PART 2

The Fundamentals of Editing

CHAPTER

3

The Editing Process

 

THE EDITOR’S ROLE

Every editor edits. That is, every editor determines to some extent what will and will not be published or broadcast. This book stresses the skills of editing, but learning those skills without a thorough understanding of the philosophy of editing would be like learning to hit a baseball without knowing why hitting is important. Why bother to hit if you don’t know to run to first base? In editing, it is important to know not only when a change in copy should be made but also why that change should be made.

Good editing depends on the exercise of good judgment. For that reason, it is an art, not a science. To be sure, in some aspects of editing—accuracy, grammar and spelling, for example—there are right and wrong answers, as often is the case in science. But editing also involves discretion: knowing when to use which word, when to change a word or two for clarity and when to leave a passage as the writer has written it. Making the right decisions in such cases is clearly an art.

Perhaps the purest form of editing is that practiced in producing newspapers, magazines and books. It tends to be more thorough than the editing done at radio and television stations or at most online sites. As a result, in this book we will emphasize the editing skills taught at newspapers in general and at newspaper copy desks in particular. These same skills, however, apply directly to editing for magazines and books, the Web, and radio and television. Editing for those media differs slightly from newspaper editing because of the special requirements of those media, so separate chapters of this book highlight those differences.

Still, the skills required of all editors are much the same as those required of newspaper copy editors, the valuable members of a newspaper’s staff who have the final crack at copy before it appears in print. Copy editors are the last line of defense before a newspaper goes to press. As such, they are considered indispensable by good editors but remain anonymous to the public. Unlike reporters, who often receive bylines, copy editors’ names seldom appear in print.

Some believe that absence of recognition accounts for the scarcity of journalism graduates who profess interest in copy-desk work. Editing is regarded as not so glamorous or exciting as reporting. But those who view desk work as boring clearly have never experienced it. To the copy desk come the major news stories of the day—war, the eruption of a volcano, the election of a president, the rescue of a lost child. The copy desk is the heart of the newspaper, and it throbs with all the news from near and far. Someone must shape that news, size it, display it and send it to the reader. And today, that task has become more complicated because of the increased emphasis newspaper companies have placed on Web distribution.

The copy editor is a diamond cutter who refines and polishes, removes the flaws and shapes the stone into a gem. The editor searches for errors and inaccuracies, and prunes the useless, the unnecessary qualifiers and the redundancies. He or she adds movement to the story by substituting active verbs for passive ones, specifics for generalities. The editor keeps sentences short so readers can grasp one idea at a time and still not suffer from writing that reads like a first-grade text.

THE VALUE OF THE COPY EDITOR

No position at a newspaper company offers greater opportunity for growth than that of copy editor. Work as a copy editor provides the chance to continue an education and an incentive to climb to the top of the company’s hierarchy Copy editors must of necessity accumulate a warehouse full of facts they have gleaned from the thousands of stories they have read and edited and from the references they have had to consult to verify information.

Copy editors are detectives who incessantly search stories for clues about how to transform mediocre articles into epics. The legendary Carr Van Anda of The New York Times studied ocean charts and astronomical formulas to find missing links in a story. Few editors today would correct an Einstein formula, as Van Anda did, but if they are willing, they can probe, question, authenticate and exercise their powers of deduction.

Historically, a stint on the copy desk has been considered important to professional advancement at newspaper companies. The desk serves as an important spawning ground for administrative editors because those who serve there have a more complete picture of how the newspaper operates than those who do not. Reporters have little feel for copy flow and production requirements, but copy editors develop that in the normal course of their duties.

There are encouraging signs that the lot of the copy editor is improving. Many newspapers pay copy editors more than reporters as an incentive for the best and brightest to work at the desk. Journalism schools and departments have awakened to the reality that copy editors are more difficult to find than reporters and have responded by improving course offerings in editing. This, in turn, encourages more good students to pursue careers in editing. At the same time, however, some newspapers have unwisely chosen to cut the size of copy-desk staffs, often to the detriment of quality and accuracy.

