The nuts and bolts of copy editing: Grammar, discussion, ethics and word choice

BOB RICHTER: PARDON THE PUNS: E-N HEADLINE WRITERS TOLD TO PLAY IT STRAGIHT

In a reading titled “Bob Richter: Pardon the puns: E-N headline writers told to play it straight,” author Bob Richter agrees that headlines are not supposed to be especially witty. They are supposed to be intelligent. Heds are there to rope the reader into reading the article while being simultaneously interesting.

Writing pun headlines is an easy way out. It usually says “I can’t think of anything to get the reader involved except through a cheesy joke.” At the Alligator, copy editors had to escape that. There are pun headlines once in a while, but only if it fits the tone of the article.

I continually send the Alligator copy editors Web site links and articles that are usually provided by Dr. R’s readings , but the heds haven’t improved much yet. Headline writing is HARD. Even after a few rewrites or after a half-hour of trying to get a hed to fit into the allotted space, the editor and managing editor usually don’t use our heds. I can’t tell you how frustrating this is.

This must be frustrating for all headline writers. At the Alligator, we started saving the heds that we wrote to look over the next day. The editor sits down with me and draws all over the hed with a red Sharpie. Though rudimentary, this process will probably help the copy desk write better heds. If copy editors at any newspaper aren’t writing good heds, they should take about an hour a day and evaluate heds from papers like The Los Angeles Times, The New York Times, The Gainesville Sun, USA Today and other outlets to see what kind of verbs and content these papers are using in their heds.

SO MANY HEADLINES, SO FEW ZINGERS

In a Poynter Online article titled “So Many Headlines, So Few Zingers” by Christopher S. Smith, more tips about headline writings are available.

I like Smith’s approach. He took dozens of headlines about one event and analyzed them according to which ones worked and which ones didn’t, and why. He gives examples of headlines that were boring but got the job done and he gave examples in which a creative, smart headline can get readers to read a possibly boring story. I think copy editors struggle with writing headlines because they get caught up in writing cute, witty or smart heds, and they also think too much about it. If a copy editor can’t think of a headline to write, maybe the story needs a better nut graf. This might be a good indicator that the story should be edited further.

I’d like to point out that a Miami Herald headline Smith includes in his analysis reads, “‘Lean budget’ fattens defense.” Smith notes that the headline is a “Very nice rhythmic effective pun.”
So, against the rule Richtor’s editor imposed on the Express News, it’s OK to use a pun sometimes. I suppose you have to know the rules to know how to break them.

STYLE WARS IN CYBER SPACE
Headline writing, a combination of Scrabble and crossword puzzles, is closely related to the obsessive nature of word choice. Coral Davenport of the American Journal Review wrote an article titled “Style Wars in Cyber Space,” discussing the new world of blogs in which copy editors passionately discuss grammar and diction. I find it humorous that copy editors are carving a niche for themselves in the online media world, and I support the idea.

Perhaps newspapers can add a copy editing blog to their Web sites. Most large newspapers already have at least one blog. It might be interesting if readers can see what goes behind editing each story. Most copy editors are haggard and tired of not being appreciated; perhaps having a blog will help them feel like their work matters – because, as any copy editor would tell you – their efforts do matter.

Many new copy editors at the Alligator are surprised at the amount of editing a story receives before it goes to print. “And mistakes still get through?” they ask. Yes, mistakes still get through. But I think it’s a noteworthy idea to start a copy editing blog on a newspaper’s Web site so readers can see how much attention we are putting into every story. It’ll also be interesting to let readers see that we care about every little nuance in the English language. Readers might learn a thing or two, and might comment about mistakes the newspaper made.

CASE STUDY:

NEWSROOM DIVERSITY GAME

Although I think diversity is one of the most important goals in any work setting, I didn’t get a perfect score in the game. I took each level, and kept getting a higher score, but the highest was only 26 percent. It was a fun game, but I don’t think it indicates whether I’m really going to be good or bad at diversifying my team at wherever I might someday be a leader. Also, I think any person would get better at diversification after a little bit of experience at a job.

The game should have included gender equality in addition to racial diversity. Women shouldn’t be seen as the “minority,” but are usually treated as such. In the film “All the President’s Men,” we see a budget meeting of all white men. I’m sure there is a better mix of gender and race now in budget meetings, but it indicates a problem that was prevalent and is still widespread in some areas.
AMERICAN COPY EDITORS SOCIETY DISCUSSION BOARD
This ties in with one of my abstract Web sites, “Style Wars in Cyber Space.” The American Copy Editors Society has a discussion board that is widely used to discuss nuances of copy editing – such as grammar, word choice and ethics.

