Lecture 2: Copy Editing Student Work

Chapter One Review and Interpretation, Devon Bowie and Claire Theobald

By Devon "The Illest" Bowie and Claire Theobald

In reading (using the lightest sense of the word) the first chapter of the text, it became appherent that the idea of ethics and morality had been de-emphasized whereas other ideas like "Confidence" and "Intellegence" were put at the for front of the list of characteristics that a godd copy-editor must possess. Although admittedly these characteristics are important, they are so broad they could be emphasized as important characteristics for any career, unless you intend on pumping gas full time. There was also the issue of humor appearing to be more important then ethics because lets face it, unless you are writing for mad tv (which, I might add, is amongst the worst type of comedy out there), humor is not always the best option. Just saying...

Copy Editors, according to the work of Devon, are likened to "Spies in an ultra-secret government agency" in that they do important work and remain unsung heros. It did a fairly good job of summarizing the duties of a copy editor in the most basic sense, so basic in fact that it felt like someone writing about how it is the fireman's duty to fight fires.

All in all, a very basic summary; a recommended read for anyone curious about the duties of a copy editor who has also spent the last ten years living in a cave.

Chapter One Review and Interpretation, Kris, Jayme, Terra

= the journalistic process

Copyeditors have many tasks that they must perform in order to maintain the image and reputation of the publication. They must make sure there are no spelling or grammatical errors in a reporters articles. They must check the facts of an article. They must ensure that the article is accurate, relevant, and timely. They must properly attribute the facts in order to avoid libel. They must possess certain traits and skills such as intelligence, the ability to write, objectivity, confidence, reliability, and a sense of humour. The internet has changed the face of journalism. As a result, several papers, including some famous names, have had to adapt and evolve to meet consumer demand. The editing process is a large, hierarchically organized process. Reporters have to answer to copy editors, who report to people above them, who report to people above them and on and on until the publishers.

Our Response:
Chapter One does a fairly good job of representing what being a journalist in this new media era. We thought that some of the skills mentioned in the text book were not really necessary, such as intelligence and confidence. One could argue those skills would help any profession and it is redundant to state them. We feel that with the online outlet it is much easier to fact check which lends credibility to stories. We, as the public, are much more able to do fact-checking ourselves. Because "typesetters and proofreaders often no longer exist as a final check to prevent publication errors," editors must be that much more diligent.

Chapter 1 Review & Interpretation by Maxwell Rausch and Jesse "The Cat" Snyder

Okay, this is the most important stuff from Ch.1 of Creative Editing for Canadian Journalists:

The chapter starts by briefly examining the impact of the internet on the modern news industry...which doesn't seem like something that can be analysed in a couple pages. After that, it proceeds to discuss the specific role of the copy editor. They have a plethora of responsibilities including excercising good news judgement by making seemingly dull stories more interesting and concise, writing provocative headlines that attract readers' attention, writing cutlines, as well as correcting errors of fact and emphasis, and protecting and enhancing the publication's reputation. Moreover, copy editors have to keep up with the latest technologies and remain as open and knowledgeable as possible in order to do their jobs effectively. The best copy editors are intelligent, confident, objective, aware of their readers and the personality of the publication, have diplomatic and writing skills, and ideally should be hilarious.

Copy editors are part of a massive bureaucracy, just a step above the reporters at the very bottom. Although computers have simplified the editing process to a degree, copy editors are nevertheless crucial as they are they are last ones to see copy before the paste-up stage of production. Therefore, they are responsible not just for the written content, but also the layout and presentation of the content.

While doing their jobs, editors must excercise good news judgement by understanding the significance of timeliness, prominence, proximity (geography), relevence, conflict, resonance, and unusualness. The chapter delves into the specifics of the editor's job as well. They may be involved as early on as the planning stage, with the assigning of the story itself. The ditor rereads the story several times before it is actually published, and (especially online) they may update previously published editions of the story.

All in all, what we got out of this chapter in particular was that editors must remain stoicly objective, arguably moreso than reporters, in order to preserve the integrity of the publication. "Editors have an extra obligation to be objective. They must be able to view the material in a broader context and disregard the personality of the reporter who wrote it." In addition, we thought it was startling how huge the bureaucracy of news actually is, despite the effeciency afforded by online resources and recent downsizing.

Chapter One Review and Interpretation, Ricki Cundliffe and Megan Perras

In the first chapter, we wrote about the roles of the copy editor, such as:
-having a good sense of humour that is widely accepted and understood
-being diplomatic, intelligent, well versed on many subjects, organized, able to grow with technology, experienced with regards to newspapers, well-read in fiction and non-fiction
-having a post-secondary education
-understanding/applying proper grammar
-preventing lawsuits through good editing
-being able to write well and layout pages digitally
-being able to write photo captions, as well as bylines
-must love language, edit quickly and effectively, be creative, and be able to research effectively
-must be better writers than the journalists they edit for, while not "writing" for the journalists themselves
-having previous experience with writing every type of beat
-must be able to finalize projects with picture selection, cropping, and placement

We also defined the terms "slot editor" (cheif editor), as well as "rim editor" (asst. cheif editor).
Slot editors and rim editors used to sit in a horseshoe shape; however, most editing desks are now rectangular.

USA has remarkably more daily newspapers than Canada.

Journalists do much more research on the Internet now than ever before.

We were surprised to learn that a copy editor's salary is approx. $50, 000 per year! (Keep in mind that "Copy Editor" is a promotion from "Journalist."

Bill Gates's company began MSNBC.

Local news stations are floundering.

Print Journalism will be around for a very long time. Print media is layed out digitally as a whole page.

News stations advertise for their associated news stations and websites.

