Practical Editing Practical Editing Print Journalism

Fall, 2009John Couper

What is Editing?What is Editing?

“Writing is thinking in a form we can distribute”◦ Editing is re-thinking before we distribute

Editing: deciding and acting on what we want the story to be◦ Your goal should be perfection◦ You should edit for the publication you want to work for

You are Judged by your EditsYou are Judged by your Edits

Good editing says “professionalism”You can work hard to write well

◦ Then spoil the effect with bad editingMisspellings, tense changes, repeated

words…◦ Distract readers from what you

This might be unfair, but it is reality

Main Editing TricksMain Editing Tricks

Let it rest◦ Write early enough so your brain has time to think “from a distance” about your work Assumptions Connections Implications and suggestions

Many problems come from being too close◦

Editing Attitudes

Make your work as good as it can be, ◦ Not only as good as it has to be

Respect readers with a little extra care“Genius is taking great pains”

◦ Mark TwainYou read (or show) your work in 10 years

◦ Do something to be proud ofAccept that this takes time and give

yourself enough timeIf you see yourself as a professional now,

it will show in your work

Say it out loudSay it out loud

Readers read your story as if speaking it◦ So read the story aloud◦ Even better, ask a friend to read it

This will identify ◦ problems of construction, ◦ word use, ◦ strange sounds, ◦ Etc.

Change Who You AreChange Who You Are

Imagine yourself as someone else◦ When editing content (for reader), “become” a reader

◦ When editing technicals (for editors), “become” an old journalist

◦ When editing style (for colleagues), “become” a professional writer

Change HatsChange Hats

Work for a time as creator◦ Everything is interesting and fun◦ Try turning off or covering your monitor

Then “change hats” to become editor◦ Everything must be perfect

A good RoT is about 20 minutes of each◦ But don’t stop writing because of the clock

Make Several “Passes”Make Several “Passes”

Many writers edit their work in one pass◦ i.e., all aspects in one ◦ of our brains use different parts to edit

Changing between those parts loses efficiencyIt seems slower, but really saves timeSo go through your work looking only for

one aspect

Work on your weak pointsWork on your weak points

Realize common mistakes◦ Commas, tenses, phrases (“feel yourself”) etc.

Go through the body separately for eachCombine aspects in one pass that are rare

problems

Main Editing AspectsMain Editing Aspects

Look for ways to improve:◦ Grammar, ◦ transitions, ◦ quotes, ◦ “journalese”,◦ ideas, ◦ spelling, ◦ structure, ◦ usage, ◦ etc.

Another way to edit: “Levels”Another way to edit: “Levels”

Create a list of main editing needs◦ Spelling, transitions, etc.

Focus on every aspect of…◦ Overall idea flow of the whole story◦ Paragraphs◦ Sentences◦ Transitions ◦ Words, clauses and phrases ◦ Headers, etc.

Edit This

Partygoer tried to grab cop's gun By Sydney Ember, Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Additional details emerged Tuesday about a fight that turned violent at a weekend party in Alumnae Hall, during which four people were arrested.

At one point during the conflict Saturday night, an individual “tried to grab at a Brown officer’s gun in his holster,” Providence Police Department Chief Dean Esserman told The Herald. Department of Public Safety officers initially handled the incident before calling for backup from PPD.

The four people who were arrested are all Massachusetts residents and are not Brown students, according to the Providence Journal. Two men, 19-year-old John Germainmartinez of Boston and 21-year-old Kenny Jean of Bridgewater, Mass., were charged with resisting arrest and assaulting an officer, according to the Journal.

Jide Disu and Mario Montes, both 21-year-olds from Randolph, Mass., were also arrested and were written up for disorderly conduct, the Journal reported.

“It’s very clear to me and to all of us how seriously Brown is taking the event that happened this weekend,” Esserman said, adding that it was “not unusual for Providence Police to be called to backup Brown police.”

Esserman told The Herald that at an open staff meeting Tuesday he said he was considering opposing future parties at Brown, including one he said would be held on Friday. The chief said he had spoken to Brown’s director of public safety and chief of police, Mark Porter, and decided that PPD would not oppose that party.

“Our initial reaction was to oppose it,” Esserman said. But he said his discussion with Porter led him to believe the party would not have “a similar, large, open crowd” as the party in Alumnae Hall had. Saturday’s event, hosted by the Delta Sigma Theta sorority, was open to students from all Rhode Island colleges and non-students who notified the sorority ahead of time.

Esserman said PPD would discuss future parties with DPS and consider each one “case by case” to decide appropriate action.

“We have a very long working relationship with Brown University,” Esserman said. “We were all very concerned.”

During the event, DPS officers also used pepper spray to break up a fight, according to Vice President for Campus Life and Student Services Margaret Klawunn, who sent a campus-wide e-mail Monday night about the incident. Both the incident involving the gun and DPS’s use of pepper spray are being reviewed internally by Porter and DPS, she said.

Klawunn said she estimates DPS uses pepper spray about once a year in similar situations.

“There are a lot of things we’re reviewing about the event in terms of what happened on our campus,” Klawunn said.

She said she did not see the incident “as an argument against arming Brown police,” adding that “most of our events go very successfully and without incident.”

END

Journalism TermsJournalism Terms

An excellent site for explanations of U.S. journalism terminology: ◦ http://www.highschooljournalism.org/Students/Students.cfm?id=16