This is copied directly from the Wikipedia page on copy editing.
"Copy-editing is sometimes defined as the checking of consistency and accuracy, although on Wikipedia it does not necessarily involve the checking of facts in articles. The term originated in the production of printed media. Author and copy-editor are often the same Wikipedian."
Yet another reason not to use Wikipedia as a source.
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Tuesday, March 27, 2007
Journalism, anyone?
One of my students came across this site while researching blogs.
Blogs 101, by Rich Meislin is part of The New York Times Web site. I'm sure many longtime readers of The Times need a quick course in blogging.
Today my Advanced News students blogged about blogging. Is it journalism? They have some interesting takes. And I must say that some of these students are very good writers. I wish I could take the credit, but I have found that most of the best writers came that way. Of course, the best writers also continue to hone their skills throughout their lives. So for any of you young hotshots reading this, don't just sit there. Ask someone who's really good to critique your work.
Blogs 101, by Rich Meislin is part of The New York Times Web site. I'm sure many longtime readers of The Times need a quick course in blogging.
Today my Advanced News students blogged about blogging. Is it journalism? They have some interesting takes. And I must say that some of these students are very good writers. I wish I could take the credit, but I have found that most of the best writers came that way. Of course, the best writers also continue to hone their skills throughout their lives. So for any of you young hotshots reading this, don't just sit there. Ask someone who's really good to critique your work.
Saturday, March 24, 2007
No parking
I love Walgreens. Notice there's no apostrophe in this pharmacy's name. I know that because I visited the Walgreens.com Web site, then checked my prescription bottle. I also used the spellchecker program on this blog entry. And wouldn’t you know it? The so-called dictionary on my computer told me that “Walgreens” is not a word. It wanted to replace my correct spelling with either “Walgreen’s” or “Walgreen.” Interesting. As I always tell my students on the first day of class: “The spellchecker is evil.” Anyway, on to my story about Walgreens.
I went to Walgreens today to pick up a prescription. I'm walking along, minding my own business, and then I hear it. "John, you have a call parked on line one." My eyes bug out. My blood boils. And I want to scream at the top of my lungs, "No parking!" And to any of my former or current students reading this, I meant to put that exclamation point there. This is a problem just begging for an exclamation. My point? … Why the extra word? What's wrong with saying "John, you have a call on line one."? I have heard this troublesome announcement many times in the last few months, but only at Walgreens. I do hope it dies a quick death. If not, I might feel the need to park my fist in the cashier's mouth the next time I hear it while checking out.
I went to Walgreens today to pick up a prescription. I'm walking along, minding my own business, and then I hear it. "John, you have a call parked on line one." My eyes bug out. My blood boils. And I want to scream at the top of my lungs, "No parking!" And to any of my former or current students reading this, I meant to put that exclamation point there. This is a problem just begging for an exclamation. My point? … Why the extra word? What's wrong with saying "John, you have a call on line one."? I have heard this troublesome announcement many times in the last few months, but only at Walgreens. I do hope it dies a quick death. If not, I might feel the need to park my fist in the cashier's mouth the next time I hear it while checking out.
Thursday, March 15, 2007
I see mistakes, people
Spring break begins after classes Friday. And all copy eds know what that means. You guessed it. More time to find errors on every piece of reading material available. From billboards to restaurant menus to yard signs. Apostrophes misplaced! Commas missing! Spellings butchered! Exclamation points everywhere! Aaaah. That's what life's all about, baby!
Following spring break is a time of year I despise, not for what is but for what it isn't. It's time to "preregister." And it's not a word! It makes me cringe just thinking about it. "Pre-" is a prefix meaning "before." "Register" means to enroll or sign up. So the so-called word "preregister" would mean "before register." It simply does not make sense. I'm sure I've gotten about 200 e-mails in the last six years telling me to remind students to "preregister" for classes. And don't get me started on press releases that require people to "preregister" for this or that seminar, workshop or whatnot. "Preregistration is required." What does that mean? How about this: Advance registration is required. Think about it. You register before something starts. That doesn't mean you're "preregistering." It means you're signing up. If you sign up after it starts, you sign up late. That's not "postregistration." It's "late registration." How about this? No late registration allowed!
Ooh, I'm having too much fun. I must prepare to teach my class. Does that mean I'm "prelecturing"? I'd hate to have to "postlecture." No self-respecting journalism student would dare attend.
P.S. If you enjoy this type of discussion, check out the latest edition of William Safire's On Language column in The New York Times Magazine.
