Copyreading and Headline writing guide..
- 1. Copy reading and headline writing Some notes on Romel A. Pascua
- 2. Copyreading It means editing written copy for publication It requires serious and comprehensive revision of an article using Copyreading marks based on the standards of publication.
- 3. What does a copyreader do? He takes the story as it comes from the reporter and puts it through a refining process. He uses a heavy black or blue pencil for corrections. He does not erase the original writing when he edits
- 4. What are the essential qualities of a copyreader? He has good command of a language and comprehensive knowledge of rules of grammar. He must be wide reader and always updated on current information. As watchman of newspaper he must know well the policies of newspaper.
- 5. What are the duties of a copyreader? A. Errors in form To correct errors in grammar To correct errors in spelling To correct errors in punctuation To correct errors in usage
- 6. What are the duties of a copyreader? B. Errors in content To correct errors in fact To improve news value To guard against criticism To expand copy To reduce copy To write headlines of news and check heads or titles of editorials, features and literary articles
- 7. What are the duties of a copyreader? To delete unnecessary adjectives and opinion in news To delete libelous, seditious, and rebellious matter and all those contrary to laws, and good taste To correct redundancy and rewrite sentences with verbal deadwood. To rewrite sentences or paragraphs that violate the principles of unity, coherence, and emphasis To correct errors in style and structure
- 8. Try this: A. Identify the error, then tell whether it is in form or in content. Explain your answer. 1. The guard did not saw all the students coming in. 2. The agenda for the meeting is quite long. 3. The Core luckily tops prestigious press tilts 4. Floods destroy field house- clean- up to take three weeks. 5. In a news story-The most efficient and knowledgeable principal represented the school in the well known national schools press conference.
- 9. Try this: 6. The final conclusion revealed that the dead corpse was a victim of fatal murder. 7. You’re the one whose going to be promoted. 8. President Aquino has been encountering rough sailing with the philippine media. 9. The old man was brought to the hospital. 10. Grenade blast killed 2 kids
- 10. Try this: B. Copyread the following leads. 1. President Aquino yesterday said graduates off the philippine military academy (PMA) this year were embarking on a military Carreer not to enrich themselves but to serve the nation.
- 11. Try this: 2. The nexxt administration will have no one to blaming but itself should the countrys economic growth sputter after growing 7.3 percentage during the first quarter of the year, Malacanang yesterday Said.
- 12. Do this: 3. philippine- Chartered ship has making a second rescue mission in LIBYA, evacuating more than 1,000 Filipinos including dependents of Filipino diplomats, from the besieged capital of tripoli, officials said Yesterday,
- 13. HEADLINE WRITING HEADLINE is the title of a newspaper story. It serves as a quick source of information. It is written to tell the story what is it all about, to attract readers, and to grade the news on its importance. It is always short and simple. Headline writing requires skill and concentration .It must give the essence of the story. While explaining the story accurately, your headline also must fit into a limited space.
- 14. Steps in Writing Headline Step 1- Read the article, especially the lead (first) paragraph. The headline must convey a brief synopsis of the article and must be accurate, so knowledge of the information in the article is imperative.
- 15. Steps in Writing Headline Step 2-Decide on the most important information to be conveyed in the headline: what will grab the attention of the most readers? In news articles, the most significant information should be in the very first couple of sentences. The headline has to fit within the space available for it. If the amount of space available is unknown, be prepared to edit down the headline as needed in order to fit.
- 16. Steps in Writing Headline Step 3-Check guidelines: each publication has different guidelines regarding what to include in the headline. Some allow certain forms of punctuation, such as a colon, while others do not. Verify with the publication what their guidelines require.
- 17. Steps in Writing Headline Step 4-Consider the appearance of the headline. The font size of the letters used often convey to the reader the article's importance. Major world events are typically one or two words in very large font size across the entire top of the newspaper, while smaller local stories or news that isn't that unusual are printed in a smaller font size that only takes up a column or two in the paper.
- 18. Steps in Writing Headline Step 5- Write the headline. There are several things to consider while writing the headline Step 6-Confirm that there are no more errors in form and in content.
- 19. Guidelines in Writing Headline 1. Use specific words. Make the information as exact as you can in the limited space of the headline Wrong: Politician wins election. Correct: Noynoy wins presidential post.
