CREATIVE EDITING SIXTH EDITION DOROTHY A. BOWLES University of Tennessee & DIANE L. BORDEN Son Diego Stote University ~.. WADSWORTH CENGAGE Learning" Australia Brazil. Japan. Korea Mexico Singapore. Spain United Kingdom. United States
CONTENTS Chapter CD Preface xiii THE COPY EDITOR'S ROLE How we got here 2 The importance of good copy editing 5 The duties of a copy editor 6 The characteristics of a good copy editor 7 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:CHAD SNOW COPY EDITORS'TASKS 8 The copy desk in a modern newsroom 9 The editing process 10 News story 12 Brochures 14 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:SHARON BIBB LOOKING TO THE FUTURE 15 Suggestions for Additional Reading 16 Chapter (i) USING CORRECT GRAMMAR AND PUNCTUATION Skills for entry-level jobs 18 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:CHRISTY SEALS EDITING SKILLS ARE MULTIPURPOSE 20 Parts of speech 21 Sentence structure 23 Common pitfalls in grammar and usage 25 Subject and verb agreement 25 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:EDGAR MILLER RULE OR MYTH? 27 Noun and pronoun agreement 29 Reflexive and intensive pronouns 30 Pronoun case 31 17 v
vi Creative Editing Contents Essential and nonessential clauses 32 Possessive nouns 33 Sequence of tenses 34 Irregular verb forms 35 Subjunctive mood 36 Misplaced and dangling modifiers 36 Double negatives 37 Parallel construction 38 Active and passive voice 39 Punctuation 40 Copy editing and proofreading differences 47 Suggestions for Additional Reading 49 Chapter CD CONSISTENT STYLE AND CORRECT WORDS 51 Consistent style for carefully edited publications 51 Associated press style 52 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: CHERISH MATTHEWS EDITING DUTIES EXPANDING 53 Numerals 54 Abbreviations 55 Capitalization 56 Time 57 Cities and datelines 57 Other style issues 58 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:JOE GRIMM AP STYLE FOR JOURNALISTIC RESUMES 59 Correct word usage 60 Common spelling errors 74 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE:POYNTER INSTITUTE FACULTY SPELLING TIPS 75 Suggestions for Additional Reading 76 Chapter@ CHECKING FACTS 77 Reliability of reference sources 80 Internet search tools 82 The invisible or "deep" web 84 Blogs 85 Web sites for copy editors and other communicators 86
Contents vii Internet discussion groups 87 Usenet newsgroups 88 A sampling of online reference works 88 General reference materials 89 Biographical information 89 Books and book reviews 89 Data and statistics 90 Environment 90 Government 91 Law 92 Newspapers and magazines 92 People finders 92 Politics 93 Quotations 93 Science 93 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: FRANK FEE 44 TIPS FOR GREATER ACCURACY: HOW TO AVOID MECHANICAL/OBJECTIVE ERRORS 94 Suggestions for Additional Reading 97 Chapter EDITING STORIES 99 Editing for different platforms: print, web, broadcast 100 Keep it connected: linking 100 Keep it tight: writing 101 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: ADRIAN URIBARRI EDITING FOR PRINT AND THE WEB 102 Editing leads 103 Editing story structure 105 Using transitions 106 Handling quotations 107 Including essential information 110 Accuracy in numbers I 10 Reporting survey results I 12 Accuracy in word usage I 12 Shortening stories I 13 Eliminating redundancies Editing news-service copy Primary news services Supplemental services 114 115 116 117 Handling copy I 17 The wire editor's job 121
viii Creative Editing Contents The story conference 122 During and after the crunch 122 The power of stories 123 Suggestions for Additional Reading 123 Chapter@ LEGAL CONCERNS Prior restraint 125 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: MARY KAY MARTIRE LEGAL ADVICE FOR COPY EDITORS 126 Competing personal interests 126 Libel 127 Plaintiff's burden of proof 127 Defenses against libel 128 Public or private libel plaintiff 129 Privacy 132 Copyright I34 Trademarks 135 College press rights I36 Techniques for avoiding lawsuits 138 Cost of a lawsuit 138 Dealing with complaints from the public 139 Prepublication cautions at the news-gathering stage 140 Prepublication cautions at the copy desk 141 Suggestions for Additional Reading 143 125 Chapter(j) EDITING AND ETHICS How to decide questions of ethics 147 What is ethics? 148 Philosophical principles 148 How to use the potter box 149 Codes of ethics 151 Editing with good taste and sensitivity 158 Situational ethics 160 Press response to criticism 161 Ethics in the 21 st century 162 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: JEANETTE CHAVEZ ESSENTIAL ETHICS 168 Blogging 169 Using social media for reporting 169 Global journalism ethics 170 Suggestions for Additional Reading 170 145
Contents ix Chapter@ TYPOGRAPHY 173 Type sizes 175 Type widths 177 Type styles 179 Type weights 181 Type families 182 Legibility 183 Web typography 184 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: JOE GILLESPIE TYPOGRAPHY AS PERFORMANCE 186 Suggestions for Additional Reading 186 Chapter WRITING HEADLINES 189 Purposes of news headlines 189 Characteristics of good headlines 190 How to write headlines 190 Guidelines for writing news headlines 191 Press release headlines 197 Feature story headlines 198 Web page headlines 199 Magazine titles 200 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: PETER BHATIA CLICHES ARE NOT MY CUP OF TEA 202 Headline punctuation 203 Headline capitalization 204 Headline counting 205 Counting manually 205 Counting with computer software 206 Placement of headlines 207 Headline alignment 209 Headline styles 21 1 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: PETER BHATIA THE POWER OF HEADLINES 214 Suggestions for Additional Reading 2 /5 Chapter@ EDITING PICTURES AND INFOGRAPHICS 217 Integrating visuals and text 217 Selecting pictures 218 Selecting the best shot 218
x Creative Editing Contents Preparing images for publication 219 Scanning photographs 219 Selecting a file format 220 Cropping and scaling photographs 221 Editing cutlines or captions 223 Editing informational graphics 228 Types of infographics 228 Guidelines for editing infographics 231 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: LYNNE PERRI COMMUNICATING VISUALLY 233 Suggestions for Additional Reading 234 Chapter@ DESIGN AND LAYOUT Design principles 235 Balance 235 Contrast 240 Proportion 240 Unity 240 Design elements 242 Body type 242 Display type 242 Borders 244 Open space 244 Art 244 Color 245 Layout styles 246 Newspaper layout 246 Basic guidelines 250 Inside pages 254 Pagination 255 Web layout and design 256 Mapping a web site 258 Helping readers navigate a site 258 Editing pages within a site 260 Multimedia 263 Newsletter layout 265 Production considerations 268 Magazine layout 268 Formats 269 Basic guidelines for magazine layout 269 PROFESSIONAL PERSPECTIVE: LORI SLOAN AND RAMON PADILLA HOW DESIGN EDITORS WORK 275 Suggestions for Additional Reading 278 235
Contents xi STUDENT WORKBOOK 279 Chapter 1 Exercises 281 Chapter 2 Exercises 283 Chapter 3 Exercises 291 Chapter 4 Exercises 312 Chapter 5 Exercises 3 16 Chapter 6 Exercises 332 Chapter 7 Exercises 340 Chapter 8 Exercises 346 Chapter 9 Exercises 350 Chapter 10 Exercises 358 Chapter 11 Exercises 373 Index 401