Following spring break is a time of year I despise, not for what is but for what it isn't. It's time to "preregister." And it's not a word! It makes me cringe just thinking about it. "Pre-" is a prefix meaning "before." "Register" means to enroll or sign up. So the so-called word "preregister" would mean "before register." It simply does not make sense. I'm sure I've gotten about 200 e-mails in the last six years telling me to remind students to "preregister" for classes. And don't get me started on press releases that require people to "preregister" for this or that seminar, workshop or whatnot. "Preregistration is required." What does that mean? How about this: Advance registration is required. Think about it. You register before something starts. That doesn't mean you're "preregistering." It means you're signing up. If you sign up after it starts, you sign up late. That's not "postregistration." It's "late registration." How about this? No late registration allowed!
Ooh, I'm having too much fun. I must prepare to teach my class. Does that mean I'm "prelecturing"? I'd hate to have to "postlecture." No self-respecting journalism student would dare attend.
P.S. If you enjoy this type of discussion, check out the latest edition of William Safire's On Language column in The New York Times Magazine.
How much is a fact worth?
I'm not teaching introductory news writing this semester, but I will be this summer and next fall. One of my rules for this class is that students who make factual errors in a story automatically receive an F (50 percent credit). I used to give an automatic zero, but I changed my policy a couple of years ago. Some students complain about the automatic F policy. Over the years, however, I've noticed that the good students learn a lot from their mistakes. I've had more than a few students who commented on this at evaluation time. The comments usually read something like this: I was angry when I got an F on my paper for misspelling a name, but I learned never to do that again!
Introductory news writing is a 200-level class at UNC, which means it's sophomore level. When I teach 300- and 400-level classes, I use a different grading policy. I take off one letter grade for each factual error. Maybe I should change this policy so all classes are equal. Any suggestions?
Speaking of mistakes, if you haven't seen Regret the Error yet, you have to check it out. I think my students would get a kick out of it. I do worry about showing students sites like these for the following reason: Students might think that if major news organizations make terrible mistakes, why should we get punished? After all, we are just students. I guess my answer is that if you get punished now, in school, where only a grade is at stake, you are less likely to make a big mistake later that might cost you your job.
Introductory news writing is a 200-level class at UNC, which means it's sophomore level. When I teach 300- and 400-level classes, I use a different grading policy. I take off one letter grade for each factual error. Maybe I should change this policy so all classes are equal. Any suggestions?
Speaking of mistakes, if you haven't seen Regret the Error yet, you have to check it out. I think my students would get a kick out of it. I do worry about showing students sites like these for the following reason: Students might think that if major news organizations make terrible mistakes, why should we get punished? After all, we are just students. I guess my answer is that if you get punished now, in school, where only a grade is at stake, you are less likely to make a big mistake later that might cost you your job.
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Our experiment continues
Most of my Advanced News students have created blogs. You can visit them by clicking on the links at the right-hand side of this page under "My Students' Blogs." Their latest blog entries focus on what they've learned after writing a feature story and then rewriting it as a longer piece. Most of them were very honest in their assessments of their work. I'm happy to say that all of the rewrites turned out to be pretty good stories. I'm excited to see what these students do next.
As for the Web page, we're still in the planning stages. I'm scheduled to meet with Jessie Williams, Web editor at the Greeley Tribune, next week. I'm hoping we can get this thing online pretty quickly after students return from Spring Break on March 26.
I'm quite enjoying this blog, although I haven't had many comments lately. Perhaps once it goes online at the Tribune more people will read it. I have been bugging my colleagues in the JMC program and my family, but how many times can your mother say she loves your blog? Maybe I need to write something really scathing to get some feedback. I guess yesterday's post wasn't cranky enough. I think my next post should tackle something controversial. Check this space later, if you dare.
As for the Web page, we're still in the planning stages. I'm scheduled to meet with Jessie Williams, Web editor at the Greeley Tribune, next week. I'm hoping we can get this thing online pretty quickly after students return from Spring Break on March 26.
I'm quite enjoying this blog, although I haven't had many comments lately. Perhaps once it goes online at the Tribune more people will read it. I have been bugging my colleagues in the JMC program and my family, but how many times can your mother say she loves your blog? Maybe I need to write something really scathing to get some feedback. I guess yesterday's post wasn't cranky enough. I think my next post should tackle something controversial. Check this space later, if you dare.
Monday, March 12, 2007
Words confuse us
I love my students. Really, I do. It's just that they do the strangest things.
