Journalism & Yearbook Week 18

Monday Bell Ringer & Agenda: Please remember to bring candy canes tomorrow. Also, any student missing work, will be completing that work tomorrow instead of helping with the candy grams. Bell Ringer Reminders Editing Notes Read Article Create an Angle Tree

Making Copy Shine with Editing The long-awaited day has finally arrived. The yearbook is being delivered and every staffer anxiously waits to tear into those boxes and break the binding on their precious publication. All the sleepless nights, last-minute photo-ops and computer blindness have all been for this moment — seeing the satisfied look on the faces of your peers. You hand out your pride and joy to a student and watch them walk away smiling, but then they stop… turn… and head back to you. You know what comes next.

Making Copy Shine with Editing “You spelled my name wrong.” “Do you know you spelled varsity wrong?” “That’s not what grade I’m in.” Maybe the perfect publication is a pipe dream. There is just too much to do in such a short time to make sure everything has been copy-edited and fact-checked.

Making Copy Shine with Editing However, no matter the excuses we make, this fact remains: errors diminish credibility and journalistic integrity. How can we be trusted to tell a student’s emotional tale or accurately document the history of a school year if we can’t spell the word “success” correctly? You can’t learn to edit copy overnight. It is an art that is learned and acquired over time with practice.

Making Copy Shine with Editing To get started, we need to look at the foundation for building an insightful eye for copy-editing by examining the following areas:

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story When someone is injured and paramedics arrive at the scene, their first responsibility is to assess the situation. They must determine the nature and severity of the problem before they ever go into action. The same is true of copy editing. Before we jump in with our red pens and bleed comments and editing marks all over someone’s hard work, we must first diagnose the piece.

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story Allow your mind to roam freely over the story and see what you react to. Your original thoughts may be jumbled and confused, but you can organize them later. Edit for the “big picture” first, because if the story lacks a message and focus, then it doesn’t much matter if a few words are misspelled.

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story GET READY (continued) The best editors are also writers. How can you expect to edit a story and advise a reporter on how to best fix it if you are not going through the same struggles? Writing is not a black-and-white operation and neither is editing. It is complicated and the only way for an editor to be effective is to understand what it is like to be on both sides of the process.

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story GET STARTED Read through the story once without making a single mark. Allow yourself to see it through the eyes of the audience. Note your initial reactions and questions. How did you feel after reading it? What message did you take away from the story?

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story DETERMINE THE DAMAGE After the first read-through, determine the severity of the situation. Is this editing process going to be a walk in the park or is this story on life support and in need of a ton of attention? Are a few word choice corrections going to solve the problem, or do we need to go back to the drawing board and re-organize it entirely? Are small fixes enough or will it need a complete overhaul? Figure this out upfront so you can prepare accordingly.

Lesson 1: Assessing the Story GET INQUISITIVE After reading through the story once and jotting notes about your initial reactions, it is time to establish the internal monologue. Read the piece again and have a conversation with it, as though the story is speaking and you are answering. What questions does the story pose? What parts are confusing/clear? Am I reacting positively or negatively? Why? What does this mean? Why would he/she do this? Why should anyone care about this? Why is this important? What are they really trying to say? What/who is the source of the information? Are the facts correct? Are there multiple sources? Does the story meet the staff’s guidelines and goals?

Lesson 1, Activity 1: Assess the Story Get the angle established. After reading through the story twice, the message or angle of the story should be clear. Make sure the angle is strong. Is it an approach that has been done before? Stories just about something “new” won’t cut it — what about the something “new” is worth writing about? Is the angle specific enough? Is it focused on people?

Lesson 1, Activity 2: Create an Angle Tree List all the ideas in the story as branches. Next, determine what the trunk of the tree should be. What is anchoring all these ideas together? Now, redirect the other ideas in the branches to connect back to the trunk. If a branch idea has no connection to the trunk, cut it off. It will only weigh down the rest of your tree. Now, fill out your own angle tree, using a similar diagram.

Lesson 1, Activity 2: Create an Angle Tree

Tuesday Bell Ringer & Agenda: What is the difference between subjective editing and objective editing? Post It  Name  Answer  on board for grade! Bell Ringer Reminders Candy Grams

Tuesday: Today, we will work on the Candy Grams. Assembly line… If you have missing work, that MUST be completed before working on candy grams! The following can help: I have not put in the “Assessing Lead Stories” Makala is the only one not missing work…. LET’s GO GUYS!! Only 6 more days

Wednesday Bell Ringer & Agenda: List at least 5 editing marks and their meanings. Name  Post-It  answer  board for grade! Bell Ringer Candy Grams

Wednesday: Today, we will work on the Candy Grams. Assembly line… If you have missing work, that MUST be completed before working on candy grams!

Thursday Bell Ringer & Agenda: CERT Testing Bell Ringer Candy Grams

Thursday: CERT Testing

Friday Bell Ringer & Agenda: Help sort candy grams Bell Ringer Candy Grams

Friday: Today, we will work to finish on the Candy Grams. Assembly line… If you have missing work, that MUST be completed before working on candy grams! I need a few people to deliver during 7th bell.