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 COPYREADING
It means editing written copy for
publication

It requires serious and comprehensive

revision of an article using Copyreading
marks based on the standards of
publication.
 WHAT DOES A COPYREADER DO?

He takes the story as it comes from

the reporter and puts it through a
refining process.
He uses a heavy black or blue
pencil for corrections.
He does not erase the original
writing when he edits
WHAT ARE THE ESSENTIAL QUALITIES OF
A COPYREADER?
He has good command of a language and
comprehensive knowledge of rules of
grammar.
He must be wide reader and always
updated on current information.
As watchman of newspaper he must know
well the policies of newspaper.
 WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A
COPYREADER?

A. Errors in form

To correct errors in grammar

To correct errors in spelling
To correct errors in punctuation
To correct errors in usage
 WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A
COPYREADER?
B. Errors in content
To correct errors in fact
To improve news value
To guard against criticism
To expand copy
To reduce copy
To write headlines of news and check heads or titles of
editorials, features and literary articles
 WHAT ARE THE DUTIES OF A
COPYREADER?
To delete unnecessary adjectives and opinion in news
To delete libelous, seditious, and rebellious matter and
all those contrary to laws, and good taste
To correct redundancy and rewrite sentences with
verbal deadwood.
To rewrite sentences or paragraphs that violate the
principles of unity, coherence, and emphasis
To correct errors in style and structure
 EXERCISES:
A. Identify the error, then tell whether it is in form or in content.
Explain your answer.
1. The guard did not saw all the students coming in.
2. The agenda for the meeting is quite long.
3. The Core luckily tops prestigious press tilts
4. Floods destroy field house- clean- up to take three weeks.
5. In a news story-The most efficient and knowledgeable
principal represented the school in the well known national
schools press conference.
EXERCISES:

6. The final conclusion revealed that the dead corpse was a

victim of fatal murder.

7. You’re the one whose going to be promoted.

8. President Aquino has been encountering rough sailing
with the philippine media.
9. The old man was brought to the hospital.
10. Grenade blast killed 2 kids
EXERCISES:

B. Copyread the following leads.

1. President Aquino yesterday said graduates off

the philippine military academy (PMA) this
year were embarking on a military Carreer not
to enrich themselves but to serve the nation.
EXERCISES:

2. The nexxt administration will have no

one to blaming but itself should the
countrys economic growth sputter after
growing 7.3 percentage during the first
quarter of the year, Malacanang
yesterday Said.
EXERCISES:

3. philippine- Chartered ship has making a

second rescue mission in LIBYA,
evacuating more than 1,000 Filipinos
including dependents of Filipino
diplomats, from the besieged capital of
tripoli, officials said Yesterday,
 HEADLINE WRITING

HEADLINE is the title of a newspaper story. It

serves as a quick source of information. It is
written to tell the story what is it all about, to
attract readers, and to grade the news on its
importance. It is always short and simple.
Headline writing requires skill and concentration .It
must give the essence of the story. While
explaining the story accurately, your headline also
must fit into a limited space.
 STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE

Step 1- Read the article, especially the lead

(first) paragraph. The headline must convey a
brief synopsis of the article and must be
accurate, so knowledge of the information in
the article is imperative.
 STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE

Step 2-Decide on the most important information to

be conveyed in the headline: what will grab the
attention of the most readers? In news articles, the
most significant information should be in the very
first couple of sentences. The headline has to fit
within the space available for it. If the amount of
space available is unknown, be prepared to edit down
the headline as needed in order to fit.
 STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE

Step 3-Check guidelines: each publication has

different guidelines regarding what to include
in the headline. Some allow certain forms of
punctuation, such as a colon, while others do
not. Verify with the publication what their
guidelines require.
 STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE
Step 4-Consider the appearance of the
headline. The font size of the letters used
often convey to the reader the article's
importance. Major world events are typically
one or two words in very large font size
across the entire top of the newspaper, while
smaller local stories or news that isn't that
unusual are printed in a smaller font size that
only takes up a column or two in the paper.
 STEPS IN WRITING HEADLINE

Step 5- Write the headline. There are

several things to consider while writing
the headline

Step 6-Confirm that there are no more

errors in form and in content.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

1. Use specific words. Make the information

as exact as you can in the limited space of the
headline

Wrong: Politician wins election.