Why is it that students think they have to use big words to impress readers? No matter how many times I tell them to begin sentences with "but," many insist on using "however." Another thing I can't understand is how a student can use a word in a sentence when said student has no idea what the word means. It's worse when they use a direct quote that makes no sense.
Crank: What does this quote mean?
Student: I'm not sure.
Crank: Why did you use it?
Student: I don't know. I was wondering about it.
Crank: Hand me your pencil so I may stick it in my eye.
Student: Why?
Crank: I'm sure it will be more fun than reading the rest of this story.
Two books that will improve anyone's writing:
The Media Writer's Handbook, by George T. Arnold
A hardcover dictionary. (Yes -- this is a book. It contains paper pages that need to be turned.)
One last thought: Running the "spell-check" program is not the equivalent of proofreading.
Boy, do I feel better.
Why is it that students think they have to use big words to impress readers? No matter how many times I tell them to begin sentences with "but," many insist on using "however." Another thing I can't understand is how a student can use a word in a sentence when said student has no idea what the word means. It's worse when they use a direct quote that makes no sense.
Crank: What does this quote mean?
Student: I'm not sure.
Crank: Why did you use it?
Student: I don't know. I was wondering about it.
Crank: Hand me your pencil so I may stick it in my eye.
Student: Why?
Crank: I'm sure it will be more fun than reading the rest of this story.
Two books that will improve anyone's writing:
The Media Writer's Handbook, by George T. Arnold
A hardcover dictionary. (Yes -- this is a book. It contains paper pages that need to be turned.)
One last thought: Running the "spell-check" program is not the equivalent of proofreading.
Boy, do I feel better.
MoJo rising
The April edition of Mother Jones magazine includes a series of articles on the news industry entitled "Breaking the News." In one of the stories, blogger Kevin Drum says that most of the bloggers out there could not do their jobs without the "mainstream media." More proof that although newspapers are changing, they're not dying because of the Internet. Read Drum's article.
Friday, March 9, 2007
Our experiment begins
My Advanced News & Feature Writing students and I are working with the local newspaper, the Greeley Tribune, to create a Web magazine that will be part of the Trib's site. I'm very excited. My students are feeling a bit like guinea pigs, but that's understandable. Although my classes have created Web pages in the past, this is the first time I've worked with an outside entity to go online. It looks promising so far. Most of my students have taken the first step into the multimedia world by creating their own blogs.
The class is the capstone course for all the news-editorial students in our program, which means students must show off what they've learned in their time as JMC majors. I require them to cover beats. A beat is a fancy word for a topic that a reporter covers on a regular basis, like education or business or high school sports. Students choose their own beats and write three major articles during the semester. Each student's blog is based on his or her beat. Check out these blogs by clicking on the links at right.
My hope is that students update their blogs twice a week to let readers know what they're working on or what events are happening on their beats. The next step is to work with Jessie Williams, the Tribune's multimedia editor, to create the Web page. Once that is done, we can upload students' stories, photos and other work. I'm hoping we can put together some slide shows, and Williams said she might even teach us about podcasts and videography. This is new territory for me, but Williams has the talent to help us do a great job, as you can see from the Tribune's Web site. See Williams' bio.
Once the page is up, I'm hoping we can link to the students' blogs -- as well as mine. That way, site visitors can find out not only who produced the stories but how and why they produced them in the way they did.
The class is the capstone course for all the news-editorial students in our program, which means students must show off what they've learned in their time as JMC majors. I require them to cover beats. A beat is a fancy word for a topic that a reporter covers on a regular basis, like education or business or high school sports. Students choose their own beats and write three major articles during the semester. Each student's blog is based on his or her beat. Check out these blogs by clicking on the links at right.
My hope is that students update their blogs twice a week to let readers know what they're working on or what events are happening on their beats. The next step is to work with Jessie Williams, the Tribune's multimedia editor, to create the Web page. Once that is done, we can upload students' stories, photos and other work. I'm hoping we can put together some slide shows, and Williams said she might even teach us about podcasts and videography. This is new territory for me, but Williams has the talent to help us do a great job, as you can see from the Tribune's Web site. See Williams' bio.
Once the page is up, I'm hoping we can link to the students' blogs -- as well as mine. That way, site visitors can find out not only who produced the stories but how and why they produced them in the way they did.
Thursday, March 8, 2007
These are the days
It's been more than a week since I returned from the Convergence for College Educators conference at the Poynter Institute for journalism studies. I left feeling positively giddy about where journalism is going. The Web allows us to tell stories in so many ways. And people are doing some simply amazing things.
