News Writing Basics

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RULE OF THUMB: PREPARE COPY CAREFULLY News Writing Basics GAPHOR M. PANIMBANG 2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE

Transcript of News Writing Basics

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RULE OF THUMB: PREPARE COPY CAREFULLY

News WritingBasicsGAPHOR M. PANIMBANG

2014 DIVISION SCHOOLS PRESS CONFERENCE

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Copyediting Copyediting Headline Writing Story Editing

Rule of Thumb: Prepare copy carefully

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It is the art of arranging, correcting, and selecting the quality and type of news

It is also called copyediting.

One who edits copies is called a copyreader or copyeditor

What is Copyreading?

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Edits errors on grammar (spelling, tenses, agreement, etc.)

Edits errors of fact (accuracy check)

Edits verbose copyDeletes opinion or slant

and libelous statementsWrites the headline

Responsibilities of a Copy Editor

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Type an end sign, “-30-” at the end of each story

Always use a pencil to edit copy, never a pen

Writers and editors use standard copyreading marks to make corrections

Proofreaders and typesetters use standard proofreading symbols

Copy Preparation Guidelines

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Sample Edited Copy

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Copyediting Symbols

Symbol Instruction Example

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Copyediting Symbols

Symbol Instruction Example

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Copyediting Symbols

Symbol Instruction Example

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Copyediting Symbols

Symbol Instruction Example

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Copyediting Symbols

Symbol Instruction Example

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Pointers in Copyediting

Avoid unfamiliar abbreviationsPrinciples of CapitalizationNumeralsPunctuations (period, comma, semicolon, colon,

apostrophe, quotation marks, exclamation mark, dash, parenthesis, hyphen, question mark, italicization)

SpellingEditing

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Headline WritingCopyediting Headline Writing Story Editing

Rule of Thumb: Sell the sizzle, not the steak

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Principles of Headline

A headline summarizes the storyHeadlines help organize the news for readersHeadlines package feature and in-depth storiesThe headline sells the story to the readersHeadlines prioritize the news for readersHeadlines reflect the style and personality of the

newspaper

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Headline Writing Rules

Use the same headline style throughout the newspaper Use downstyle in writing headlines (also called ”sentence headline”

style) Use upstyle in writing headlines

Headlines should be written so they fit uniformly, usually from column edge to column edge

Each line of a head should express a complete thought The primary headline should contain the most important information

from the story Word economy is the key to successful headline writing Don’t use names in headlines unless a person is being recognized for

an achievement or the person is well-known Use active voice and strong, colorful nouns and verbs in headlines

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Headline Grammar

Put an action verb, expressed or implied, in every headline

Do not begin with a verb, preposition, article or conjunction

Avoid the verb form to be Use present tense verbs in writing

headlines describing past events Use future tense verbs to write

headlines about future events Use numbers in headlines only if

they are important Do not abbreviate days of the week

in headlines Abbreviate the month only when a

specific date follows it

Don’t use articles of speech (a, an, the) in headlines unless the words are part of a title

Substitute a comma for the conjunction and

Use single quote marks in place of double quote marks in a headline

Don’t split a verb phrase Don’t split a preposition and its object Don’t separate an adjective and the

noun it modifies Don’t split names that belong together Use the active voice Use abbreviations only if they are

well-known

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Headline Formats

1. Banner or crossline This is a large one-line headline that goes across three, four, five or six columns

2. Boxed headline Boxed heads are two picas shorter than regular headlines

3. Deck A deck is a second headline for the same story

4. Hammer Hammers are twice the point size and half as long as the main headline

5. Kicker Kickers are half the point size and half as long as the main headline

6. Slammer A combination of a bold kicker and a cross line head on the same line separated by a slash or a colon and set in the same size of type

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Headline Vocabulary

Faculty club strengthened (beefed up) Enrolment decreases (dips) Science Examinations announced (quiz, bared) Contests highlight Animal Week (cap) President Aquino urges for cooperation (bats for, calls for) DepEd Secretary disapproves tuition fee increase (bucks, hike) Nationalism a necessity in education (vital cog) Principal praises Pepito’s humility (lauds, extols) Navarro keynote speaker at YMCA conference ( keynotes YMCA confab) Local staff dominates press title (rules, lords over) Student writers prepare for journalism contest (scribes hone up for Press

tilt) ‘My Little Bossing’ to be shown in January ( booked for)