- 20. Guidelines in Writing Headline 2. State facts, avoid opinion Ex. Fact: The Core first in press tilts With opinion: The Core luckily tops prestigious press tilts 3. Use Active voice. The doer of the action must be in the subject position. However, use the passive voice when the action is more significant than the doer. Example: SC postpones general meeting
- 21. Guidelines in Writing Headline 4. Use the historical present (the present form of the verb for the past events, and the infinitive form for the future events. Wrong: The Core copped 5 trophies at NSSPC Correct: The Core cops 5 trophies at NSSPC
- 22. Guidelines in Writing Headline 5. Omit all articles a, an, the and other unnecessary words. Wrong: The 7 cops hurt in ambush Correct: 7 cops hurt in ambush 6. Avoid label head Wrong: Auctioned Correct: Imelda jewelry auctioned
- 23. Guidelines in Writing Headline 7. Do not editorialize your headline. Wrong: Ang Alab shows great performance in DSSPC. Correct: Ang Alab wins 6 out of 7 in DSSPC writing contests 8. Do not use the same word twice in the headline or kicker Gun haul Manila cops seize 25 guns from suspected bandits
- 24. Guidelines in Writing Headline 9. Never use the word “may”. It denotes the uncertain element of the story. Wrong: Sayyaf may demand P1M for release of 3 captives Correct: Sayyaf demands P1M for release of 3 captives.
- 25. Guidelines in Writing Headline 10. To use direct quotation as head, use any of the following forms instead of the traditional quotation marks: A. Using the dash instead of the quotation mark. Example: Truth commission repugnant – Miriam B. Using the colon Example: Joker: Cut debates, fast-track canvass
- 26. Guidelines in Writing Headline C. Using narrative form Example: No poverty reduction, says Briones 11. Do not be in the negative. Poor: Summer Training in Journalism won’t be held Better: Summer Training in Journalism cancelled
- 27. Guidelines in Writing Headline 12. The first letter of the word and proper nouns are generally capitalized. Example: Bell saves Tigers from Coffee Makers 13. Avoid awkward verbal breaks Wrong: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life in Malacanang Right: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life in Malacanang
- 28. Guidelines in Writing Headline 14. Mention only the name of person, who is prominent Wrong: Jacoba wins Microsoft global award Right: Filipino wins Microsoft Global award 15. Use M for million and B for billion Example: West Visayas gets P 600 M for typhoon victims
- 29. Guidelines in Writing Headline 16. Use comma instead of and. Example: No goodbyes for Jamby, Nene, Mar, Noy at Senate 17. Separate double headline by a semicolon. Example: Bomb explodes at Koronadal market; 13 killed, 53 hurt 18. Do not end the headline with a period.
- 30. Guidelines in Writing Headline 19. Use infinitive for future events. Example: Aquino to visit Saudi on way to NY 20. Avoid splitting compound word Wrong: Aquino to award taxi driver for honesty Right: Aquino to award taxi driver for honesty
- 31. Guidelines in Writing Headline 21. Avoid wooden heads or headlines without a verb. Wrong: Ten student delegates at UN Correct: Ten student delegates visit UN 22. Avoid splitting words that naturally go together Wrong: Garcians celebrate Buwan ng Wika with beauty tilt Right: Garcians hold Buwan ng Wika with beauty contest
- 32. Guidelines in Writing Headline 23. Do not start the headline with a verb. Wrong: Destroy crops worth P 50 M Correct: P 50M worth crops destroyed
- 33. Types of Headline A. According to Purpose 1. Informative or conventional headlines. They are designed to inform. These are the ones the public usually reads in broadsheet and tabloids a. Palace dares Aquino to sustain economic growth b. Manual audit shows ‘no vote tampering’
- 34. Types of Headline 2. Intriguing or feature headlines. Their main purpose is to intrigue readers and elicit responses. They often do not give the summary of the story. Feature heads are made more arresting by using different style of writing and attractive font types. a. What Happened to Tax Evaders? b. Is there a need for Sex Education?