Under a post titled “Corrections that will haunt you in the afterlife,” copy editors discuss the ethics around an article that ran in early January. Nell and Wallace Crain, married for 67 years, were interviewed by the San Antonio Express-News for a story about secrets to a happy marriage. The Crains died before the article was published, and it was not mentioned in the story.

From what I can understand, after the story was published, a Crain family friend contacted the writer, J. Michael Parker, and told him Nell and Wallace had died. The ACES board participants discussed who was to blame. Some said Parker was to blame – he was fired the week after the egregious error was discovered and corrected. Some said the editors were to blame, for holding the story for four to six months.

Some questioned the copy editors, but one person wrote that sometimes the copy editors aren’t told if/how long a story has been held. There should be clues within the story, but if there are not then a copy editor can’t know to check on updates. However, one person wrote that copy editors should always check to see if elderly sources are still alive.

The blame is mainly on the reporter, who didn’t bother to get updates from the Crains and didn’t insert clues as to when the Crains were interviewed. If copy editors had been clued in to how long ago the sources were interviewed, they probably would have verified that the Crains were alive. Another possibility is Parker’s editor, the religions editor, should have asked Parker to verify that his sources were still alive. After all, apparently everyone should know to verify status of elderly sources.

This ties in with ethics, since Parker essentially let an egregious error slip through to readers. He failed to check for updates, displaying one of the Seven Deadly Copy Editing Sins – laziness. He didn’t portray the truth to the best of his knowledge. Friends and family members of the Crains may have been hurt by the fact that Nell and Wallace were portrayed as alive. Some would see it as insensitive.

STORY IDEA WEEK 8

A story could be written on the online voting issue, and how the Orange and Blue Party still has hope that it could be passed into UF law.

UF Student Government voting is scheduled for Feb. 26 and 27. The UF Supreme Court ruled last week that online voting is unconstitutional. Patricia Telles-Irvin, vice president for student affairs, said she would look into the issue. She then left town and decided she would discuss the issue this week. Although the ballots have already been printed, the Orange and Blue Party members still think students will be able to vote for online voting by write-in or by including a last-minute insert. The story would revolve around the options students have, and if those options could work. Also, Telles-Irvin still has not released her decision yet, so the story could change in the coming days.

The story should explore the reason WHY the Supreme Court ruled the issue unconstitutional, and whether there is room in the future for online voting. Saying that online voting could increase coercion hasn???t satisfied many students, since no one really knows what that means and many want a better answer. There have been letters to the editor to the Sun and the Alligator, and student groups have formed to protest the court???s decision.

For an online package, there could be a timeline graphic that shows when the online voting issue began several years ago to now. Has this been the closest that online voting has come to being a reality? The online package could also include links to the stories that pertain to the issue from newspaper archives.

The process of printing the ballots might be interesting – some video could be shot and displayed online. Audio of Orange and Blue leader, Tommy Jardon, as well as Gator Party leader, Kevin Reilly, could be recorded and displayed online, if anything interesting is captured.

Tasteful Reporting

WEEK 7 ABSTRACTS, CASE STUDY AND STORY IDEA

NICKNAMES & MASCOTS: COMPLICITY IN BIGOTRY

A reading from the “Taste and Sensitivity” section included a Poynter Online article named “Nicknames & Mascots: Complicity in Bigotry” by Keith M. Woods. The author recounted a Louisiana State University vs. Florida State University football game in which Seminoles fans acted out their “warrior cry,” complete with a tomahawk chop arm swing. LSU fans, in return, used both arms to mimic masturbation.

“Thus the tradition of the Seminole tribe was honored,” Woods wrote. He went on to decry universities that used Native American names or slurs for team names. He also decried reporters who use these nicknames, saying reporters furthered the stereotype.

He buried a very important point though: the Seminole tribe said the FSU Seminoles honored the tribe, and didn’t want FSU to change its mascot. What LSU did was a disgusting act of immaturity that didn’t honor the Seminole tribe, but Woods shouldn’t point to that instance as a reason FSU shouldn’t be referred to as the Seminoles by reporters.

