MODULE 4

Fundamentals of editing
PRINCIPLES OF EDITING
• Every idea or theory is based on certain principles to run the system and process in
order to sustain for a long period of time. Editing is the process prior to publishing
and printing of a newspaper or magazine. News editing is based on principles that
is required to provide it shape as per the firm’s ethics and systems. Principles of
editing news stories are as follows:
• Accuracy: Editing is a time bound and data based activity requiring accuracy. A
single mistake can damage the reputation and goodwill of the news paper. The
advice often given to editor/ sub-editor in the news paper industry is: “If there is
any doubt, keep it out”. For e.g. “we received this information from a highly
placed source.” Such words should not be used in print and electronic media
unless the source is well identified. It takes just a fraction of a second to destroy
the whole purpose of a story. Therefore, it is better to check and cross-check to
ensure that the facts and figures are perfect and authentic as it will also help the
organization develop and retain its credibility.
• Brevity: Brevity is a great need from a newspaper reader which is
appreciated by a cross section of professionals in the newspaper
industry. A good editor is one who can convey his message in a
very concise manner. He/she always preserves the sanctity of time
and space. Brevity and reliability are the key words in order to
sustain in the competitive publishing line.
• Clarity: Clarity is another key factor for success in print media.
The vision pursued by a news organization translates onto paper.
Clarity in content of messages helps to maintain the credibility of a
newspaper. This is important as it assists the newspaper stand out
compared to its peer group.
• Human Interest: Human interest is a basic ingredient of all our needs in life
including gaining knowledge or pursuit of any career. Editing is an art of
writing to maintain justice with human interest. A person cannot become a
good editor if he/she cannot understand the readers’ perception. Hence, it is
expected of a good editor to write stories keeping in mind the hopes,
aspirations, desires and above all, the interests of the readers.
• Sharp Observation: Observation plays a pivotal role in the successful life of
any human being. Sharp observation skills is a basic characteristic needed for
an editor as he/she is the person who creates, recreates, and writes stories for
a news paper with a sense of responsibility after sharp observation of the
society. He/she should be able to mould the story keeping pace with
dynamism of the situation, newsworthiness highlighting the truth of the
society
• COPY EDITING
• Headline: Headline writing is perhaps the most difficult part of news editing.
Most stories come without a proper headline, and providing the appropriate
headline which not just truly represents the story, but also catches the eye of the
reader is indeed a challenge. While explaining the story accurately, the headline
must also fit into a limited space. Some copy editors approach headline writing
by looking for a key word or two that expresses the high point of the story.
Then they add other words until they have a headline. Other copy editors begin
by forming a sentence that contains the essential elements of the story. Then
they edit out excess words (adverbs, adjectives, articles, and so forth) and minor
details until all that is left is a well-tailored headline that tells the story’s
essentials. A headline has to be appropriate not just in terms of sentence
construction or being suitable for the news story, but even from the point of
view of typography and layout considerations. And it is the copy-editor’s
responsibility to ensure this.
• Here are a few more simple points for editors to keep in mind for
writing satisfactory headlines:
•  It must be appropriate
•  It must tell a story
•  It must conform to the paper’s standard
•  It must not just be a label
•  It must not commit the paper to an opinion
• Lead: The ‘lead’ is written in an inverted pyramid style, accommodating the most important
points in it followed by the lesser important details. No matter how the reporter has written the
copy, the subeditor handling the copy has to arrange the lead in that manner after extracting the
main points of the news. The lead should contain all the 5 W’s and 1 H that we have discussed in
the previous unit. But in case of a major story when it becomes difficult to club all the W’s and
H, then at least the lead should answer what, when and where. The rest of the elements should
be dealt with in the subsequent paragraph.
• In writing the lead, the copy editor has to keep in mind the economy of words. Ideally a lead
should not contain more than 30 to 35 words and each sentence should not exceed more than 15
words. The lead should be short, crisp and precise. It, however, does not mean that the lead
should be devoid of facts. The lead should contain limited words within which the most
important facts should be carried. Ideally the lead should give the summary of what has
happened in a nutshell. The reader should get the entire information in the lead itself, at least the
crux of the story. It enables the hurried readers to get the main essence of the story in the first
paragraph, without needing to go further. This kind of lead which summarises the story is called
the summary lead or news lead or multiple element lead.
• Body: The body elaborates what has been established in the
lead. Points which have not been accommodated in the lead are
elaborated in the body. Mostly the body deals with the element
of ‘how’. But while constructing the body the sub editor should
remember that he maintains the logical order of facts in the
body. Or in other words he has to follow the inverted pyramid
style of news writing. In case of features, on the other hand, the
pyramid style is used.
• Mostly, in case of soft news stories the conclusion is an essential
element. Nevertheless, in the conclusion part the sub editor
should weave out the vital points of the entire story and give a
suitable conclusion.
• Fact Checking
• A fact checking is a very important ingredient of good editing especially in news field and
information world. A single error can damage not only the reputation of a newspaper but also
the credential of an editor. In newspapers, many factual errors are prevented as the editor
works as “Gatekeeper.” To ensure this the following can be kept in mind:
 A good editor verifies the news credibility at least from two sources. Whether it is original
sources or websites.
 Editor can either ask the writer for his source of material or enquire from somebody to know
the truth of story.
 Sometimes a good news editor neither asks anybody for their sources of information nor does
he verify the news from any other sources. He assumes the fact from his own experiences and
guts.
 A senior editor’s understanding will always be very mature and he will be able to handle any
kind of situation. He will look over the entire piece of information received from different
sources and will always keeps eyes open to catch the mistakes.
•
• Style-Sheet: In print media, organization style sheet has an important role to
play for the editors, authors and proof readers etc. to maintain uniformity and
consistency within a single manuscript across the news paper. This is called as
style sheet. Traditionally, a copy editor for any news organization creates a
stylesheet as he/ she edits and passes the same style-sheet onto other
professionals working on it to check. A style sheet is usually a word document
file defining the layout, design and presentation. The style sheet specifies the
parameter, page size, font and its margin. It is very important for any news
paper to maintain a uniform and a consistent style for the whole document.
•
• Slant: Slant is a also a kind of bias or non-objective writing for the newspaper.
When an editor does not maintain the objectivity of story written by him and
gives his/her personal touch and unconventional support to an article it called
slant.
Localization of stories
Localization simply means to make the story
particularly meaningful to readers in your
community. It is examining big events, developments
or issues in smaller ways – either by taking a national
or global event and examining its impact within the
writer's local area or by viewing a broad, thematic
problem through the experiences of an individual or
group. There are myriad ways to accomplish this task
for almost any major national or international news
story. For example, there are recent stories in the
news about women disappearing from college
campuses. You could examine the issue from a
Rockhurst angle. For example, how can our campus
• A simple way to add a local angle to a national news story
is to ask a series of questions:
• • Could it happen here? Why or why not?
• • How does it affect my community?
• • Are any individuals in my community particularly
affected?
• • Is there a local expert who can help my readers
understand the issue? A Rockhurst professor, for example.
• • Have local officials made any statements?
• Are we prepared?
• Are steps being taken to address potential safety issues
• 1.Choose a topic with national or regional significance and localize the
story.
• 2. Interview at least THREE people.
• 3. Provide contact information (name, title [if appropriate], e-mail address
and phone number) for your sources and turn it in with your story.
• 4. Write the story in journalistic style. Use "Inside Reporting" as a
resource.
• 5. Include quotes that add color and interest to the story; well-structured
paraphrases, attribution in correct format
• 6. Include factual details, particularly background information needed to
remind readers of the common facts about the situation that led to the
story.
• 7. Adhere to AP Style.
• 8. Remember the basics: Organization. Spelling. Grammar. Proofreading J
• 9. Ask questions. I'm happy to help
• REWRITING A NEWS STORY

