complement the stories: include blurbs, pictures, graphics, charts, maps and varying fonts. The design should be interesting or dramatic: Vary story shapes or design stories into strongly horizontal or vertical shapes The design should appear contemporary: illogical to place contemporary news in an old-fashioned format
Newspapers and the Principles of Artistic Design Balance: Equilibrium (formal or symmetrical balance is not as interesting as informal balance in which equilibrium is less obvious) Contrast: Use two or more dramatically different elements on a page Shape contrast Size contrast Weight contrast Direction contrast Unity: creates a single impression in a page’s design
How to Recognize a Well-Designed Newspaper Good overall organization Placement of individual stories that is well thought out News that is easy to follow Attractive display of illustrations Graphic unity Balanced pages Pages with contrast Adequate white space Generous line spacing Different typefaces kept to a minimum
Proportion and Movement Proportion: ideal proportion is 3-to-5 Movement: where the reader’s eyes are directed
Visualizing Total Page Structure Modular design: horizontal design used in most of today’s newspapers
Chapter 3: The Editing Process In Chapter 3, Brooks and Pinson discuss the editor’s role and explain what makes a good copy editor, such as having good judgment, being knowledgeable about grammar, staying informed about the news and being organized. They also describe the staff organization of a typical newsroom by offering descriptions of various jobs, and they show how a story moves from creation to publication (reporter, city editor, copy-desk-chief, copy editor and back to the copy-desk-chief). Finally, Brooks and Pinson offer editing tips, which include reading the story, editing the story and rereading the story. The authors provide examples of edited stories, show lists of copy-editing and proofreading symbols and explain other editing methods—“The Seven C’s Plus One” (correct, concise, consistent, complete, clear, coherent, creative and concrete) and “Three R’s of Editing” (reader-centered, readable and right).
Chapter four of The Art of Editing is about macro editing. Macro editing is big-picture editing to make sure stories are worth running, have good leads, flow well, don’t leave unanswered questions, are accurate, are objectives and are legal, ethical, tasteful and sensitive to the audience. To make sure a story is worth running, you must determine if the story is reader-centered. If the story does not directly affect the reader, make sure the story topic will interest the readers. If the story does not directly affect the reader or interest the readers, check to see if the story is centered around people before killing the story. Hard-news leads are different from feature story leads. Hard-new lead sentence structure is usually who, then what. Only ID the person in the lead if they are well-known to the audience. Feature, or soft-news, can be more colorful. It can start with a dialogue, or a story. Both leads should be short and simple, avoid cliches, make sure the lead says something definite, don’t start with time or a question, don’t editorialize, don’t hype up the story too much, don’t miss the real story and don’t lead with old news. There are six steps to knowing if a story is well-organized. They are determine if story is hard or soft-news, notice if the lead is an immediate ID or delayed, look if the story contains quotes, look for basic details that must be answered, ask whether each step in the story is clear, and ask if the story moves at a good pace. Checking for accuracy is the most important role of an editor. There are a few common kinds of inaccuracies to look for: inconsistencies, unwarranted superlatives, false quotations, common “facts”, hoaxes and urban legends, biased sources, imprecise words, and numbers that are wrong.
Chapter 1: Editing for Today’s Changing Media Courtney Sealey
The Editor’s Changing Role
Traditionally Editors were very powerful and severed as gatekeepers. They had totally control over what was published and where it was published (page 1 vs. page 3), however that is changing. Now consumers act as their own gatekeeper thanks to the availability of news through the internet.
Editors still serve their traditional roles at print newspapers, magazines, and in radio and television. However the audience is no longer captive and they must continue to find ways to perform an important public function by setting the public agenda. They can do this by gaining the consumers trust by giving what they need to know to be productive citizens. Consumers must perceive value and need to have the editors help them sort through a sea of information provided for them daily.
Democratization of the Media
A new form of media has been created recently, which is known as citizen journalism. Modern technology lowers the cost of entry into the media business, making it easy for everyone to give their piece of mind. The technologies which make this easy are things like Adobe Indesign and Podcasting. Many companies are embracing this ideal and encourage blogs on their site as a way to provide a forum for their readers to have their say.
