Copyreading and Headline Writing Discussed by Elma Concepcion A. Herrera,

 Division of Tacloban City

Copy editing or Copyreading is editing a copy written by a reporter before it gets to the

typesetter. It is much like the work of an English teacher correcting compositions, except thatthe copyreader uses symbols universally known by printers.

Preparing a Copy (Reporter)

1. Use a typewriter or a computer.

2. ype on one side of the sheet only and double space.!. "egin the story #for news$ about three inches from the top of the page.

%. Indent deeply& at least ' spaces& the beginning of each paragraph.

'. Identify on the first page of the story with a slug line.

&name of paper &word(s to identify the story

&reporter 

&date). ype the word *+ore at the bottom of each page except the last, where *!- or is

indicated.

Duties of a Copy Reader /

he 0ob of the copyreader may be condensed into one short sentence/ Make sure it’s

accurate. opy editors do many things, but their most essential function is to watch formistakes.

copyreader goes over the story once to get a general idea of what it is all about.

his will likewise help him formulate the headline, which is a part of his 0ob.  hen, he goes over it a second time to do any or all of the following as the case may

 be/

1. 3traighten out ungrammatical construction.2. 3horten sentences and tighten paragraphs

!. 3ee that the paper4s style re5uirement are strictly followed

%. heck names, addresses, titles, designation, identification, figures, totals, etc.'. 6ewrite the story completely if it is poorly written.

6. Rewrite the lead whenever necessary but ust never taper with the facts

unless sure of his correction.7. 8elete all opinions, specifications, and statements which are without attribution ofsources.

!. Watch out for libelous stateents.9. ross out ad0ectives which tend to make a story sound over&written.

1-. hallenge facts, claims, or reports when they sound anomalous, illogical, :

incredible.

11. heck slug lines and paging se5uences.12. ;rite headlines.

 

Copy editing "ybols

Indent for paragraph or or  

  w

Insert a letter <she told the crod<

=ower case <he 6an with the ball<

apitali>e <the student council also<

8elete and close up <the studdent council also<

8elete and close up <he ran with the the ball<

8elete and close up <ech won it4s ninth title<

bbreviate <occurred at 9 ?o. 1-th 3treet<

8elete and close up <the life&saving e5uipment<

3pell out <7 persons were arrested<

Insert a dash <17 persons all under 21 wore<

3et in numerals <thirty&seven fled the scene<

3pell out <the gov. uesday told<

ranspose letters <the footabll coach said<

Insert a hyphen <a well&dressed person<

ranspose words <..also chosen was<

Insert a word < something was out<

3eparate words <they arrivedon uesday<

Insert comma <never again she said<

Insert period <he said "ut @ones<

=et it standA ignore copy mark <this is wrong<

enter opyright 1992

3et flush right "y the ssociated Bress

3et flush left "y the ssociated Bress

 ?o paragraph <but not until.

  =ater, however, she said<

Insert 5uotation marks <Cet out, he said<

Insert apostrophe <its always like this<

8elete lines or paragraphs

 

 

Writing Headlines

Deadline writing is considered a nearly impossible task because it entails choosing '

to 7 words that would tell an entire story consisting of '-- words. nd this must be doneaccording to a rather strict set of rules.

he headlines4 0ob is to lure the reader into the story. It must be done honestly, not

 promising something that isn4t in the story. It must use lively, interesting and sparkling verbs,cramming as much information into those words as possible.

#ype "i$e%

Deads are measured by points. point is 1(72 of an inch high. hus, a 72&point head

is 1 inch high, a !) point head is inch high, an 1F&point head is G inch high.

Hor body type, the type of the story itself is set in, is usually F&point, 9 point, or a maximumof 12 points.

Width%

n example of a technical instruction for a headline is the following.

& ' ** +, w- /C0R 

he first number #!$ means that the head will run across three columns of the page.

he second number #2-$ stands for the type si>e to be used. "" refers to Bodoni Bold, a

type family with the corresponding weight #how thick and black the letters will appear on the

 page$. U? stands for universe a type of style. icker refers to the preliminarily head. heline below refers to the number of lines or decks your headline will have.

"upree Court Ruling J #kicker$

Gov’t plan to register aliensunconstitutional #main headline$

#he +nit Count "yste%

+aking headlines fit into the space and at the same time tell story re5uires skill and a

lot of patience. his numerical system is very useful to headline writers.

  1etter Count 1etter Count

Capital / 2 "paces 3

Capital 45 W5 ,uerals 2

7ll other capitals 2 3 #he nueral 2 3

1owercase 85 l5 t5 f5 / 3 9uestion ar:5 dash 2

1owercase w5 2 3 7ll other punctuations 3

7ll other lowercase letters 2

 6eferences/

  ru>, ecillano&@ose. Campus Journalism and School Paper Advisin.

  +anila/ 6EK "ookstore

 

  Herguson, 8onald and @im Batten. Journalism Today!, Hourth Edition.

  Illinois/ ?ational extbook ompany

  +alinao, lito. Journalism for "ilipinos. +andaluyong/ ?ational "ook 3tore.

 

0;ercise% Copyread the following news ite and prepare a one line head with a count of

not ore than .

he bureau of Immigration #bi$ deports yesterday twenty one

foreignnationales detained at it4s 8etention center in "icutan. aguig city in

whatt could considered as significant in terms of numbers in the campain of the

 bureau to deports illegall aleins in Bhilipine

Emigration commissioner ?onoy =abanan ordered the members of the

"ureau of Immigration ivil security unit to ecsort the detainees to the ?inay

5uino inter4l irport #?aia$

Upon arriving at the airport Immigrattion offices lead by teodororo piolo

 pascual bi J naia supervisor proccesed the travel papers of the depotees b% the

latter boarded a 1- o4clock am flight of the china souhtern airlines L!7F<

=awyer floro balato @unior, "I 3pokesman, said the aliens was deported

 pursuant to a depotation order that the bureaus board of commisioners isseud

last ugust 2'.

=abanan said the depostation of twenty one foreignesr were implemented after

they where found to engaged in the legal mining of black sands w(o the

necessery clearans from the 8eppartment of environment and ?atural

6esources #8E?6$ and without securing workign visas from the bureu.

;hile the comitee praised the Indegenious Beoples 6ights ct #IB6$ ,

it urged the gov4t. to implement the law more fuly.