As more and more newspapers realize that cutting editors is counterproductive, there’s hope that new life may yet be breathed into the profession of editing. Indeed, some have hope that the art of editing is not a lost art and that the efforts of the American Copy Editors Society to encourage the development of copy editing as a career will pay big dividends.

WHAT MAKES A GOOD COPY EDITOR?

The best copy editors at newspapers and magazines typically have:

• A passion for, and detailed knowledge of, grammar, spelling, style, punctuation, usage and tightening.

• A love of good writing and the ability to see the potential in a piece, then the skill to help bring it out—or the good sense to know when to leave it alone.

• Knowledge of graphics processes and typefaces; the creativity to see photo, illustration and graphics possibilities; knowledge of good design.

• An interest in everything and a broad grasp of news. One wouldn’t want to play a game of trivia against a good copy editor.

• Knowledge of enough mathematics and accounting to calculate percentages and to read budgets and see whether they add up.

• A grasp of legal, ethical and taste considerations.

• Skepticism that raises doubt in everything and fortitude to check it. They also need a librarians ability to find the best sources in print or on the Web to check facts.

• A mind that lets them see embarrassing double meanings before they are published. Evidently, a “nice” person missed this headline in the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch: “Elliott’s size no obstacle for Trojans.”

• Enough self-confidence to know how to improve even veteran reporters’ copy but enough maturity not to rewrite everything into the editor’s own style.

• The ability to handle people—whether freelance writers or staff members, sources or subscribers.

• Sound business and management skills.

• A clear vision of the publication’s purpose, its personality, and the audience and advertisers to whom it appeals, as well as expertise, if possible, in the publication’s specialty.

• A strong sense of responsibility. “The buck stops here,” read President Harry Truman’s desk sign.

• A willingness to work anonymously behind a desk for eight hours a day. For many journalists, this is the toughest hurdle.

Here are some suggestions for developing as a copy editor:

• Stay informed. Read your local paper and others. Read newsmagazines and books on history, politics and economics. Listen to National Public Radio’s news or talk-radio programs while you commute. Watch local and network TV news, Sunday-morning news talk shows, and cable news programming, such as CNN, CNBC, MSNBC and Fox News.

• Join the American Copy Editors Society (www.copydesk.org). Its conferences, website and publications are invaluable sources of information.

• Compare your headlines with those in other papers. Look for fresh approaches. Keep an eye open for useful headline synonyms.

• Learn to write effective Web headlines that draw traffic to a website and print headlines that attract readers’ attention.

• Notice what information typically needs to be in particular kinds of stories, what order that information generally takes and which errors usually crop up.

• Keep notes on things you have to look up or useful tips you learn from the copy-desk chief, your publication’s attorney or other staff members.

• Ask your supervisor to give you feedback about your strengths and weaknesses, and what you can do to improve.

• Every so often, organize what you learn.

UNDERSTANDING WHAT EDITORS DO

It’s not easy to describe the typical organizational structure of a newspaper news department because no two are organized alike and because the increasing emphasis on websites is changing both traditional structures and job titles. Still, most metropolitan newsrooms have editors with fairly common job descriptions and titles, as summarized here and as portrayed in Figure 3-1. Smaller papers have simplified versions of the same basic organization.

PUBLISHER

The publisher tops the organizational ladder and is ultimately responsible for the overall operation of a newspaper, including both the journalistic and business operations. At a large paper, the publisher typically is appointed by the owner, often a newspaper chain. At a small, locally owned paper, the publisher may be the owner.

EDITOR

The editor —sometimes called the editor in chief or the executive editor —is responsible for all editorial content of the newspaper. This includes everything from local to international news in categories ranging from sports to business to entertainment. The editors responsibilities even include the comics, horoscopes and advice columns. Today, these responsibilities usually extend to editorial content on the newspapers website.