** The Columbia Missourian devotes several pages of its Sunday paper to reader produced news and photography.
The Changing Media Environment
Traditional media, are challenged, but are not dying.
· Newspapers usually operate on 15% profit margins, far surpassing many other industries. Example – ExxonMobile had a 10% profit margin in 2006.
· Magazines still receive many offers from advertisers because of the appealing demographics of their audiences
· TV thrives because they also are able to offer target audiences for advertisers as well.
Convergence is important in the media today. “Convergence is the practice of sharing and cross-promoting content from a variety of media through newsroom collaborations and outside partnerships. This means that the same company would own a newspaper and a local news channel and use the story and/or video from each business to better the other companies.
Traditionally, editors defined news as something having one or more of the following: Audience, Impact, Proximity, Timeliness, Prominence, Novelty, or Conflict. Today, consumers define news for themselves, whether it be reliable or not. (Example – If you heard it on the internet it must be true, you can’t tell lies on the internet.) Thankfully most thoughtful citizens still want someone to help them sort through the news.
The Role of the Editor
Editors have more competition than the past. Consumers look to other sources of information to help guide them in their decision making (websites, chat rooms, etc.). This is also something that keeps editors around, however. With their training in fact checking and their ability to stay non-biased, editors are able to stay gate keepers for the community.
In Conclusion:
Consumers want power and to have a say, but mostly just want to have someone around lead them to truthful and accurate information.
Many times, the copy editor or the page designer writes the headlines as they edit the story or lay out the news page. Headlines are important because they title and summarize the story.
In the chapter, it was said that the average reader does not read the average newspaper story. I would even say that most newspaper readers don't read much more than the headline and lead. The average reader spends on 24 minutes with a newspaper, and most of that time is spent looking at classifieds, pictures, graphics and captions. Not much time left for reading news.
Because of this, headlines are often the only bit of news a reader will get. The headline writer needs to realize this because headlines cannot be an afterthought.
Headlines need to: 1) attract the reader's attention, 2) summarize the story, 3) help the reader index the contents of the page, 4) depict the mood of the story, 5) help set the tone of the newspaper 6) and provide adequate typographic relief.
Above all else, attracting the reader is the most important element of writing headlines, but all six elements are important.
When writing headlines, it needs to be assumed that the reader will not read the story. With that in mind, the headline (along with any subheads and photo captions or blurbs) needs to package the message of the story into a condensed space. Instead of stating the obvious "City Council approves $30 million budget," write something that will attract the reader's attention while still giving the important information. Example: "City tax-rate to remain unchanged."
In the chapter, it is said that the USA Today is a good example of a newspaper that does headlines correctly. The USA Today might not feature in-depth reporting like the New York Times, but it is a reader-friendly paper that is ideal for the 24 minutes people spend with a newspaper.
Lastly, a few headline styles outlined in the book that I think are important to remember: 1) first word and proper nouns are capitalized 2) no period at the end of the headline 3) if the headline is two sentences, separate with a semicolon, not a period 4) use single quotation marks 5) comma is used in place of the word and 6) write headlines in present tense, past tense is rarely used and "to" is used instead of "will" in future tense 7) always write in active voice 8) eliminate articles (a, an, the) and "to be" verbs 9) watch for libel
I) Grammar A) Bad grammar destroys credibility of publication II) Sentence problems: things to avoid A) Sentence fragments B) Fused sentences C) Comma-splice sentences D) Run-on sentences E) “Reader stoppers” a) Passages that have fuzzy meaning causing the reader to stop F) False connections a) Combining unrelated ideas in a sentence G) Mixed metaphors III) Nouns and Pronouns A) Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement a) Every pronoun should clearly refer to a previous noun b) A pronoun and its antecedent should be the same number B) Pronoun Case a) Know the difference between subject, object and possessive pronouns C) Possessive and Plural IV) Verbs A) Parallel Construction a) Keep verbs and other items in a series in parallel or similar form B) Tenses a) Don’t confuse the word “of” with the word “have” or its contraction “ ‘ve” b) Know the correct principal parts of commonly misused irregular verbs c) Use the correct tense to best describe the time when something took place C) Passive Voice a) Use verbs in the active voice rather than the passive voice D) Conditional and Subjunctive Nouns a) Learn to use both modes E) Subject-Verb Agreement a) a singular subject needs a singular verb. A plural subject needs a plural verb. V) Modifiers A) Forms and Placement of Modifiers a) Use the proper form of a modifier b) Place modifiers next to what the describe VI) Interjections
VII) Connecting Words A) Prepositions a) Don’t end with prepositions b) Separate proper nouns
Headlines are one of the most important aspect of a newspaper. Newspapers are rarely read in their entirety, that is an undeniable fact. It is the sole responsibility of the headline to draw in the reader to the information they really need to know. The header needs to provide an accurate preview of the article without revealing its entirety, drawing the readers eyes to read the article it describes. It should also be accurate, so as to not confuse the reader into reading something they do not want to.
