INTRODUCTION

TO NEWS
EDITING
JOUR 100

NEWS EDITING AND

PRODUCTION
Contents of this Module
After completion of the module, students should be able to:

● Understand the process of news editing;

● Identify the roles performed by the editor, copy editor and sub-
editor;

● Discuss the news process.

(The divisions, general departments, etc will be discussed in the module 2.)
News editing is the heart of
journalism.

It involves news processing and

packaging. It is a crucial part of the
editorial process in which editors
convert news reports and illustrations
into packaged information. News
editing gives direction and meaning to
the mass of text and art provided by
reporters, photojournalists and graphic
artists.
News editing involves selecting
copy for publication, editing
selected copy, designing news
pages for newspapers,
magazines, websites, etc. News
editing is an outstanding part of
the editorial process because it
is the stage that prepares the
sole newspaper product
(i.e., information) for the
consumer.
Even without being an
editor, one understands
the need for editing. First,
any written work can be
improved upon.
In addition, journalists
work at great speed, and
they can muddle things
up in the rush to beat
deadlines.
According to The Editor
Emenanjo, (2010, p.13)
An editor is, in
essence, a critic, a
literary critic and an
aesthetician. He is a
literary ombudsman,
midwife, middleman
and consultant; a
professional hatchet-
man and fault-finder.
And a literary
surgeon.
Following these qualities, the editor:
● evaluates the work of
reporters;
● filters news to ensure that
only the appropriate
information gets through to
the reader;
● has a knack for detecting
faults, and is hungry to
detect them;
● remarks error whenever
detected, and teaches
reporters to care more
about making writing free of
strain;
● does not fetch the story, but
stands in-between the
reporter and the reader to
help the former safely
deliver story ideas to the
latter;
● making inquiry to know what
is wrong with text, and using
his editing tools;
● is not immune to occasional
mistakes for which he
should constantly get
updated;
● writes and rewrites.
The writer does not exists whose work cannot be
improved by the constructive vigilance of a sub-
editor who is (1) well-versed in what is being
written about (2) an expert in language and (3) a
flexible and tolerant person capable of
appreciating values in the work of others.

The sub-editor:
1. cares about the English language
2. cares about clarity of thought
3. has grace of expression
4. is knowledgeable about the traditions
of discourse and argument.
The
News Process
Let’s see the journey
of a newspaper
before it gets
published and
distributed.
 Reporters The managing
fetch their editor or news
The stories are
stories from editor decides
stored in a
assignments whether a story
computer
and type is worth
memory, from
them at the publishing or has
where they are
computer. a potential to be
called up by the
a timecopy.
copy editor.
Stories then go to the
composing room, where
high-speed computerized
photocomposition machines
convert electronic impulses
into images and words. Then
strips of photographic
papers are used in printing
the stories.
In the camera room, a photograph is taken of
the pasteup, which appears like the finished
copy. A negative photograph results from
this process, and is burned unto a plate,
ready for press runs. Here a lithographic
machine shines ultra-violent light through
the negative onto the plate. The light goes
through the clear parts of the negative,
exposing only the printing areas of the plate.
The technician attaches the plate to one of
the cylinders of a large printing press. The
plates are fed into an offset press, capable of
producing more than 60,000 copies of a
65-page paper per hour (Pankow, 2003).
In the late 1980s a virtual revolution occurred in typesetting with the advent
of desktop publishing (DTP) technology. Driven chiefly by the plummeting
costs and miniaturization of computer memory, modestly prized personal
computers originally developed for word processing are now capable of
preparing documents of amazing sophistication.
In a web press, the
printing plates are
wrapped around
revolving cylinders called
drums. This press uses
the rotary relief process.
Adjustments are made
based on sample copies
that are printed to check
for consistent color and
impression, a process
called makeready.
A typical modern newspaper printing
press prints both sides of a newsprint
web several pages wide. It also
incorporates automatic cutters and
folders and may include an inserting
machine that arranges sections one
inside the other”. Pankow (1993: np).

The product is the printed

newspaper, which is
received by the
distribution or circulation
department for
transmission to the
reader.
Functions of the editor

Creative Managerial Police

Functions of the Editor.
Creative Managerial Police
functions Functions Function
• Judges the day’s news • He directs the • Guards against
and decides how to work of art/graphic libelous content
present it. designers in photo • Assures objectivity (to
• Compiles singles stories selection and guard public
from materials display confidence), fair play
originating from a variety • He is responsible and good taste
of sources. for copy fitting • Clarifies the news and
• Checks for error and • He keeps time makes it meaningful by
corrects faulty language. copy and filler. improving the flow and
• Writes headlines, correctness of
captions and cutline. language.
To perform these functions effectively,
the editor needs intelligence, among
other qualities.
● A thorough knowledge of english
grammar, usage, sentence structure and
style.
● A thorough knowledge of copy desk
routine. The beginner usually has to learn
it on the job because the routine varies
from paper to paper.
● Knowledge of how to use the reference
materials available to him.
● A broad general awareness and solid
educational background.
● Common sense.
Essentially, the copy desk
regularizes copy to
conform to the newspaper
style.
Newspaper size determines
the extent of the copy editor’s
duties. Some editors do all but
report news.
When copy editors go to work, they
bring with them editing skills.

Writers edit Editors

as they write as
write. they edit.
 The news editor and the copy editor
News Editor
The news editor receives a
story when it first (or via the city
editor) reaches the organization
from a reporter. He does the
following:
 Judges the news value
 Assigns headline size and
style
 Decides story placement
 Passes down the story to
one of the copy editors for
actual copyediting
Copy Editor
(1) News text editing:
(a) improving on news
text and writing
headlines
(b) proofreading, fact
checking, grammar
checking, spell-
checking
(c) editing for style and
content
(d) editing briefs
(2) Design and layout
editing: creating pages,
graphic displays on World
Wide Web pages, photo and
cutline writing, laying out
pages with copy, headlines
and art
Thanks!
Do you have any questions?
angela mitzi.ramos@cvsu.edu.ph

a.m. ramos

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