• The situation of rewriting the stories arises when the message

conveyed is not clear or is ambiguous. If an editor does not find
clear lead and structure then he may be forced to rewrite the
story. In this situation a good editor rearranges the facts,
identifies the main news points, goes into its depth and after
retrieving all valuable data starts rewriting the news in a new way.
For rewriting the story afresh an editor goes through with the
following process:-
• organizing facts in chronological order;
• building paragraphs with specific points;
• using quotes, if any, to validate points;
• concluding the story with factual analysis.
For example:-
• Original story:- Ghaziabad, Dec. 20:Two wheeler thefts
have been rising very much during the past one month.
The Ghaziabad Police conducted vehicle checks drive in
many places in the town on Sunday.
• Rewritten story:-“As per the order of the Superintendent of
Police Sanjay Singh, a police team conducted a surprise
vehicle check drive in Ghaziabad. The police team checked
two wheelers and verified the driving license, registration
certificate etc. The surprise check was conducted at Buddha
chowk, Vasundhra, Abhay Khand, Indirapuram, and near
Vaishali metro station.
 Headlines and Intro/Lead Writing
Headline
• Writing great news headlines is an art. You can dampen out
the most interesting story, if it does not have an attractive
and interesting headline. Whether you are writing for
newspaper, e-paper or a blog, a great headline will always
grab special attention from the readers.
• The traits of a great headline are, that it should be catchy,
convincing and sufficient to convey the exact message.
Simultaneously, it should also fit in the space given on the
page. A perfect headline can run from something small size
18 point to bigger size upto 72 point.
• For example, if a headline size is determined by three
parameters: the width, the number of columns and sub titles
then the headline will run in two to three lines. (Known as a
“single deck” or a “double deck”) and obviously the size, font,
style can differ according to the newspaper.
• Here are some headline-writing tips to follow:- Make Your
Headline Appropriate to the Story
• Be Accurate.
• Keep It Short.
• Fill the Space.
• Do not Repeat the Lead.
• Be Direct.
• Use Active Voice.
• Write in Present Tense.
• Know Where to Capitalize.
• Intro:- Introduction writing is the most important part of any new
story. A good intro should be direct, simple and attractive. It must
contain the most significant part of the story but not as a whole. It
should be exciting and attention-grabbing, and able to create interest
among the readers and make them read the whole story till the end.
The golden rule for intro-writing is known as KISS - Keep It Short and
Simple.
• The perfect intro should be based on the following parameters:-
• 1. Newsworthiness.
• 2. 20 to 30 words maximum.
• 3. Attractive to the reader.
• 4. Appropriate in style.
While writing the introduction always keep the following points in mind:-
• List the key points.
• Put the key points in order of importance.
• Choose the main key points as your news angle for the intro