I had resisted the need to bring convergence into my classes since I came to UNC in 2000. I thought teaching students the basics – what makes news, how to report and write, ethics – was enough. But it’s not. Being a “print” journalist is no longer an option. Journalists can’t do just one thing anymore. They have to be at least a little familiar with how to tell stories using five media channels: text, still photos, video, audio and graphics. But who am I to teach convergence? I’ve never written a story for TV or radio. I’ve never written a story for anything but a newspaper. I still consider myself a print journalist at heart. But what is print journalism? Isn’t writing an important aspect of Web journalism? Don’t online stories have to be concise, clear and grammatically correct? Shouldn’t online stories be newsworthy? Don’t they have to be factual? Ethical? Free of libel? Well, then, I guess I am NOT stuck in the 20th century.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m still a fan of newspapers. I can’t be the only person who reads a paper version of The New York Times every day. I mean, you can’t do the crossword puzzle online. Oh, yeah, I guess you can. … Well, it’s just not the same.
So here I go. Teaching convergence. I’m reminded of all the stories the older reporters and editors used to tell when I worked at the Connecticut (nee Bridgeport) Post about the days when the clacking of manual typewriters filled the newsroom. ... When copy boys roamed and editors swore like sailors. When cigarettes dangled over the edge of the copy desk. … Those must have been the days. … So now I tell my students about the days before pagination, when we had to cut the stories using blue pencils, and grizzled men with razor blades did the cutting. Those were the days.
So here I go. Beginning this journey with a lot of other journalists and educators who started their careers before the Internet took over our newsrooms. I’m blogging. My students are blogging. I’m helping my journalism program figure out how to teach convergence to students. I’m learning something new every day. And come to think of it, that’s one of the reasons I went into journalism in the first place. I’m positively giddy.
I had resisted the need to bring convergence into my classes since I came to UNC in 2000. I thought teaching students the basics – what makes news, how to report and write, ethics – was enough. But it’s not. Being a “print” journalist is no longer an option. Journalists can’t do just one thing anymore. They have to be at least a little familiar with how to tell stories using five media channels: text, still photos, video, audio and graphics. But who am I to teach convergence? I’ve never written a story for TV or radio. I’ve never written a story for anything but a newspaper. I still consider myself a print journalist at heart. But what is print journalism? Isn’t writing an important aspect of Web journalism? Don’t online stories have to be concise, clear and grammatically correct? Shouldn’t online stories be newsworthy? Don’t they have to be factual? Ethical? Free of libel? Well, then, I guess I am NOT stuck in the 20th century.
Don’t get me wrong; I’m still a fan of newspapers. I can’t be the only person who reads a paper version of The New York Times every day. I mean, you can’t do the crossword puzzle online. Oh, yeah, I guess you can. … Well, it’s just not the same.
So here I go. Teaching convergence. I’m reminded of all the stories the older reporters and editors used to tell when I worked at the Connecticut (nee Bridgeport) Post about the days when the clacking of manual typewriters filled the newsroom. ... When copy boys roamed and editors swore like sailors. When cigarettes dangled over the edge of the copy desk. … Those must have been the days. … So now I tell my students about the days before pagination, when we had to cut the stories using blue pencils, and grizzled men with razor blades did the cutting. Those were the days.
So here I go. Beginning this journey with a lot of other journalists and educators who started their careers before the Internet took over our newsrooms. I’m blogging. My students are blogging. I’m helping my journalism program figure out how to teach convergence to students. I’m learning something new every day. And come to think of it, that’s one of the reasons I went into journalism in the first place. I’m positively giddy.
Wednesday, March 7, 2007
Links to student work
Teaching journalism can be frustrating, but it's worth it when students do well. I was reminded of this again today while listening to Colorado Matters, a locally produced news program on Colorado Public Radio. Host Ryan Warner interviewed UNC graduate Heath Urie, who now works for the Columbine Courier, about the digital TV tower proposed for Lookout Mountain. Listen to the interview. Urie was a journalism and mass communications major and served as editor in chief of The Mirror, the campus newspaper. He also has a great radio voice. Way to go, Heath.
My current students are also working hard. I showed them my blog Tuesday, and several showed interest in creating their own. Three are already up. Josh Rhoten has been blogging for a while, and his site is quite interesting. Ken Johnson discusses entertainment, and Ashley Dieterle talks about life in general.
