COPYEDITING AND HEADLINE WRITING
WHAT IS A COPYEDITOR?
- › Checks written material, usually as the final step before it is set into type, to correct errors in grammar, spelling, usage and style.
- › Keeps an eye out for errors
- › Tightens up wordy prose and smoothes out awkward transitions
- › Can rewrite the story
Copyeditors are NOT proofreaders!
• Proofreaders
are charged with simply looking for typographical and mechanical errors on copy
• Besides
grammar and style, copyeditors also look into a copy’s substance (e.g., accuracy
of facts, implied biases)
A GOOD COPYEDITOR
• Develop
your sense of grammar
• Have
the “Spidey sense”
• Be
familiar with the latest events
• Memorize
the AP stylebook and have a list of commonly misspelled words
• Get
a copy of the copyediting symbols and know them by heart
HEADLINES
•
Headlines
present accurate and complete information quickly in bold, stand-out font to
catch the reader’s attention.
•
Express
the essence of a story in the shortest way possible
•
the
gist of the gist: based on the lead
•
Sets
the over-all tone of the news
Roles
of the Headline
1)
They
summarize the news, so that by taking a glance at the headline, the reader will
know what the story is about;
2)
They
attract the reader’s attention with large print and sometimes with language of
shocking or sensational effect;
3)
They
index the news, i.e., rank the importance of stories by the size of the print
and placement on the page;
4)
They
decorate the page;
5)
They
fill the space.