It’s a tricky subject, since reporters are trained to use correct names of organizations and teams. Journalists have written extensively on the topic of stereotypes in the news – as seen by the links Woods provided in his article. Perhaps sports reporters can use the name of the team when writing sports articles, but news reporters could avoid the name. However, this could lead to very awkward writing.
I’m not convinced that it’s a reporter’s job to halt stereotypes in team names – it’s up to legislature or organizations such at the NFL to ban stereotypical names. I propose changing the names, and I think the media can play a role in bringing the issue to light, but for now, the Florida State Seminoles or the Washington Redskins are the names of those teams whether we like it or not. Using the university name instead of the team name might be tasteful, but would it be accurate? Would we need to choose between the two?

WHAT THE F—K ARE THEY DRIVING AT?

In another issue of taste, a Columbia Journalism Review article named “What the F—k Are They Driving At?” by Gal Beckerman discussed using obscene language in news stories. In the CJR article, a lead commander of the 2003 Iraq invasion said, “I have to deal with the fucking stupidest guy [Douglas Feith] on the face of the earth almost every day.” The New York Times paraphrased half the quote, and it changed to “Gen. Tommy R. Franks of the Army, the top commander of the Iraq invasion, once referred to him as ‘the stupidest guy on the face of the earth.’”

Paraphrasing half the quote, like the Times did, changed the meaning of the quote because it took out the full force of fury Franks was trying to convey. This is unethical and inaccurate. There are guidelines on what reporters can cut or add from a quote – and they are very narrow, strict guidelines.

The Alligator has a policy on obscenity: we put it in an article only if it alters the entire story to leave it out or if the news revolves around a foul word that was used. We leave it out, however, if it doesn’t point to redeeming social value or further discussion and debate in an intelligent manner.

In the film “All the President’s Men,” The Washington Post omitted the word “tit” from an important quote because editor Ben Bradlee said “this is a family newspaper.” Keep in mind that the Alligator’s audience is primarily college-aged students at a non-religiously affiliated university, not young children or religious groups. We would probably keep the word “tit” in the quote.

If UF President Bernie Machen used foul language in an interview that was directed at the Board of Trustees, for example, I would call that newsworthy and of student concern and public interest. However, if this situation were to actually arise, newsrooms should have an ethical discussion before printing the story and the obscenity. Ethical discussions on various topics, such as anonymous sources and story content, should guide a newspaper.

TIMES ISSUES ETHICS GUIDELINES FOR REPORTERS, EDITORS
The Los Angeles Times published a set of guidelines for ethics that it hoped would nurture a cohesive set of values that many publications could adhere to. The Times announced the guidelines in an article titled “Times Issues Ethics Guidelines for Reporters, Editors.”

As an answer to the previous two Web sites discussed here, the guidelines incorporate ways reporters can be tasteful and ethical. In an evolving world of journalism, as we study in our class, it’s important to have guidelines to dictate a universal code. Guidelines will continue to evolve with new terms such as “blog” and the changing definition of “journalist.”

The Society of Professional Journalists and The Poynter Institute have also published ethics guidelines. I think guidelines should be implemented at every news outlet for clarity and for precedent. When holding collaborative, meaningful ethical discussions, newspapers can look at past decisions to help them decide the current issue. Also, a reporter can have the guidelines to watch for while he or she reports. That way, reporters won’t be surprised when the newsroom deems something unethical. The editor can point to something tangible that allows or disallows an action. [Note: I looked at Poynter’s Web site, and the word “The” in the title is capitalized.]

CASE STUDY

It seems that the film “All the President’s Men” ties in with our theme this week of ethics and taste.

Although the methods Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein used may seem aggressive to some and may even seem like harassment, they got major applause from their editors for their tenacity. The reporters didn’t violate law and they were polite while interviewing. To their best, they didn’t quote anyone who didn’t want to be quoted.

Although Bernstein tricked the secretary in Miami to get into the office of the man he needed to speak to, he introduced himself as a reporter to the man and didn’t use deception about why he was there. The reporters were always honest about being newspaper reporters who were working on a story and everyone knew that they could be quoted at any time during the interview.

In one scene, we see a budget meeting in which editors discuss the ethical issues surrounding “Woodstein’s” stories. The meeting points to the collaborative, meaningful ethics discussion that is required by many ethical guideline lists, including the Poynter Institute’s ethics list.