I'm hoping theses students stick with it. I've read that blogging improves one's writing and makes journalists more marketable. I'm also hoping other students join in. We'll see.
My current students are also working hard. I showed them my blog Tuesday, and several showed interest in creating their own. Three are already up. Josh Rhoten has been blogging for a while, and his site is quite interesting. Ken Johnson discusses entertainment, and Ashley Dieterle talks about life in general.
I'm hoping theses students stick with it. I've read that blogging improves one's writing and makes journalists more marketable. I'm also hoping other students join in. We'll see.
Tuesday, March 6, 2007
Rocky Mountain News has it all
I always tell students that everything needs to be edited -- not just the stories but the info graphics and captions as well. So I was pretty horrified to find not one but several errors in a slide show at the normally very well edited Rocky Mountain News. The March 5 edition has a link for Photos of the Day. One caption calls the subject of the photo a "former Manuel High graduate." Once a graduate, always a graduate, as far as I'm concerned. The second problematic caption appeared under the photo of Gov. Bill Ritter's son and wife. There were two big problems with this one, and they've both been fixed . First, whoever edited the caption included the following intro: "Lede in bold." Those are the directions. They were supposed to write something and didn't. Oops. Also, the editor did a good job of checking the spelling of the names of the people pictured. How do I know? He or she typed in "cq" after each name. CQ indicates that something has been checked. I learned to do this at the top of the file, not in a place where it can be published, but this might be difficult when editing for the Web. I wonder what kind of problems this creates for editors on a daily basis. The caption also contains an AP style error. It refers to "Governor Bill Ritter." AP says that governor should be abbreviated and capitalized before a name, as in "Gov. Bill Ritter." I assume the Rocky follows AP style, but if this is wrong I hope someone will let me know.
But the Rocky is an outstanding news organization that won a Pulitzer last year. If you haven't seen the paper’s fabulous 33-part series recounting a school bus-train accident that occurred in 1961 in northern Colorado, you're missing out. It's entitled The Crossing, and it's not only well written, it's got some great video and still photos. There's also a great discussion board about the piece, with comments by survivors as well as other readers.
But the Rocky is an outstanding news organization that won a Pulitzer last year. If you haven't seen the paper’s fabulous 33-part series recounting a school bus-train accident that occurred in 1961 in northern Colorado, you're missing out. It's entitled The Crossing, and it's not only well written, it's got some great video and still photos. There's also a great discussion board about the piece, with comments by survivors as well as other readers.
Monday, March 5, 2007
I'm new at this
Why am I doing this? Because I have to. I teach journalism and it's 2007. So here I go.
I'm planning to use this blog to discuss two main themes: 1) editing and ethical issues that arise from my classes; and 2) issues that come up as my journalism program moves toward convergence.
I love news, always have. I read the newspaper when I was little. One thing I don't understand about my students is why they seem so uninterested in news. Anyone out there have any ideas?
Right now I'm teaching two sections of news editing and layout. It's a junior-level class. One of the ways I try to get my students to keep up with the news is through news quizzes. I've seen some crazy answers over the years. The latest, greatest crazy answers came when I asked about I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby, as you may or may not know, is on trial in connection with the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's name. When I asked who Libby used to be chief of staff for, most students gave the right answer, VP Dick Cheney. Here are the funny answers:
~ The CIA
~ The New York Times
Interesting. Both the CIA and the Times are involved in the story, so at least the students who provided these answers were familiar with the story.
If you'd like to learn more about Libby, click here
Thanks for reading.
I'm planning to use this blog to discuss two main themes: 1) editing and ethical issues that arise from my classes; and 2) issues that come up as my journalism program moves toward convergence.
I love news, always have. I read the newspaper when I was little. One thing I don't understand about my students is why they seem so uninterested in news. Anyone out there have any ideas?
Right now I'm teaching two sections of news editing and layout. It's a junior-level class. One of the ways I try to get my students to keep up with the news is through news quizzes. I've seen some crazy answers over the years. The latest, greatest crazy answers came when I asked about I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby. Libby, as you may or may not know, is on trial in connection with the leak of CIA agent Valerie Plame Wilson's name. When I asked who Libby used to be chief of staff for, most students gave the right answer, VP Dick Cheney. Here are the funny answers:
~ The CIA
~ The New York Times
Interesting. Both the CIA and the Times are involved in the story, so at least the students who provided these answers were familiar with the story.
If you'd like to learn more about Libby, click here
Thanks for reading.
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