MANAGING EDITOR

The managing editor is typically the person directly in charge of the newsroom, managing its news operation and budget. The managing editor hires and fires heads of the various newsroom departments, which might include the city or metropolitan desk (the main department for local reporters), the copy desk, the sports desk and the lifestyle desk. The editorial-page editor (and staff) is the one part of the newsroom that may be under the direct supervision of the editor or publisher rather than the managing editor.

Typically, the managing editor reports to the publisher at smaller newspapers, but at larger ones, there often are editors between them with titles such as editor in chief or executive editor. In addition, at larger newspapers, there may be one or more assistant managing editors, who often are responsible for specific areas of coverage—AME-News, AME-Graphics and AME-Features, for example.

ASSIGNING EDITOR

An assigning editor is one who works closely with a reporter to craft a story for the Web and print. Often, the assigning editor is called a city editor (or metropolitan or metro editor). The city editor supervises the staff of local reporters and may also direct reporters located in remote bureaus. At all but the smallest papers, there may be two or more assistant city editors. State editors, lifestyle editors and sports editors are other types of assigning editors.

The city editor plays an important role in setting the newspaper’s agenda because he or she decides which local stories are covered. The city editor also does the preliminary story editing, looking primarily for big things like:

• Making sure stories are worth running.

• Making sure stories have good leads, are organized and flow well.

• Making sure stories don’t leave unanswered questions. Is any information missing or unclear?

• Making sure stories are accurate. That may mean checking facts, figures and names.

• Making sure stories are as objective as possible. For example, are there other sources with whom the reporter should talk?

• Making sure stories are legal, ethical, tasteful and sensitive to the audience.

If the city editor has done his or her job well, the copy desk will be able to concentrate more on the details: spelling, grammar and AP style. The copy editor will place the story on the Web with a headline written for that medium, then craft the print story to fit the space allocated to it and write a headline for that medium.

COPY-DESK CHIEF

The copy-desk chief is in charge of the copy desk. Sometimes the copy-desk chief is called the news editor or the slot person. The name slot person, or slot, comes from the precomputer days when copy desks were arranged like a horseshoe, with the copy-desk chief sitting in the slot of the horseshoe and the other editors (sometimes called rim editors) around the rim of the horseshoe.

COPY EDITORS

The copy editors, also called the rim editors, carry out the assignments given to them by the copy-desk chief, including the following tasks:

• Editing stories for spelling, grammar, usage and style, including proper treatment of abbreviations, capitalization, numbers and punctuation.

• Handling photos and graphics for print and audio and video for the Web.

• Tightening or combining stories as necessary.

• Writing headlines, captions and blurbs for print, and specialized headlines for the Web.

• Backing up the assignment editor by looking for any big things that might have been missed—perhaps a possible problem with libel, a question that is unanswered, or an important fact that should be moved up in the story.

• Proofreading pages that have been set in type.

PHOTO EDITOR

The photo editor supervises the photographers who take pictures for the newspaper. In addition to news photos, the photo department produces photo illustrations and studio shots to complement food and fashion stories. At some small papers, the photo editor also is in charge of producing graphics.

GRAPHICS EDITOR

The graphics editor is in charge of the graphic designers who produce charts, maps and other nonphotographic illustrations for the newspaper. The importance of information graphics in telling the news has made this an increasingly common position at U.S. newspapers. At small papers, one person may handle all these chores, or they may be handled by the copy desk or photography staff.

WEB EDITOR

The Web editor is in charge of the design and content of the news outlet’s website in the same way an assignment editor may be in charge of a section of the newspaper. The Web editor at a newspaper typically reports to the managing editor, but as time goes on, the Web editor may increasingly be seen as comparable in rank to the managing editor of the print publication.

EDITING COPY FOR THE WEB

The jobs listed above are the traditional ones at newspapers, but the increasing importance of the Web often results in profound changes in duties and sometimes in job titles. Indeed, many newspapers now consider themselves to be Web-first, print-second operations. As news breaks, it is posted first to the Web, then repackaged for print.