However, Deep Throat’s role in the news gathering raises several issues. Aside from the obvious dilemmas that come from using anonymous sources, Deep Throat’s agenda steered Woodstein further than a reporter should let her/himself be steered. Deep Throat got whatever he wanted into the papers, as long as Woodstein could confirm information.

Their sole reliance on Deep Throat, in some cases, pointed to the fact that Deep Throat used the reporters to control the downfall of the Nixon administration. He was able to slowly drip information to the press while staying completely anonymous, something he couldn’t have done as a normal intelligence agent. The information Woodstein gathered was probably too important to the public to keep secret, and Deep Throat knew that. As keeper of U.S. secrets, he did have a governmental duty to keep quiet. But I think Deep Throat’s duty to let Americans know about a full-on, widespread conspiracy outweighed his initial ties.

STORY IDEA WEEK 7

After UF’s Student Government spent so much money on campus recycling bins, and after the university created an Office of Sustainability, I propose following the efforts of those programs. I would go to the recycling plant. I don’t think anyone actually knows where it is in Alachua County. I would interview workers at the plant and ask about where they pick up the most recyclable products. I would also talk to the plant director and ask him to describe the process of recycling.

I would also interview Dedee DeLongpre, director of UF’s Office of Sustainability. I would want to know if the office has had to cut back on sustainability programs due to university budget cuts. Recycling or using sustainable products might be expensive and might have suffered cuts from the budget. I would ask her how much, on average, it takes to uphold the office and the sustainability projects.

For online packages, I would create a map that shows where the city or county recycling plant is and I would label the neighborhoods or communities in town where people recycle the most. I would include video of inside the recycling plant and a photo slideshow of the plant. I think people would have a fun time looking at the map and making comments about their community recycling efforts. It may even initiate change in the community through discussions with the city commission.

 

Writing for audiences

An issue I think merits a blog post ties into writing for audiences and the dangers of censoring content or placement in fear of certain backlash. I’ve learned, throughout my past four years in the J-school, that publishing bodies’ writers must keep audience in mind while researching, writing and editing stories.

The Alligator primarily covers the University of Florida, and knows that professors, faculty and students are the main reader base. For four years I have heard some professors praise the Alligator, but mostly I have heard professors debase it. Recently in an Alligator budget meeting, we buried a story on page 10 because we didn’t want professors griping about it the next day in class. The story could have gone on a higher page, and it was of student interest and concern, but we were afraid that professors might complain about the Alligator. I was agitated that it is true that professors’ comments sometimes move us to make different decisions in running our newspaper. I wonder what should go into the decision to sideswipe past what students want to hear and go directly to what professors want to hear. I don’t think it’s a good rule of thumb.

I’ve heard from numerous sources that one of the ethics professors grades Alligator-employed students on a harsher level. This is not to accuse anyone, but to bring up the topic that professors shouldn’t let their biases on a newspaper sway what happens in the classroom.

Each newspaper should write about what an audience is interested in reading, but should include topics that may include controversy – for the sake of marketplace of ideas and open arenas of communication. Ethics should surround certain decisions, like whether to publish victim names or whether an international topic merits room in the paper, but a newspaper’s employees shouldn’t have to be concerned about their grades when editing and writing.

I respect the journalism professors entirely, but I think it’s unfair when our efforts are discredited because we’re a student newspaper.

Truth through accuracy and questioning

“WHAT THE MAINSTREAM MEDIA CAN LEARN FROM JON STEWART”

I read “What the Mainstream Media Can Learn From Jon Stewart,” an American Journal Review article by Rachel Smolkin. The article’s subhead told the gist of what journalists could learn – “No, not to be funny and snarky, but to do a better job of cutting through the fog.”

Stewart perpetually questions the original questioners, journalists. The article explains how our standards and rules have created a stiff, rigid persona and writing style that leaves little room for questioning and flexibility. Our obsessiveness to find “objectivity” restricts our writing and our quest for balance has made arguments way too multi-sided. This topic has arisen before, in advanced editing as well as other places. Sometimes writing equally about two sides means subjectivity. If 99 students at UF agreed to something and 1 student did not, then both sides should not be given the same amount of coverage. Balancing something like that is in fact putting an inbalance on it.

Stewart does cut through the “fog,” but he also isn’t required to be factually correct. The article asserts that journalists should be “honest,” not necessarily funny. The article tells journalists that being frank and a little unorthodox at times might increase credibility.

