Copyreading and Headline Writing

1. COPYREADING &
HEADLINE WRITING
1
MAY GRACE D. SALAZAR
SDO Lucena City

2. The
Speaker
◦ MAY GRACE D. SALAZAR
◦ Teacher of English at Lucena
Dalahican NHS – SDO Lucena
City
◦ RACAS Scholar
◦ Diploma in Campus
Journalism – Philippine Normal
University (PNU)
2

3. Objectives
◦ Define copyreading and
headline writing
◦ Use appropriate
symbols in copyreading
◦ Construct accurate
headlines
3

4. COPYREADING
4

5. What is
it?
◦ It is the art of arranging,
correcting and
selecting the quality
and type of news.
◦ It is editing the different
types of errors in the
sheet.
5

6. “
What should be
copyedited?
6

7. 7

8. 8

9. 9

10. 10

11. 11

12. “
What should be
copyedited?
12

13. Grammatical
Errors
VERB USE
◦ Check the verb tense.
◦ What is the dominant verb
tense for the news article?
13

14. Grammatical
Errors
PRONOUN
USE
◦ Does the pronoun agree
with its antecedent?
◦ Neither the astronauts nor
NASA neglected its duties.
◦ Neither NASA nor the
astronauts neglected their
duties.
14

15. Grammatical
Errors
USE OF
MODIFIERS
◦ Are the adjectives and
adverbs necessary in the
article?
◦ The abled and trustworthy
Foreign Affairs Secretary
Teodoro Locsin Jr. has
slammed the idea of
threatening overseas Filipinos
of having their passports
withheld to force them to
participate in government
programs. 15

16. Conceptual
Errors
◦ Errors that are attributed
in making sense
16

17. Conceptual
Errors
◦ Errors in organization
◦ Are the paragraphs properly
arranged?
◦ Are there elements that
need to be transposed
17

18. Errors in
Facts 
DETAILS
◦ Was the geographical
location accurate?
◦ Police killed two suspects in a stabbing incident
after they allegedly engaged the authorities in a
firefight in San Vicente town in Quezon province
Saturday afternoon, police said Sunday.
◦ Were the officials properly
named?
◦ Minority Floor Leader Gloria Macapagal
Arroyo fondly recalled working with former
Speaker Prospero Nograles after his
sudden death on Sunday…
18

19. Errors in
Facts 
DETAILS
◦ Were the figures,
amount, dates right?
◦ The National Commission on
Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) has
announced that the Islamic
holy month of Ramadan will
start on Monday, May 7.
◦ NUMERICAL ACCURACY.
19

20. Errors in
Style 
NUMBERS
◦ Are the figures
properly written?
◦ The numbers 1 – 9 are written in words while the
numbers 10 and above are written in figures
◦ Examples: nine students, 13 children
◦ Exceptions:
◦ dates, address: always in figures
◦ proper nouns: may be written in words or in
figures
◦ beginning of sentence: always in words
◦ events: 1st – 9th is allowed
20

21. Errors in
Style 
PERSONS
CITED
◦ Are the
personalities/entities
properly cited?
◦ A magnitude 5 quake struck
near a town of Surigao del Sur
on Sunday morning, the
Philippine Atmospheric,
Geophysical and
Astronomical Services
Administration (Pagasa) said.
21

22. Errors in
Style 
WORDINESS
◦ Keep it short.
◦ brutal slaying murder
◦ by virtue of the fact because
◦ close proximity near
◦ come in contact with meet
◦ at this point in time now
◦ be in receipt of get
◦ a large proportion many
◦ at an early date soon
◦ affixed his signature signed
22

23. Errors in
Style 
HIGH-
SOUNDING
WORDS
◦ Keep it simple.
◦ “A bachelor party is happening
next door. Hence the
cacophony.”
◦ “I know you’re just an Internet
troll with no sense of right or
wrong, but you didn’t have to
cause me so much umbrage.”
23

24. Errors in
Style 
JARGONS
◦ Say them in plain
terms or define them.
◦ BP - Medical shorthand for blood
pressure
◦ Sweat equity - Getting a stake in
the business instead of pay
◦ FAQ - Frequently asked questions
◦ HTH - Hope this helps
24