With the increased importance of the Web, the job of the copy editor has become tougher. As a story arrives, it is edited quickly and placed online with a headline written so it can be found easily by those doing Web searches. Editors call these seo (search-engine optimized) headlines. Studies show that most Web surfers are not led to a story through a website front page but instead go there directly from search engines like Google and Yahoo! That means the quality of the SEO headline is important in driving traffic to the website. If the headline writer includes the right words, search engines have no trouble finding the story (see Chapter 9).

Photos, audio or video clips, charts, maps or other graphics often accompany the Web story. The copy editor must be familiar with handling all those items. Then, a separate headline must be crafted for the print edition. The story often must be reshaped as well, and even the accompanying photos and graphics may differ from the Web versions.

All that makes the job of a copy editor tougher than ever—even as some newspapers cut the size of their staffs and in the process make the job of the editor even more demanding.

Newspapers also have reacted to the emergence of citizen journalism by creating new job titles such as community engagement editor —someone whose job involves serving as a liaison to the public and serving as the publics advocate within the newsroom. Still others have reshaped the copy desk entirely. One created what it calls an iCe (interactive copy editing) desk, recognizing the increased importance of the Web in its business model.

Thus, the rapid changes in the news industry have certainly not left editors untouched. Their roles are evolving, but their importance should not be questioned. Good journalism requires good editors.

EDITING COPY FOR PRINT

After a newspaper reporter turns in a story, the reporter’s boss—usually the assigning editor or a city editor—edits it first. Figure 3-2 shows an example of copy flow through a newspaper news department.

If the story originated at the city desk, the story is then typically sent to the copy desk, where the copy-desk chief assigns it to a copy editor for immediate placement on the Web. Then it’s time to work on the print edition. After a page designer crafts the page on which the story will appear, the copy-desk chief sends the story to a design editor, who places the story on a page using a computer program like InDesign (see Figure 3-3). The copy editor then edits it and writes a headline. When the editor’s work is done, the copy-desk chief checks it. Usually a page proof is produced to make one final check for errors. Then the page is sent to a platemaking machine, where a printing plate is made to put on the press.

EDITING THE STORY

Now that we have discussed the editor’s role and what that editor is expected to do and not do, let’s examine the editing process itself. Most experienced editors suggest that the process be divided into three distinct steps:

1. Read the story.

2. Edit it thoroughly.

3. Reread the story.

Editors often skip the first step or abbreviate it by scanning the story for the gist of the news. To do so may be a mistake because intelligent editing decisions cannot be made unless the editor understands the purpose of the story and the style in which it is written. That understanding is developed with a quick but thorough reading.

Some editors try to skip the third step, too. They do so at the risk of missing errors they should have detected the first time or those they introduced during editing. Few sins are greater than to introduce an error during editing. The more times a story is read, the more likely errors will be detected.

Unfortunately, deadline pressure sometimes dictates that steps 1 or 3, or both, be skipped. When this is done, it becomes increasingly important for the editor to do a thorough job the first time through the story.

To illustrate the editing process, let’s see how one copy editor edited the story shown in Figure 3-4 (on Page 36) on the defeat of a bill in the Missouri General Assembly. This alert copy editor recognized immediately that although the lead was well-written, it also was inaccurate. The state’s streets and stores are not deserted on Sundays. The reporter, reaching for a bright lead, overstated the case.

Because the story is from the newspaper’s state capital bureau, it needs a dateline, or place of origin, which the editor inserted. The second paragraph became the lead, and the third paragraph was tightened and combined with the second. Note that the editor struck the phrase “with two members present but not voting.” In many states, there is a difference between present but not voting and abstaining. An abstention allows the legislator to change his or her vote later, whereas present but not voting does not. The editor decided that in this case it wasn’t important, so the phrase was deleted.

The story is confusing as written, probably because the reporter was too close to the subject to realize that readers would have difficulty following its meaning. The editor clarified fuzzy passages, tightened the story and distinguished between the amendments that were adopted and defeated before the bill itself was defeated.