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The Story EditingCopyediting Headline Writing Story Editing

Rule of Thumb: Consistency, Credibility, ClarityEnd

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Basics

Always use a pencil to edit copy, never a penWriters and editors use standard copyreading marksIn calendars, list the day and date followed by an em dash

— then the event, place, time and cost (if any)Verify the spelling of all namesVerify all facts with at least two sourcesVerify all facts with at least two sourcesAll opinion is based on factWrite in third personRead the story at least three times

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Spelling Journalistic style Sentence structure Grammar Punctuation Concise wording Lack of repetition Precise wording Quotes accurately attributed,

punctuated Opinion quotes attributed to source

Read the Story for Mechanics

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Writing Straight News Leads

A straight news lead should be a single paragraph consisting of a single sentence, should contain no more than 30 words, and should summarize, at minimum, the most newsworthy "what," "where" and "when" of the story.

Example: "Fire destroyed a house on Main Street early Monday morning.“

• The lead's first verb should express the main "what" of the story and should be placed among the lead's first seven words

• The lead's first verb -- the same one that expresses the main "what" of the story -- should be active voice, not passive voice.

• If there's a "who" involved in the story, the lead should give some indication of who the "who" is.

Example: "An elderly Murfreesboro man died Monday when an early morning fire raged through his Main Street home."

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Writing Straight News Leads

The lead should summarize the "why" and "how" of the story, but only if there's room

Example: "An elderly Murfreesboro man died early Monday morning when fire sparked by faulty wiring raged through his Main Street home.“

If what's in the lead needs to be attributed, place the attribution at the end of the lead

Example: "Faulty wiring most likely sparked the blaze that claimed the life of an elderly Murfreesboro man last week, the city's arson investigator concluded Monday."

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Various Types of News Structure

1. Straight News Story It has a summary lead which answers the most important W’s depending on which the W’s is the most prominent among them

2. News-Feature Story It is classified as news since it is gathered and written daily by reporters as their regular assignment.

3. Fact Story Is a plain exposition of a simple situation or of a series of closely related events which conform to inverted pyramid design.

4. Action Story A narrative involving not merely facts, but dramatic actions – incidents, descriptions of person, perhaps testimonials of witnesses as well as explanatory data.

5. Speech report, quote, and interview Stories

The arrangement of a speech report, a quote story, and of an interview are to a great extent similar.

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Transition/Quote Formula

Direct Quotes:Should be linked to the paragraph before themShould not repeat the transition/lead before themShould have attribution after the first sentence of the quoteCan be longer than one sentence

Direct Quotes:Should be linked to the paragraph before themShould not repeat the transition/lead before themShould have attribution after the first sentence of the quoteCan be longer than one sentence

Transitions:Hold the story togetherCan be fact, indirect quote or a partial quoteUse transitional words to help with the flow (as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In addition, However, Otherwise, ThenUse parts of the direct quotes to create the transition

Transitions:Hold the story togetherCan be fact, indirect quote or a partial quoteUse transitional words to help with the flow (as needed): After all, Also, Finally, In addition, However, Otherwise, ThenUse parts of the direct quotes to create the transition

and so on!!! until the story is complete!Example

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Example of T/Q Formula

(Lead) President Barack Obama will speak on Friday to seniors about getting involved in community service work.

(Direct Quote) “Seniors will learn a lot about duty and commitment when they hear President Obama,” Principal Ike Sumter said. “We are so excited that he agreed to come.”

(Fact Transition) Before becoming president, Obama worked as a community organizer in Chicago.

(Direct Quote) “Our nation was built from the givers, and the doers,” he said. “To keep this nation moving forward, we need more giving and less taking.”

(PQ Transition) President Obama said he believes community service is “extremely valuable lesson” for every teen to have.

(IQ Transition) He also said he believes community service is vital for America’s success.

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Straight News Story

1. Straight News Story

Elaboration of a W

Elaboration of a W

Elaboration of a W

Further Elaboration

Summary Lead

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Shukran for the

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