Correct: Noynoy wins presidential post.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE
2. State facts, avoid opinion
Ex. Fact: The Core first in press tilts
With opinion: The Core luckily tops
prestigious press tilts
3. Use Active voice. The doer of the action must
be in the subject position. However, use the
passive voice when the action is more significant
than the doer.
Example: SC postpones general meeting
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

4. Use the historical present (the present form

of the verb for the past events, and the
infinitive form for the future events.

Wrong: The Core copped 5 trophies at

NSSPC
Correct: The Core cops 5 trophies at NSSPC
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE
5. Omit all articles a, an, the and other
unnecessary words.
Wrong: The 7 cops hurt in ambush
Correct: 7 cops hurt in ambush

6. Avoid label head

Wrong: Auctioned
Correct: Imelda jewelry auctioned
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

7. Do not editorialize your headline.

Wrong: Ang Alab shows great performance in DSSPC.
Correct: Ang Alab wins 6 out of 7 in DSSPC writing
contests
8. Do not use the same word twice in the headline or kicker
Gun haul
Manila cops seize 25 guns
from suspected bandits
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

9. Never use the word “may”. It denotes the

uncertain element of the story.

Wrong: Sayyaf may demand P1M for release

of 3 captives
Correct: Sayyaf demands P1M for release of
3 captives.
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE
10. To use direct quotation as head, use any of the
following forms instead of the traditional quotation
marks:

A. Using the dash instead of the quotation

mark.
Example: Truth commission repugnant – Miriam

B. Using the colon

Example: Joker: Cut debates, fast-track canvass
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE
C. Using narrative form
Example: No poverty reduction, says
Briones

11. Do not be in the negative.

Poor: Summer Training in Journalism won’t be held
Better: Summer Training in Journalism cancelled
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

12. The first letter of the word and proper nouns are
generally capitalized.
Example: Bell saves Tigers from Coffee Makers
13. Avoid awkward verbal breaks
Wrong: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life in
Malacanang
Right: Noynoy dreads ‘isolated’ life
in Malacanang
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

14. Mention only the name of person, who is

prominent
Wrong: Jacoba wins Microsoft global award
Right: Filipino wins Microsoft Global award

15. Use M for million and B for billion

Example: West Visayas gets P 600 M for typhoon
victims
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

16. Use comma instead of and.

Example: No goodbyes for Jamby, Nene, Mar, Noy
at Senate

17. Separate double headline by a semicolon.

Example: Bomb explodes at Koronadal market; 13
killed, 53 hurt

18. Do not end the headline with a period.

 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

19. Use infinitive for future events.

Example: Aquino to visit Saudi on way to NY

20. Avoid splitting compound word

Wrong: Aquino to award taxi
driver for honesty
Right: Aquino to award taxi driver for honesty
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

21. Avoid wooden heads or headlines without a verb.

Wrong: Ten student delegates at UN
Correct: Ten student delegates visit UN
22. Avoid splitting words that naturally go together
Wrong: Garcians celebrate Buwan
ng Wika with beauty tilt
Right: Garcians hold Buwan ng Wika with beauty
contest
 GUIDELINES IN WRITING HEADLINE

23. Do not start the headline with a verb.

Wrong: Destroy crops worth P 50 M

Correct: P 50M worth crops destroyed
 TYPES OF HEADLINE

A. According to Purpose
1. Informative or conventional headlines. They are
designed to inform. These are the ones the public
usually reads in broadsheet and tabloids
a. Palace dares Aquino to sustain economic
growth
b. Manual audit shows ‘no vote tampering’
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
2. Intriguing or feature headlines. Their main
purpose is to intrigue readers and elicit
responses. They often do not give the
summary of the story. Feature heads are
made more arresting by using different style
of writing and attractive font types.
a. What Happened to Tax Evaders?
b. Is there a need for Sex Education?
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
B. According to Style
1. All Caps Letters
Macau Approves New Labor Law

2. Combination of Cap and lower cases (CLC)

US scribes honor Pacquiao as year’s best

3. Sentence Case or Down Style

(Only the first letter of the first word is capitalized)
Macau approves new labor law
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
C. According to Structure
1. Flush left – two or more lines of headline are aligned at the left
edge the column
Example:
Lions, Archers
reach quarters
2. Flush right – two or more lines of headline are aligned at the right
edge of the column
Example:
US urges free access
to South China Sea
 TYPES OF HEADLINE