The editor deleted the next-to-last paragraph because the legislator quoted used a colloquialism that may have been offensive to some readers. It added nothing to the story.

The last paragraph illustrates how important it is to use common sense when editing. Conformity to the stylebook would have called for the identification of each legislator by party affiliation and district number. Because there are five legislators, the paragraph would have been difficult to read. The editor decided that the legislators’ hometowns gave more information to the reader than the district number, and grouping by party affiliation made the paragraph less awkward than it would have been if the editor had followed stylebook practice. Such editing helps the reader make sense of the story. As a result, it is good editing.

That story needed plenty of attention. More typical are stories that need only a bit of polish and clarification.

THE THREE R’S OF COPY EDITING

Over the years, journalism teachers have come up with various useful outlines for describing what editors look for in copy. In this book, we’ve used the common convention of dividing editors’ text-editing duties into the macro and micro. Macro errors are big-picture items such as missing information that is critical to understanding the story. Micro errors are the more routine errors such as misspelled words and bad grammar. We’ll cover those more in later chapters.

Another useful approach has been suggested by Don Ranly a professor emeritus at the Missouri School of Journalism and a widely sought speaker in professional-editing circles. He refers to “The Seven C’s Plus One”—that’s eight, but Ranly argues most people can’t remember more than seven things at once. Ranly says writers and editors should make sure copy is correct, concise, consistent, complete, clear, coherent, creative and concrete.

Here, we offer another approach, one focusing on the Three Rs of Copy Editing: making sure writing is reader-centered, readable and right.

Is the Story Reader-Centered?

Editors have to approach their job as though they are the readers’ advocates, making sure stories serve the readers’ interests, needs and time.

Is the story focused on what the audience wants and needs?

1. Has the writer kept foremost in mind what the audience wants and needs? People’s time is limited. If the story isn’t interesting—if it isn’t informative and fresh—then what’s the point of running it? Do I care 20 inches (or however long it is) about it? If not, how much? Then that’s how long the story should be.

2. Is the topic important to our readers? Does it clearly show the reader why he or she should care? If the story could have an impact on the audience, does the writer take that angle instead of something else? If there doesn’t seem to be any major impact, does the writer at least focus on whatever in the story would be of most interest to the audience? Does the story answer the question, “So what?”

3. News is people acting and reacting, as the late Jessica Savitch, a former anchor of NBC News, once said. Does the story focus on how the news affects the people involved, or does it focus on a thing?

4. Is the tone appropriate for this story?

Did the writer make the story new for the reader?

1. Does the writer apply relevant news formulas—intelligently as opposed to slavishly?

2. Does the writer focus on the latest news rather than on old news? If this is a second-day story, does it have a second-day lead, or did the reporter lead with yesterday’s news?

3. Does the writer take a fresh, creative approach to the story? Does the reader learn something new? Or will the reader think this sounds like a story read many times before? Does the lead grab you? Are the lead and story angle fresh or hackneyed? Does the writing sound honest?

4. Does the writer offer original, concrete details, quotations, examples and comparisons that lend color, authenticity and clarity? Does the story appeal to the senses or just seem abstract? Is the overuse of adjectives and adverbs avoided? Are specific nouns and verbs used instead? Are the details concrete? Or does the story contain clichés of wording or of vision that make it seem tired and dishonest?

5. If the story is a feature, does the writer use an appealing, personal voice but one that does not detract focus from the subject and inappropriately draw too much attention to itself? If this is a hard-news story, was the writer careful not to editorialize or intrude his or her own personality and value judgments?

Is the Story Readable?

Editors need to make sure readers will be able to understand what’s being said.

Is the story clear?

1. Is the main point of the story clear? Does every sentence grow from the main point and point back to it? Are the words and sentences simple to understand? Would it sound natural and conversational if read aloud? Do I understand the world better after reading the story, or am I left confused or apathetic? (If anything is unclear to you, ask the reporter or city editor—don’t guess.)