*Timeliness: Information from today is much more useful than information from yesterday.
*Newsworthiness: relevance, uniqueness, touching, useful, informative, up-to-date

As a whole, chapter 1 did not deliver a ton of "new information," so-to-speak, yet it highlighted on very important duties and qualities an editor must take on. We were surprised by the salary a copy editor takes home every year, especially when it is compared to the income a person with a trade would receive. "According to salary.hotjobs.com, a Web site that allows users to conduct an instant online salary comparison, in 2006 an associate Web editor earned an average of $51,116 a year" (Creative Editing, Chapter 1). Copy editors have very specific tasks to complete in a very short period of time, and we do not feel that this salary is sufficient to the work assigned.

Ricki Cundliffe & Megan Perras

Chapter 1 Review and Interpretation, From the Desk of Steven Wagers, Kevin Penny, and Aden Cruz.

Chapter 1 in Creative Editing discusses how copy editing has undergone significant changes since it first came into existence. They have had to adapt to the everchanging world of technology. According to Mike Gasher, "[this] strategy allows companies to reduce labour, administrative and material costs, to use the same media content across several media outlets, to attract increased advertising by providing advertisers with package deals for one-stop shopping for a number of media platforms and to increase brand recognition and brand loyalty among audiences through cross-promotion and cross-selling." The chapter discusses the qualities that a copy editor must possess, such as objectiveness, awareness, confidence, and basically the same kinds of traits that a good journalist possesses. Copy Editors must also have a very good understanding of the laws that pertain to their occupation (libel laws, slander laws), otherwise they run the risk of being sued. Copy editors have also been subject to a major increase in their responsibilities due to the major influx of technology. Their responsibilities include:

• Correcting grammer and spelling.



• Making adjustments to the style of the writing to make it more interesting for the reader.



• Checking accuracy on facts in the piece of writing, and dealing with potential legal issues.



• Keeping a professional tone for their publications.

OUR TAKE ON THE CHAPTER

We felt that this chapter did an excellent job of capturing the essence of a copy editor and what a copy editor does for a news publication. It is interesting to see how far copy editing has come from having very limited responsibilities to becoming a whole plethora of jobs. After reading this chapter, we found that we recognized and appreciated all the hardships and contributions that a copy editor bring to the news world.

Chapter 1: Review and Interpretation (Jennifer Carbert, Pam Dipinto, Katrin Sorensen, Shannon Findlay)

Chapter one of the textbook "Creative Editing for Canadian Journalists" is about the modern role of a copyeditor and the interaction in the news room. The history of journalism is a very logical place to begin a textbook. As important as history is to understanding the why's and how's of copyediting, understanding the contemporary role of a copyeditor is much more useful. The textbook outlines the duties of a Copy editor:

a. editing copy for interest and concision
b. proofreading
c. fact checking
b. judging new value
e. dealing with legal issues in copy
f. protecting the image of the publication
g. writing headlines
h. selecting and editing photos
i. writing captions and cutlines
j. layout
k. exercising news judgment
l. keeping up with the newest technology

Once a person know the why's, how's and what's of being a Copy editor they must next decide if their personality will climatize in the role. Some of the personal attributes are

a. confidence
b. objectivity
c. awareness
d. intelligence
e. curiosity
f. diplomacy
g. eloquence in wiriting
h. sense of humour

There are different techniques for editing different types of documents. Editing for news and editing for a brochure are very different. The newsroom has more of a hierarchical structure within the office starting with the editor-in-chief all the way down to the lowly beat reporters. Although working behind the scenes Copy editors are very important to the news room. "Copy editors are the heart of the media organization, suppling the lifeblood for healthy existance inspiring and serving as gatekeepers of the news for the public". In essence they are one of the most central jobs in the journalism world.

The textbook covers many important points about the role of a Copy editor in the news office; however, we have some suggestions which would have made this chapter easier to read and digest. A bigger focus on the future of copyediting would have been a nice close to the chapter, and different models of hierarchy such as a small paper would have been benifical for those not looking to work in large productions. The chapter could have also included more of a conclusion. Over all the chapter was a good introduciton to Copy editing keeping the language simple and free of jargon.

Lecture 2: Copy Editing

Outline:
Review Chapter 1
Writing Activity
Mark-Up Symbols
Blog Report 1
Homework


Review Chapter 1:
Individually:
Re-read Chapter 1
Focus on any key terms
Try to remember any examples or facts

Do not take notes

10 minutes

Review Activity:

Combine your free writes into a single blog post
Title: Chapter One Review and Interpretation, Student Names
Label: Lecture 2, Copy Editing, Review (please capitalise & use commas)
Include as many relevant details as possible
Include one paragraph interpretation of the content of Chapter 1 (were there any significant details, anything new to you, something that caught your attention?)
Embed one image in your blog post
Include one quotation about copy editing from Chapter 1 (you may use your books here)
Add a comment to one other blog post

Blog Report #1

Due Feb. 9th

Title: Citizen Journalism and the Future of Journalism, Name Surname

Label: Blog Report 1

Length: 5 paragraphs

Respond, using examples and in an academic tone:

"The contributions of citizen journalists, bloggers, and others who aren't paid to cover the news are constantly mocked and derided by the critics of new media who clearly don't understand that technology has enabled millions of consumers to shift their focus from passive observation to active participation -- from couch potato to self-expression” - Arianna Huffington

Refer to “Best of Twitter: FTC Workshop Discusses Future of Journalism” by Jessica Clark (http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2009/12/best-of-twitter-ftc-workshop-discusses-future-of-journalism-337.html)



Homework:

Define “journalism 2.0”
Read “The Reconstruction of American Journalism” (http://www.cjr.org/reconstruction/the_reconstruction_of_american.php)
Come to class ready with a topic for your first e-portfolio entry (copy editing, journalism 2.0, citizen journalism, mark-up symbols)





Note: image from Reportr.net