The wording, structure and size are the most important as it must both draw the reader in and not take space away from the page as a whole. If i headline is long or worded it can overcrowd the page and other important stories will be missed. If it is vice versa, the important info in the article will be overlooked. Wording is important because it is the header in itself, the wording must be inviting, so the reader can dive into the article and read. In essence you want to draw the readers attention with the structure and size then use the wording to draw them in.
The most difficult component of the headline is previewing the story without giving away too much information. A major mistake is made when too much info is shown, causing space issues on the page. This is avoided through "Two critical steps, selecting which details to use and phrasing them properly within the space available." Brooks "The Art of Editing"
The are various ways to structure and format a headline, however the headline itself is very simply put together. There is Main Head and an optional Second deck directly under it. The order can vary as well, as sometimes the second deck can be placed above the main, however the best way to tell them apart is the size. The main deck is always bigger than the second
The headlines wording is very important here are some tips for writing them: Use active voice Do not abbreviate days of the week Use percent signs Do not spell out numbers less than ten United States can be abbreviated Do not split over two lines (break in smart places)
Further, try to avoid these errors when writing the headline Typos: Are young Americans be getting stupider
Vague lines that say nothing Don't leave kids alone with molester
Double Entendres (something can be taken in more than one way) Condom Week starts with cautious bang
Misplaced Modifiers 40,000 at mass for polish priest reporter killed
Best use of this chapter, as the Brooks and Pinson tell you in the introduction, is best used as a reference until you gather the experience to know from memory. Listed in this chapter are thirty-eight different types of stories with a brief description of each. Also each section lists cliche's and perferred word choices in certain situations for that type of story. You can also find information on what qualifies as that particular type of story and how it should be written, active or passive voice, delayed-ID, ways to avoid jargon, ect. Also in each section is a how-to list of what every story of this type should or should not include.
The following is a list of story types, distinguished by topic, included in this chapter.
Accident and Disaster Advance Analysis Boating and Shipping Business Calendar Items Celebrity News Chronological Stories Color Pieces Columns Court Stories Crime Education Entertainment First-Person Stories Focus Pieces Follows Food Features History Pieces How-to Articles or Service Journalism Human-Interest Labor Disputes Medical News Meeting Stories Obituaries Personality Profiles Political Stories Press Release Stories Question and Answer Interviews Religion Reviews Science and Health Seasonal Features Speeches Sports Travel War Stories Weather
Brian S. Brooks, of Missouri School of Journalism, and James L. Pinson, of Eastern Michigan University, start the chapter off by discussing various news sources and why newspapers are still relevant to today's reader.
"Newspapers, usually only one per city, provide far more depth than any of the other traditional media and typically do the best job of explaining." (Brooks and Pinson, 293)
Brooks and Pinson give statistics as to why the notion that newspapers are dying is a myth.
Some statistics were:
Almost eight of 10 adults (77 percent) nationwide read a newspaper or a newspaper Web site during the course of a week. When consumers look to buy things, they think of newspapers first. Fifty-five percent go to newspapers first compared to only 19 percent for the Internet and 8 percent for television. Visitors to newspapers' Web site say these sites are among their most-used media sources during the workday. Forty-nine percent spend time on these sites between the hours of 8 and 11 a.m. Two-thirds (66 percent) of all online newspaper readers visit a newspaper Web site at least once a day. Half of these visit several times a day.
The authors also give insight into editing stories that come in, whether they are wire stories (immediate sources that come from Associated Press and other services) or local stories along with giving credit to whom credit is due.