2. Does the story answer any questions and concerns the audience would likely have? (Examples: What does the story mean by a “sizable crowd”? One hundred people? A thousand? If there’s a community blood shortage, where can you go to give blood, and what types are needed most? If a jogger had a heart attack while running, how hot was it that day? Did the jogger have a history of heart disease?)

3. Have loose ends been tied up? Are any intriguing angles introduced then dropped without explanation? Are all first references to someone or something complete?

4. Is it clear who is saying each quotation or paraphrase in the story?

5. Are all unfamiliar terms explained? Has jargon been avoided wherever possible and defined where unavoidable? Are all words used precisely and correctly? (Admitted, anxious, bureaucrat, claimed and refuted all have specific meanings that may not be intended by the writer who uses them but are likely to be inferred by a reader.)

6. Is the story arranged in the most logical manner? Does it seem well-organized? Does it flow well? Are the transitions between sentences and ideas smooth? Is the pacing good? Do sentence lengths vary?

7. Are rhetorical techniques such as metaphors, analogies and images used to illustrate the meaning? Are examples given? Are comparisons made?

8. Are there possibilities here to tell the story better with graphics so it will be more appealing and understandable to the reader? Would the reader benefit from a photo, illustration, chart, summary box, blurb or second deck to make the meaning clearer and the story more interesting?

Is the story concise?

1. Does the story need to be this long? Is its news value worth this many inches in a tight newspaper?

2. Is anything in the story irrelevant?

3. Has the writer avoided redundancies, clichés, unnecessary use of passive voice and other windy phrases that add uninformative bulk to a story?

4. Can any paragraph be said in a sentence, any sentence in a clause, any clause in a phrase, any phrase in a word, or any word in a shorter, simpler word? (For more specific hints on tightening, see Chapter 7.)

5. Are too many examples or quotations used?

6. Does each quotation say something either unique or important enough to quote?

7. Can quotations be shortened? Can partial quotes be used? Can quotations be succinctly paraphrased, without loss of impact?

8. If the story goes off on a lengthy tangent, can that part be turned into a sidebar?

Is the Story Right?

Editors need to make sure stories are right in all ways, big and small—all the way from being accurate, ethical and legally safe to being correct in spelling, grammar and punctuation.

Is the story accurate, objective, legal, ethical, tasteful and sensitive?

  1. Are there any inconsistencies within the story, in matters of facts, style, viewpoint, verb tense or tone?

  2. Is anything inconsistent between this story and previous stories?

  3. Have you checked that facts and quotations are accurate?

  4. Have you checked the math? (Examples: ages with birth and death dates in obits, percentages and totals in budget stories, vote ratios in election stories.)

  5. Have you checked names and addresses of local people?

  6. Have you checked when a story says today whether it means the day it was written or the day of publication?

  7. Does the writing sound honest, or is its credibility undercut with refutable logic, sloppy writing or clichés (such as with a lead that says “Christmas came early for….”)?

  8. Is the story objective? Is it factual, neutral, fair and, if hard news, impersonal in style?

  9. Does the story avoid any statements that might bring a lawsuit?

10. Is the story ethical and in good taste? If someone is accused of or criticized for something, does he or she get a chance to reply? Are all sides given? Were enough people interviewed?

11. Is the story or picture in good taste? Or is there, for example, gore or nudity the audience might find offensive?

12. Has the writer avoided saying anything that may unnecessarily disparage or offend someone on the basis of age, race, sex, religion, sexual orientation or ethnic background?

Are the mechanics in the story correct?

1. Have you checked for typos? Have you checked the spelling of all unfamiliar words, especially proper nouns? Have you checked all compound words to see whether they should be written as one word, two words or hyphenated?

2. Are there any grammar or usage problems? Has the writer correctly distinguished between if and whether, while and although, who and whom, which and that?

3. Is the story punctuated correctly? (Comma placement in compound versus complex sentences is especially a problem, even for the wire services.)

4. Does the story conform to wire-service (typically, Associated Press) and local style? Remember to change wire copy to fit local style.