25. Errors in
Style 
REDUNDANCIES
◦ Omit repetitive ideas.
◦ At 5 p.m. last night
◦ At tumulo ang luha mula sa
kaniyang mga mata
◦ Isinandal ko ang aking likod dahil sa
pagod
◦ advance prediction
◦ free gifts
◦ final conclusion
◦ supling na anak
◦ pumanhik sa itaas
25

26. Errors in
Mechanics
CAPITALIZATION
◦ Does the copy observe
capitalization rules?
◦ Titles
◦ Governor David Suarez initiated
Quezon's First 1000 Days of
Life Program or Q1K in 2015.
◦ David Suarez, governor of Quezon
initiated Quezon's First 1000 Days
of Life Program or Q1K in 2015.
◦ All proper nouns
◦ Acronyms with some exceptions
26

27. Errors in
Mechanics
PUNCTUATION
◦ Were all the sentences
properly punctuated?
◦ Periods and commas are written first
before closing quotation marks
◦ Example: “I forgot it," he said.
◦ Use no hyphen in most compound
nouns.
◦ Examples: editor in chief, officer in
charge
27

28. Errors in
Mechanics
ACRONYMS
◦ Were all acronyms
properly written?
◦ Acronyms are usually written in capital
letters.
◦ Check if the letters of the acronym are
in the correct order.
◦ When an acronym appears for the first
time in a news story , it is written after its
meaning and it is enclosed in parentheses.
◦ Example. The Department of Health
(DOH) conducted the first dengue
immunization for Grade IV public school
pupils.
28

29. Errors in
Mechanics
INDENTION
◦ Were all the sentences
properly indented?
29

30. Errors in
Mechanics
SPELLING
◦ Were there misspelled
words?
◦ Look for misspelled words.
◦ We use American English, not British
English.
◦ Examples: honor not honour, labor not
labour
◦ If a word has more than one spelling, the
shortest one is preferred.
◦ Example: cigarette – cigaret
enrollment - enrolment
30

31. COPYREADING
SYMBOLS
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32. 32

33. 33

34. 34

35. 35

36. 36

37. 37

38. 38

39. 39

40. HEADLINE WRITING
40

41. 41

42. The
Headline
◦ Window of the
newspapers as it serves
as the quick source of
information for busy
readers
◦ Usually comes from the
lead paragraph
42

43. Functions
1. To attract readers
2. To tell the story (in a
summary)
3. To add variety of type
4. To identify personality of
newspaper (use of font/style
of letters)
43

44. Characteristics
1. Factually correct
2. Grammatically correct
3. Has “punch”
4. Uses active voice
5. Uses fresh or novel
approaches
6. Fits available space
44

45. How to
write a
headline?
1. First, read the story for
general meaning.
2. Look for the clues which are
usually in the lead.
o What happened?
o Who did what?
o How did it happen?
45

46. How to
write a
headline?
3. The head should tell the gist
of the story.
Example:
Davao bus blast kills 6
46

47. How to
write a
headline?
4. The first letter of the first
word and proper nouns are
generally capitalized.
Example:
Over P300 B projects up
for NEDA approval
47

48. How to
write a
headline?
5. The first line of two-line or three-
line head should not end with a
preposition, conjunction, articles
or any form of verb to be, unless
the preposition goes with the
verb, as fill in
Example:
Police, school execs urged to
step up security measures
48

49. How to
write a
headline?
6. Never use the word “may”. It shows
the uncertain element of the story.
Example:
Japan may host 2020 Olympics
49

50. How to
write a
headline?
7. Cite your sources.
Example:
Illegal drugs supply down
by 90% - PNP Chief
50

51. How to
write a
headline?
8. Refrain from converting verbs into
gerunds.
 Protesters urge oustering of
NBP chief
 Protesters urge to oust NBP
chief
51

52. How to
write a
headline?
9. Use the shorter word whenever
possible.
Examples:
use “cut” for decrease
Gov’t cuts oil subsidy
Gov’t hikes oil prices
use “hike” for increase
52