Brooks and Pinson brought up a new formula to news-writing that I hadn't been familiar with before. Journalists are well-aware of the inverted pyramid style, but they discussed using the Wall Street Journal formula. Instead of beginning with the most important information first, such as hard news stories, this formula begins the story with an anecdote and leads into the story with that.
The authors continue discussing developing a paper and lead into budgeting and laying out the design of the paper. Budgeting stories is important in newspaper design because without it it's difficult to create an aesthetically please look to the paper. You can't have a story that's a 32 column inches next to a 13 column inch story and expect it to be neat and clean.
Along with budgeting stories, Brooks and Pinson explain the importance of incorporating the principles of design when laying out the paper. Contrast, unity, balance and the other principles are crucial to creating a professional looking paper.
The authors wrap up the chapter with examples of a newspaper layout.
WORK CITED:
Brooks, Brian S., and James L. Pinson. "Chapter 10." The Art of Editing: In the Age of Convergence (Ninth Edition). Beijing: Zhongguo Ren Min Da Xue Chu Ban She, 2009. 293. Print.
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CHAPTER 11: EDITING NEWSPAPERS
ReplyDelete“The statistics describe a troubled but still profitable medium that is critical in the lives of many Americans.”
Editing the wires
The mission of newspapers is to interpret, to explain and to amplify.
As print media is unable to beat online sources to a story, it is important to write a story and a headline that stresses the latest developments since the original story broke.
Sources of Wire News
The Associated Press is the dominant wire service in the United States.
Metropolitan newspapers, alliances of such papers and newspaper groups often form supplemental wire services, making it possible for small-town papers to carry story from The New York Times.
How the Wires Operate
Sources: Agency’s staff of reporters
Stories from subscribers
Stingers (Correspondents)
Other news agencies
Budgets and Priorities
Wire editors must consider significance of the story and allotted space for copy.
Editing Wire Stories
Most wire stories carry datelines, unlike local stories.
Undated stories carry no datelines, but they do have a credit for the wire service.
Combining stories from different wire services can provide readers with a better story.
Wire isn’t sacred.
No wire service tailors copy for a particular newspaper. You have to do that yourself.
Localizing Wire Stories
Convert time to local
Adjust for local style
If you find a local name or place buried in a wire story, move that angle up or develop it into a sidebar or a story, using the wire service for background.
Add the votes of
legislators to wire stories.
When if there is no local name in the story, ask yourself whether the story has local impact.
DESIGNING THE NEWSPAPER
Objectives of Newspaper Design
The design should organize the news: place more important stories near the top of the page or in boxes
The design should create an attractive page: an attractive design attracts readers
The design should complement the stories: include blurbs, pictures, graphics, charts, maps and varying fonts.
The design should be interesting or dramatic: Vary story shapes or design stories into strongly horizontal or vertical shapes
The design should appear contemporary: illogical to place contemporary news in an old-fashioned format
Newspapers and the Principles of Artistic Design
Balance: Equilibrium (formal or symmetrical balance is not as interesting as informal balance in which equilibrium is less obvious)
Contrast: Use two or more dramatically different elements on a page
Shape contrast
Size contrast
Weight contrast
Direction contrast
Unity: creates a single impression in a page’s design
How to Recognize a Well-Designed Newspaper
Good overall organization
Placement of individual stories that is well thought out
News that is easy to follow
Attractive display of illustrations
Graphic unity
Balanced pages
Pages with contrast
Adequate white space
Generous line spacing
Different typefaces kept to a minimum
Proportion and Movement
Proportion: ideal proportion is 3-to-5
Movement: where the reader’s eyes are directed
Visualizing Total Page Structure
Modular design: horizontal design used in most of today’s newspapers
Chapter 3: The Editing Process
ReplyDeleteIn Chapter 3, Brooks and Pinson discuss the editor’s role and explain what makes a good copy editor, such as having good judgment, being knowledgeable about grammar, staying informed about the news and being organized. They also describe the staff organization of a typical newsroom by offering descriptions of various jobs, and they show how a story moves from creation to publication (reporter, city editor, copy-desk-chief, copy editor and back to the copy-desk-chief). Finally, Brooks and Pinson offer editing tips, which include reading the story, editing the story and rereading the story. The authors provide examples of edited stories, show lists of copy-editing and proofreading symbols and explain other editing methods—“The Seven C’s Plus One” (correct, concise, consistent, complete, clear, coherent, creative and concrete) and “Three R’s of Editing” (reader-centered, readable and right).