3. Dropline – two or three lines of headline, usually

of the same length and arranged diagonally

Example:
Female cop cited
For poll heroism
 TYPES OF HEADLINE

4. Hanging indention – usually three or more lines of

headline, the first line set flush to both margins and the
succeeding lines are indented or beginning several spaces
in from the left margin, thus hanging as if from the first
Example:
Military ready to step in
if anti-gov’t protests
turn violent
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
5. Crossline or barline – a single line of headline running
over two or more columns
Example:
Grenade blast kills 2 kids
6. Inverted pyramid – two or more lines of headline with
the first line flushed to both margin and the succeeding
lines getting shorter and centered
Example:
DepEd sets new guidelines
For teacher-applicants
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
7. Flushline of full line- consists of two or more
lines of the same length
Example:
2 low -pressure
areas spotted
8. Streamer – striking boldface head extending
across the top of the page
9. Umbrella – a streamer that is placed at the very
top of the page above the nameplate of the
newspaper
 TYPES OF HEADLINE
10. Binder – a streamer at the top of an inside page
11. Boxed head – the headline is boxed either for
prominence or to avoid tombstoning
12. Jump head (run-over head) – headline of a news
story, which is cut and continued on the inside page;
it is followed by the words from page __ or the like
13. Tagline, kicker or teaser – a short single line
placed above the main head, may be of smaller type,
underlined and set flush left or centered.
HEADLINE VOCABULARY
accord – agreement cite – enumerate, mention
allay – calm confab – conference
allot – apportion, set a side cop – police
anew – again cow- frighten
assail – attack crown – win
ax – dismiss curb – control, stop
bare – reveal, expose cut – decrease
bat – defend dip – decrease, decline
bid – request draw fire – to be criticized
blast – criticize dry run – rehearsal
HEADLINE VOCABULARY
due – deadline, scheduled hike – increase
ex – former hit – attack
to eye – consider inquiry – investigation
feud – quarrel, dispute ink – to sign a contract
foil – thwart, reject junk – to throw way, decline
gab – conference kin – family
gird – brace, prepare kit – package
go – try letup – temporary easing up
grill – question, interrogate link – connect
hail – welcome lull – calm
HEADLINE VOCABULARY
meet – conference, to convene
memo – memorandum
mull – plan, to think of
mum – silent
nab – arrest
nix – reject
okay – approve, accept
peg – to fix at a certain amount
or level
pit – oppose
post – position, to assign
power – electricity
probe – to investigate
prod – prick
quit – resign
quiz – question
ratify – approve
raze – destroy
revamp – to change, reshuffle
rift – disagreement
row – dispute, disagreement
HEADLINE VOCABULARY
rule – decide, decision
sans – without
scan – examine
scribe – newspaperman
shakeup – reshuffle
skip – avoid
slay – kill, assassinate
solon – lawmaker
try – attempt
MECHANICS OF HEADLINE WRITING
The next job of the copy editor after developing the
headline is to see to it that it fits on the allotted space
on the page. He now gives the necessary technical
instruction to the layout man on what font type and
size to be used and how it should be presented on the
page.

Example:
2-20TNRB W/ KICKER
MECHANICS OF HEADLINE WRITING
Number 2 means that head will run across two
columns of the page. Number 20 stands for the font
size to be used. TNRB refers to the font type Times
New Roman Bold and KICKER means a preliminary
head. The line below refers to the number of line or
deck the headline will have.
The final headline will look like this:
National Press Conference
NCR braces for top slot
UNIT COUNT IN HEADLINE

All small letters (except j, l, i, f, t, m and

w) = 1 unit
Small letters j, l, i, f, t = ½ unit
Small letters m and w = 1 ½ unit
All capital letter (except I, M and W)
Capital letters J I L T F = 1 ½ unit
Capital letters M and W = 1 unit
= 2 unit
 UNIT COUNT IN HEADLINE
All punctuation marks (except the dash,
= 1 unit
question mark, dollar, peso and percent sign)
Dash, question mark, dollar, peso and percent
sign = 1 unit
All number figures from 0 to 9 (except 1)
Number 1 = 1 unit
All spaces = ½ unit
= 1 unit
EXERCISES
Write headline from the following leads:

1. Investigators have found two apparent murder

victims at properties owned by a Muslim clan
accused of the Philippine’s worst political massacre,
the country’s justice secretary said.
Forensic experts found the skeketons in shallow
graves at a grassy field and a corn plantation owned
by the Ampatuan family in Southern Maguindanao
province, Justice Secretary Leila de Lima said.
EXERCISES

2. Starting April, the Quezon City

government will not allow construction of
new buildings in the city without complying
with “green building standards.”
EXERCISES

3. A United Nations independent expert has

urged the Philippines to adopt the necessary
measures to guarantee the protection and
safety of journalists.