Finally, here’s a good rule to use when you are editing: Unless you can demonstrate that a change improves the accuracy or clarity of a story, leave it alone. In other words, let the writer write the story. The editor’s job is to edit, not rewrite.

COPY-EDITING AND PROOFREADING SYMBOLS

Today’s editors do most of their work on computers, so the editing of paper manuscripts, or copy (see Figure 3-5), is increasingly rare. A few small newspapers and magazines, however, still use manual methods of production, and some book publishers still do so. In such cases, knowing the long-established copy-editing symbols is essential. Even at large newspapers and magazines, editors pass printouts of articles to publishers, attorneys and others, and those individuals use copy-editing symbols to make suggested changes. Therefore, it’s a good idea to know the standard symbols and how to use them, even if you usually edit with a computer.

Copy-editing symbols (see Figure 3-6), which are universally understood in the business, are used to make changes in paper manuscripts or on printouts of stories that reside in computers. In modern newsrooms, these changes usually are transferred to the computerized version of the story before the story is typeset. Few newspapers and magazines still have compositors who set type directly from the manuscript.

Proofreading symbols (see Figure 3-7), which differ from copy-editing symbols somewhat, are used to make corrections after the copy has been typeset. In the newspaper and magazine businesses, editors often use proofreading symbols to mark minor changes on page proofs before those pages are sent to the platemaking department. Newspaper editors also use page proofs to make minor changes in pages between editions. Newspapers and magazines use the informal method of marking proofs, whereas book publishers use a more formalized version (see Figures 3-8 and 3-9).

PROOFREADING

After the copy desk has laid out the pages, edited the stories, written the headlines and other big type and set them all in print, the editors are called on to check over the pages one last time before sending them off to the printing department. In this proof-reading stage, the editors just check over the pages for any glaring mistakes.

A proof is a copy of the completed page, ready to print except for any last-minute corrections you may be able to make. Most newspapers digitally paginate, so proofs will be laser printouts or photocopies of pages.

The Difference Between Proofreading and Copy Editing

Copy editing and proofreading used to be separate functions, but now most copy editors also do the proofreading. The main difference is that the proofreading stage is not the time to continue editing or rewriting—except in case of emergency.

Determining which mistakes should be corrected depends on how close you are to deadline and how serious the errors are. When there’s plenty of time, fix anything that’s incorrect in fact or grammar, inconsistent or obviously unclear. Closer to deadline, minor errors tend to be overlooked so the paper will come out on time.

Most of the symbols are similar in proofreading and copy editing, but because of the limited space between lines in a proof, the corrections are brought out to the margin and connected by lines to where they are to be made in the text.

What Do You Do When Told to Read Proofs?

Look mainly for mistakes that have slipped through, especially in large type. Also, make sure everything fits the space given it—cut stories if they’re too long and rewrite headlines if they don’t fit.

When you look at a page, first check the heads and the blurbs (the biggest type on the page) because people are more likely to see errors at this size. Then check the captions and folio lines. Make sure these fit and are accurate. If any names are present, do they agree with the spelling in the story?

Next, look for holes caused by stories that are too short. For these, you will need to add a blurb or some sort of filler art.

Finally, check all stories that jump from one page to another. Are the page numbers in the continued lines accurate? Is the rest of the story where the continued line says it will be?

What If a Story is Too Long?

Newspaper stories are generally written in the inverted-pyramid style (most important information first, least important information last) and should be cut from the end. But this is not true of magazine articles or newspaper features, which should be tightened within rather than chopped from the end.

• Cut either the number of lines that won’t fit or up to three extra lines—the story can be spaced out.

• If the paper still uses pasteups (few do anymore), don’t cut in the middle of paragraphs if you can help it. Such a cut means resetting the paragraphing and waiting for it to come out of the typesetter. If you instead cut whole paragraphs or sentences from the ends of paragraphs, the change can be done with a knife. If a story is both too long and has errors, try to cut the sentences that have the errors and thus save time waiting for a fix.