Chapter four of The Art of Editing is about macro editing. Macro editing is big-picture editing to make sure stories are worth running, have good leads, flow well, don’t leave unanswered questions, are accurate, are objectives and are legal, ethical, tasteful and sensitive to the audience.
ReplyDeleteTo make sure a story is worth running, you must determine if the story is reader-centered. If the story does not directly affect the reader, make sure the story topic will interest the readers. If the story does not directly affect the reader or interest the readers, check to see if the story is centered around people before killing the story.
Hard-news leads are different from feature story leads. Hard-new lead sentence structure is usually who, then what. Only ID the person in the lead if they are well-known to the audience.
Feature, or soft-news, can be more colorful. It can start with a dialogue, or a story.
Both leads should be short and simple, avoid cliches, make sure the lead says something definite, don’t start with time or a question, don’t editorialize, don’t hype up the story too much, don’t miss the real story and don’t lead with old news.
There are six steps to knowing if a story is well-organized. They are determine if story is hard or soft-news, notice if the lead is an immediate ID or delayed, look if the story contains quotes, look for basic details that must be answered, ask whether each step in the story is clear, and ask if the story moves at a good pace.
Checking for accuracy is the most important role of an editor. There are a few common kinds of inaccuracies to look for: inconsistencies, unwarranted superlatives, false quotations, common “facts”, hoaxes and urban legends, biased sources, imprecise words, and numbers that are wrong.
Chapter 1: Editing for Today’s Changing Media
ReplyDeleteCourtney Sealey
The Editor’s Changing Role
Traditionally Editors were very powerful and severed as gatekeepers. They had totally control over what was published and where it was published (page 1 vs. page 3), however that is changing. Now consumers act as their own gatekeeper thanks to the availability of news through the internet.
Editors still serve their traditional roles at print newspapers, magazines, and in radio and television. However the audience is no longer captive and they must continue to find ways to perform an important public function by setting the public agenda. They can do this by gaining the consumers trust by giving what they need to know to be productive citizens. Consumers must perceive value and need to have the editors help them sort through a sea of information provided for them daily.
Democratization of the Media
A new form of media has been created recently, which is known as citizen journalism. Modern technology lowers the cost of entry into the media business, making it easy for everyone to give their piece of mind. The technologies which make this easy are things like Adobe Indesign and Podcasting. Many companies are embracing this ideal and encourage blogs on their site as a way to provide a forum for their readers to have their say.
** The Columbia Missourian devotes several pages of its Sunday paper to reader produced news and photography.
The Changing Media Environment
Traditional media, are challenged, but are not dying.
· Newspapers usually operate on 15% profit margins, far surpassing many other industries. Example – ExxonMobile had a 10% profit margin in 2006.
· Magazines still receive many offers from advertisers because of the appealing demographics of their audiences
· TV thrives because they also are able to offer target audiences for advertisers as well.
Convergence is important in the media today. “Convergence is the practice of sharing and cross-promoting content from a variety of media through newsroom collaborations and outside partnerships. This means that the same company would own a newspaper and a local news channel and use the story and/or video from each business to better the other companies.
Traditionally, editors defined news as something having one or more of the following: Audience, Impact, Proximity, Timeliness, Prominence, Novelty, or Conflict. Today, consumers define news for themselves, whether it be reliable or not. (Example – If you heard it on the internet it must be true, you can’t tell lies on the internet.) Thankfully most thoughtful citizens still want someone to help them sort through the news.
The Role of the Editor
Editors have more competition than the past. Consumers look to other sources of information to help guide them in their decision making (websites, chat rooms, etc.). This is also something that keeps editors around, however. With their training in fact checking and their ability to stay non-biased, editors are able to stay gate keepers for the community.
In Conclusion:
Consumers want power and to have a say, but mostly just want to have someone around lead them to truthful and accurate information.
Chapter 9 is all about writing headlines.
ReplyDeleteMany times, the copy editor or the page designer writes the headlines as they edit the story or lay out the news page. Headlines are important because they title and summarize the story.