53. How to
write a
headline?
10. Use active voice.
Example:
NCCA seeks public awareness
on landmark architecture
53

54. How to
write a
headline?
11. Use single quotation marks if in
doubt.
Example:
PNP probes ‘narco vice mayor’
54

55. How to
write a
headline?
12. Use the present tense for past
stories
Example:
DOLE launches info drive
on ‘endo’
13. Use the infinitive form for news in
the future tense.
Example:
DOST develops app to help
MSMEs sell products on mobile
55

56. How to
write a
headline?
14. Use specific words.
Example:
Pasig cop shot dead in front
of church (instead of killed)
56

57. How to
write a
headline?
15. Use comma instead of and in
headlines.
Example:
Villar, JV seek overhaul of CCT
program
57

58. Other tips…
58

59. Has punch
59

60. Subject &
Verb
Agreement
60

61. Single
quotation
marks if
there is no
source
61

62. Do not use
‘and’
62

63. If the person is
more
important
than the
event, use the
past
form of the
verb
63

64. Use the
symbol %
in the
head, spell
out in the
body.
64

65. Use colon
after the
source;
use dash
before the
source.
65
BIR probing Janet - Kim

66. Headline
Styles
◦ All caps
◦ PAGASA WARNS OF
THUNDERSTORMS AS CLOUDS
FORECAST OVER PHILIPPINES
◦ Cap and lower case (Clc)
◦ Pagasa Warns Of Thunderstorms
As Clouds Forecast Over
Philippines
◦ Downstyle (ds)
◦ Pagasa warns of thunderstorms as
clouds forecast over Philippines
66

67. Unit
Counts
◦ A count system considers
differences in the widths of
letters.
Capital letters:
M, W – 2 units
JLIFT – 1 unit
Others – 1 ½ units
67
Small letters:
m, w – 1 ½ units
jlift – ½ unit
others – 1unit

68. Unit
Counts
Punctuation marks
dash (–) – 1 ½ units
question mark (?) – 1 unit
others - ½ unit
Number digits
0 to 9 – 1 unit
Space – 1 unit
68

69. Printer’s
Directions
◦ Tell the specifications for the
headline, body, and lead
paragraph
69
unit counts
font size
font type
column
deck
style
30.5 u.c
30
Verdana
4
1
downstyle
HEADLINE

70. Printer’s
Directions
70
Lead
12 pts.
TNR bold
25 ems
Body Text
12 pts.
TNR light
12 ems
BODY
SCHEDULE

71. Headline
Schedule
Guide
71

72. The Slug &
Slug line
◦ A slug is a short name, a phrase, a label or
a keyword that clearly tells the content of
the article.
◦ The slug line contains several markers-
the slug and other information such as the
name of the newspaper, the kind of article
(news, editorial, feature etc), the name of
the reporter and the date.
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Structure
Name of Paper
Key Word
Initials / Date
News
PDI
Pagasa
fo / 05-09-19

73. STEPS IN
COPYREADING
& HEADLINE
WRITING
• Read.
• Edit.
• Write headline.
• Count units.
• Prepare PD.
• Put body schedule.
• Write slug line.
• Read again. 73

74. SCORING
74

75. How will
your copy
be judged?
1. Edited errors will be counted. Use
standard copyreading symbols.
2. Five points each will be given to the
printer’s directions for the head, lead
and body text.
3. The headline has a maximum of 15
points.
15-accurate and concise
10-14-accurate yet lengthy
5-9- has minor errors (acronymy,etc.)
1-4- has major errors (grammar, word choice)
none--inaccurate headline
75

76. CREDITS
◦ Domingo R. Cueto
◦ Mrs. Nelia E. Tamio
◦ Dennis M. Vidar
◦ Mrs. Ana Marie Calapit
◦ Philippine Star
◦ Philippine Daily Inquirer
76

77. “
​​"We edit your words, your
writing, your sentences and
paragraphs... but never
your voice." ”
― Rogena Mitchell-Jones
77

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THANKS!
Any questions?
You can find me at
maygrace.salazar@deped.gov.ph