- 35. Types of Headline B. According to Style 1. All Caps Letters Macau Approves New Labor Law 2. Combination of Cap and lower cases (CLC) US scribes honor Pacquiao as year’s best 3. Sentence Case or Down Style (Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized) Macau approves new labor law
- 36. Types of Headline C. According to Structure 1. Flush left – two or more lines of headline are aligned at the left edge the column Example: Lions, Archers reach quarters 2. Flush right – two or more lines of headline are aligned at the right edge of the column Example: US urges free access to South China Sea
- 37. Types of Headline 3. Dropline – two or three lines of headline, usually of the same length and arranged diagonally Example: Female cop cited For poll heroism
- 38. Types of Headline 4. Hanging indention – usually three or more lines of headline, the first line set flush to both margins and the succeeding lines are indented or beginning several spaces in from the left margin, thus hanging as if from the first Example: Military ready to step in if anti-gov’t protests turn violent
- 39. Types of Headline 5. Crossline or barline – a single line of headline running over two or more columns Example: Grenade blast kills 2 kids 6. Inverted pyramid – two or more lines of headline with the first line flushed to both margin and the succeeding lines getting shorter and centered Example: DepEd sets new guidelines For teacher-applicants
- 40. Types of Headline 7. Flushline of full line- consists of two or more lines of the same length Example: 2 low -pressure areas spotted 8. Streamer – striking boldface head extending across the top of the page 9. Umbrella – a streamer that is placed at the very top of the page above the nameplate of the newspaper
- 41. Types of Headline 10. Binder – a streamer at the top of an inside page 11. Boxed head – the headline is boxed either for prominence or to avoid tombstoning 12. Jump head (run-over head) – headline of a news story, which is cut and continued on the inside page; it is followed by the words from page __ or the like 13. Tagline, kicker or teaser – a short single line placed above the main head, may be of smaller type, underlined and set flush left or centered.
- 42. Headline Vocabulary accord – agreement allay – calm allot – apportion, set a side anew – again assail – attack ax – dismiss bare – reveal, expose bat – defend bid – request blast – criticize cite – enumerate, mention confab – conference cop – police cow- frighten crown – win curb – control, stop cut – decrease dip – decrease, decline draw fire – to be criticized dry run – rehearsal
- 43. Headline Vocabulary due – deadline, scheduled ex – former to eye – consider feud – quarrel, dispute foil – thwart, reject gab – conference gird – brace, prepare go – try grill – question, interrogate hail – welcome hike – increase hit – attack inquiry – investigation ink – to sign a contract junk – to throw way, decline kin – family kit – package letup – temporary easing up link – connect lull – calm
- 44. Headline Vocabulary meet – conference, to convene memo – memorandum mull – plan, to think of mum – silent nab – arrest nix – reject okay – approve, accept peg – to fix at a certain amount or level pit – oppose post – position, to assign power – electricity probe – to investigate prod – prick quit – resign quiz – question ratify – approve raze – destroy revamp – to change, reshuffle rift – disagreement row – dispute, disagreement
- 45. Headline Vocabulary rule – decide, decision sans – without scan – examine scribe – newspaperman shakeup – reshuffle skip – avoid slay – kill, assassinate solon – lawmaker try – attempt
- 46. Mechanics of Headline Writing The next job of the copy editor after developing the headline is to see to it that it fits on the allotted space on the page. He now gives the necessary technical instruction to the layout man on what font type and size to be used and how it should be presented on the page. Example: 2-20TNRB W/ KICKER
- 47. Mechanics of Headline Writing Number 2 means that head will run across two columns of the page. Number 20 stands for the font size to be used. TNRB refers to the font type Times New Roman Bold and KICKER means a preliminary head. The line below refers to the number of line or deck the headline will have. The final headline will look like this: National Press Conference NCR braces for top slot
- 48. Unit Count in Headline All small letters (except j, l, i, f, t, m and w) Small letters j, l, i, f, t Small letters m and w All capital letter (except I, M and W) Capital letters J I L T F Capital letters M and W = 1 unit = ½ unit = 1 ½ unit = 1 ½ unit = 1 unit = 2 unit
- 49. Unit Count in Headline All punctuation marks (except the dash, question mark, dollar, peso and percent sign) Dash, question mark, dollar, peso and percent sign All number figures from 0 to 9 (except 1) Number 1 All spaces = 1 unit = 1 unit = 1 unit = ½ unit = 1 unit
- 50. Exercises Write headline from the following leads: 1. Investigators have found two apparent murder victims at properties owned by a Muslim clan accused of the Philippine’s worst political massacre, the country’s justice secretary said. Forensic experts found the skeketons in shallow graves at a grassy field and a corn plantation owned by the Ampatuan family in Southern Maguindanao province, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said.
- 51. Exercises 2. Starting April, the Quezon City government will not allow construction of new buildings in the city without complying with “green building standards.”
- 52. Exercises 3. A United Nations independent expert has urged the Philippines to adopt the necessary measures to guarantee the protection and safety of journalists.