In the chapter, it was said that the average reader does not read the average newspaper story. I would even say that most newspaper readers don't read much more than the headline and lead. The average reader spends on 24 minutes with a newspaper, and most of that time is spent looking at classifieds, pictures, graphics and captions. Not much time left for reading news.
Because of this, headlines are often the only bit of news a reader will get. The headline writer needs to realize this because headlines cannot be an afterthought.
Headlines need to:
1) attract the reader's attention,
2) summarize the story,
3) help the reader index the contents of the page,
4) depict the mood of the story,
5) help set the tone of the newspaper
6) and provide adequate typographic relief.
Above all else, attracting the reader is the most important element of writing headlines, but all six elements are important.
When writing headlines, it needs to be assumed that the reader will not read the story. With that in mind, the headline (along with any subheads and photo captions or blurbs) needs to package the message of the story into a condensed space. Instead of stating the obvious "City Council approves $30 million budget," write something that will attract the reader's attention while still giving the important information. Example: "City tax-rate to remain unchanged."
In the chapter, it is said that the USA Today is a good example of a newspaper that does headlines correctly. The USA Today might not feature in-depth reporting like the New York Times, but it is a reader-friendly paper that is ideal for the 24 minutes people spend with a newspaper.
Lastly, a few headline styles outlined in the book that I think are important to remember:
1) first word and proper nouns are capitalized
2) no period at the end of the headline
3) if the headline is two sentences, separate with a semicolon, not a period
4) use single quotation marks
5) comma is used in place of the word and
6) write headlines in present tense, past tense is rarely used and "to" is used instead of "will" in future tense
7) always write in active voice
8) eliminate articles (a, an, the) and "to be" verbs
9) watch for libel
Micro Editing For Precision in Language
ReplyDeleteI) Grammar
A) Bad grammar destroys credibility of publication
II) Sentence problems: things to avoid
A) Sentence fragments
B) Fused sentences
C) Comma-splice sentences
D) Run-on sentences
E) “Reader stoppers”
a) Passages that have fuzzy meaning causing the reader to stop
F) False connections
a) Combining unrelated ideas in a sentence
G) Mixed metaphors
III) Nouns and Pronouns
A) Pronoun-Antecedent Agreement
a) Every pronoun should clearly refer to a previous noun
b) A pronoun and its antecedent should be the same number
B) Pronoun Case
a) Know the difference between subject, object and possessive pronouns
C) Possessive and Plural
IV) Verbs
A) Parallel Construction
a) Keep verbs and other items in a series in parallel or similar form
B) Tenses
a) Don’t confuse the word “of” with the word “have” or its contraction “ ‘ve”
b) Know the correct principal parts of commonly misused irregular verbs
c) Use the correct tense to best describe the time when something took place
C) Passive Voice
a) Use verbs in the active voice rather than the passive voice
D) Conditional and Subjunctive Nouns
a) Learn to use both modes
E) Subject-Verb Agreement
a) a singular subject needs a singular verb. A plural subject needs a plural verb.
V) Modifiers
A) Forms and Placement of Modifiers
a) Use the proper form of a modifier
b) Place modifiers next to what the describe
VI) Interjections
VII) Connecting Words
A) Prepositions
a) Don’t end with prepositions
b) Separate proper nouns
Headlines are one of the most important aspect of a newspaper. Newspapers are rarely read in their entirety, that is an undeniable fact. It is the sole responsibility of the headline to draw in the reader to the information they really need to know. The header needs to provide an accurate preview of the article without revealing its entirety, drawing the readers eyes to read the article it describes. It should also be accurate, so as to not confuse the reader into reading something they do not want to.
ReplyDeleteThe wording, structure and size are the most important as it must both draw the reader in and not take space away from the page as a whole. If i headline is long or worded it can overcrowd the page and other important stories will be missed. If it is vice versa, the important info in the article will be overlooked. Wording is important because it is the header in itself, the wording must be inviting, so the reader can dive into the article and read. In essence you want to draw the readers attention with the structure and size then use the wording to draw them in.
The most difficult component of the headline is previewing the story without giving away too much information. A major mistake is made when too much info is shown, causing space issues on the page.