The article isn’t asserting that Stewart’s style is the answer to journalism. It asserts that journalists don’t have to be “handcuffed” to certain standards, as long as they are ethical. “The mainstream media can not, should not and never will be ‘The Daily Show,’” the article states. But it could learn a lot from the honesty.

If journalists have to question the world and Stewart can question journalists, then readers should question their news sources. Reading only one newspaper or watching only one news broadcast is to surrender yourself to one main point of view. The Alligator will give campus news, the Sun will give local, The New York Times will give international, and balance it off with a little Jon Stewart. Readers can glean information and news from dozens of unsuspecting sources, like Wikipedia, which acted as a source of updates at Virginia Tech during last spring’s massacre.

“WORD WATCH: ALLEGEDLY INNOCENT SUSPECTS”

“Word Watch: Allegedly Innocent Suspects,” a Poynter Online article by Scott M. Libin, is on a subject that is near and dear to many copy editors: the precision of words. Like in the article about Jon Stewart, this article focuses on truthful writing, though this one focuses on the semantics and word precision that goes into telling the truth. Journalists need to know the correct word to use when they are writing news that contains words such as “allege” and “suspect.” To clear it up, the article states that a ’suspect’ does not commit a crime – a robber does – and is only a suspect when police identify him/her as one; and to allege is to ‘assert without proof.’ It does not protect anyone from defamation, as I previously thought.

But I find it difficult to dejargon police talk, and find myself using the word “allege,” which now I find does no good. This brings up another point in the ongoing theme of journalists having to know a little about a lot. I proposed in an earlier entry that copy editors should have training on sports and math; we should also have training on police talk. Suspect, robbery, murder, homicide, mittimus, allege, burglary, victim, etc. all carry exact meaning and should be treated with care.

“Word games,” or “precision,” is important in any language. In journalism it might carry legal implications: someone may not be proven innocent, but merely not guilty. In social life, precision might prove important in relationships: Someone might not have a “boyfriend,” connotating a monogamous relationship, but might be “dating,” “talking,” have a “significant other” or just the all-too-vague “hooking up.”

Not to equate dating with the precision of calling a murder suspect guilty or innocent. But it seems that word precision has a place in society as well as the legal and journalism world.

WIKIFOIA

WikiFOIA is a Web site that helps people understand the Freedom of Information Act. A wiki, as the Web site defines it, is a “website that allows visitors to add, remove, edit and change content.” This goes in hand with the Jon Stewart article and how readers and journalists should be challenging the Old Guard of media, newspapers. WikiFOIA, like Wikipedia, allows readers to edit information in order to challenge what’s been written before. In the same vein, blogs allow writers to post their thoughts on how and why journalists aren’t doing their jobs correctly – much like Stewart does.

WikiFOIA also connects with Poynter Online’s article in that mistakes, like the difference between ‘not guilty’ and ‘innocent,’ can be changed if needed. I have a small problem with the ability to change information that has been published, since it plays into media ethics, but if there is a serious error that is printed then it might be better to just change it on the Web site and mention that it had been changed.

Wikis work, according to the Web site, because they rely on the community, rather than technology, to police itself.

STORY IDEA

Asia has been getting a lot of attention in the media lately, as an up-and-coming economic world power. Recent studies at UF indicate a huge rise in enrollment in Chinese language courses. The story could focus on the reasons why Asian Studies and the Chinese language classes have experienced such a rise in enrollment. I would talk to the head of the Chinese Languages and Literatures Department, as well as students in the classes. I would also be curious whether Chinese language enrollment is rising in the state and the nation as well. If this information were cut from the story, it would be great background for a longer online story.

Additionally, UF is beginning another study abroad program in China. UF officials are placing it in Chengdu, which is in central China. UF’s other satellite in China is at the Beijing Institute. Why did UF pick Chengdu, and how is the program different than the one in Beijing? The story could lead with this topic and go into the background of rising interest in Chinese courses at UF. When talking to students, I would ask if the fact that the Olympics are in Beijing this year plays into their decision to attend a China summer study abroad program.

Amy Panikowski, the UF Peace Corps recruiter, said recently that the Peace Corps is sending many recruits to Chengdu now. Why is that? I would talk to her and ask why everyone is interested in Chengdu.

For online, I would include a map of China and point out Beijing and Chengdu. I would include a graphic of statistics that show the rise each year in enrollment in Chinese language courses. There could also be a link provided that goes to the information on the Chengdu study abroad program.