This is avoided through "Two critical steps, selecting which details to use and phrasing them properly within the space available." Brooks "The Art of Editing"
The are various ways to structure and format a headline, however the headline itself is very simply put together. There is Main Head and an optional Second deck directly under it. The order can vary as well, as sometimes the second deck can be placed above the main, however the best way to tell them apart is the size. The main deck is always bigger than the second
The headlines wording is very important here are some tips for writing them:
Use active voice
Do not abbreviate days of the week
Use percent signs
Do not spell out numbers less than ten
United States can be abbreviated
Do not split over two lines (break in smart places)
Further, try to avoid these errors when writing the headline
Typos:
Are young Americans be getting stupider
Vague lines that say nothing
Don't leave kids alone with molester
Double Entendres (something can be taken in more than one way)
Condom Week starts with cautious bang
Misplaced Modifiers
40,000 at mass for polish priest reporter killed
Chapter 7-
ReplyDeleteBest use of this chapter, as the Brooks and Pinson tell you in the introduction, is best used as a reference until you gather the experience to know from memory. Listed in this chapter are thirty-eight different types of stories with a brief description of each. Also each section lists cliche's and perferred word choices in certain situations for that type of story. You can also find information on what qualifies as that particular type of story and how it should be written, active or passive voice, delayed-ID, ways to avoid jargon, ect. Also in each section is a how-to list of what every story of this type should or should not include.
The following is a list of story types, distinguished by topic, included in this chapter.
Accident and Disaster
Advance
Analysis
Boating and Shipping
Business
Calendar Items
Celebrity News
Chronological Stories
Color Pieces
Columns
Court Stories
Crime
Education
Entertainment
First-Person Stories
Focus Pieces
Follows
Food Features
History Pieces
How-to Articles or Service Journalism
Human-Interest
Labor Disputes
Medical News
Meeting Stories
Obituaries
Personality Profiles
Political Stories
Press Release Stories
Question and Answer Interviews
Religion
Reviews
Science and Health
Seasonal Features
Speeches
Sports
Travel
War Stories
Weather
Brian S. Brooks, of Missouri School of Journalism, and James L. Pinson, of Eastern Michigan University, start the chapter off by discussing various news sources and why newspapers are still relevant to today's reader.
ReplyDelete"Newspapers, usually only one per city, provide far more depth than any of the other traditional media and typically do the best job of explaining." (Brooks and Pinson, 293)
Brooks and Pinson give statistics as to why the notion that newspapers are dying is a myth.
Some statistics were:
Almost eight of 10 adults (77 percent) nationwide read a newspaper or a newspaper Web site during the course of a week.
When consumers look to buy things, they think of newspapers first. Fifty-five percent go to newspapers first compared to only 19 percent for the Internet and 8 percent for television.
Visitors to newspapers' Web site say these sites are among their most-used media sources during the workday. Forty-nine percent spend time on these sites between the hours of 8 and 11 a.m.
Two-thirds (66 percent) of all online newspaper readers visit a newspaper Web site at least once a day. Half of these visit several times a day.
The authors also give insight into editing stories that come in, whether they are wire stories (immediate sources that come from Associated Press and other services) or local stories along with giving credit to whom credit is due.
Brooks and Pinson brought up a new formula to news-writing that I hadn't been familiar with before. Journalists are well-aware of the inverted pyramid style, but they discussed using the Wall Street Journal formula. Instead of beginning with the most important information first, such as hard news stories, this formula begins the story with an anecdote and leads into the story with that.
The authors continue discussing developing a paper and lead into budgeting and laying out the design of the paper. Budgeting stories is important in newspaper design because without it it's difficult to create an aesthetically please look to the paper. You can't have a story that's a 32 column inches next to a 13 column inch story and expect it to be neat and clean.
Along with budgeting stories, Brooks and Pinson explain the importance of incorporating the principles of design when laying out the paper. Contrast, unity, balance and the other principles are crucial to creating a professional looking paper.
The authors wrap up the chapter with examples of a newspaper layout.
WORK CITED:
Brooks, Brian S., and James L. Pinson. "Chapter 10." The Art of Editing: In the Age of Convergence (Ninth Edition). Beijing: Zhongguo Ren Min Da Xue Chu Ban She, 2009. 293. Print.
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