“Try
to preserve an author's style if he is an author and has a style."
-- The New Yorker
"If your mother says she loves you, check it out."
-- John Bremner (copy editor extraordinaire)
"Never trust an editor. Never trust an editor. Never trust an editor."
-- Edna Buchanan (mystery writer and former Miami Herald crime
reporter)
WELCOME to the JOYS of EDITING! Never
mind the cynics. Editing is a creative, intellectually stimulating
and rewarding process – and everyone needs an editor. Good editors are
critical thinkers, able to see the big picture as well as the small
details. They can make sound ethical and legal decisions, and make them on deadline.
Good editors are good managers and good writers, capable of polishing
rough
copy until it shines without damaging the author's voice or style.
Their headlines are irresistible, their cutlines informative, their language
use impeccable and their page designs imaginative.
Editing Workshop covers both micro and macro editing; newspapers will
be our model though what you learn can be applied to editing in any medium
that uses words. Micro editing involves editing for clarity, with
an emphasis
on grammar, punctuation, spelling, syntax, style and general language
mastery. Macro editing is concerned with the big picture. It involves
story organization,
focus and objective. It requires developing ethical news judgment,
an understanding of your audience and a broad sense of what makes a good
story.
Because most editors handle at least some page layout, Editing Workshop
also will provide an introduction to design principles and use of visual
components, including type, photos and graphics. (Other courses in
the School of Journalism and Mass Communication provide more in-depth
work
in these areas.) Headlines and cutlines convey information as well
as create visual interest, and they’re the editor’s responsibilities,
too.
When you leave this class, you will be well on your way to being the kind
of editor that even a hard-nosed reporter such as Edna Buchanan CAN trust!
Iowa Dozen: Editing Workshop addresses several of
the School’s core
values and competencies, including:
- Writing
correctly, clearly and well.
- Editing
and evaluating carefully.
- Valuing
creativity and independence, along with truth, accuracy and fairness.
| LEARNING
ENABLEMENT: |
Jane would like to hear from anyone who has a disability that may
require modification of seating, grading or other class requirements
so appropriate arrangements may be made. Please see Jane after class
or during office hours, or make an appointment for an alternate time. |
| HONORS CREDIT: |
Any
student who is a member of the University Honors Program based
on his or
her overall UI GPA is eligible to take this course for
honors credit. If you’re interested, please come talk with
Jane about possibilities. |
| CLASS
POLICIES: |
Attendance: Failure to attend class regularly may adversely affect
your grade. In case of a dire emergency that prevents your being
with
us, you
must let Jane know the reason for your absence within 24 hours of
the missed class period. (E-mail is fine.) |
| |
Academic
Integrity: Please refer to the College of
Liberal Arts and Sciences Student
Academic Handbook for info
about
academic
honesty.
University penalties for plagiarism -- defined in Webster's New
World Dictionary as taking ideas, writings and so on from another and passing
them off as one's own -- range from grade reduction to dismissal
from the University. The same rules apply online as elsewhere: If
someone else created it, that person or organization owns it. For
journalists, plagiarism or other dishonesty is a sin deadly to any
career. Don’t do it. |
| |
Student
rights and responsibilities: You have the right to expect an environment
that enables you to learn. You have a responsibility
to colleagues and instructors to help create an environment in which
others may learn. If you have a complaint against any member of the
College’s teaching staff, you are responsible for following
the procedures described in the Student
Academic Handbook. In summary,
the manual advises you to try to work out a solution with the instructor
first; please come talk with Jane. If the complaint is not resolved
to your satisfaction, it should be taken up with the School’s
director, Pam Creedon. If the matter is still unresolved, you may
submit a written complaint to Associate Dean Helena Dettmer at 120
Schaeffer Hall. |
| |
Time
allocation: College policy states that for each semester hour
of credit in a course, students should expect to spend two hours
per week in out-of-class work or preparation. This is a 4 s.h. class,
which means an average of eight hours a week of outside-of-class
work. |
| |
Cross
enrollment: This course is given by the College of Liberal
Arts and Sciences (CLAS). Class policies on matters such as requirements,
grading and sanctions for academic dishonesty are governed by CLAS.
Students wishing to add or drop this course after the official deadline
must receive the approval of the CLAS dean. Details of the University
cross-enrollment policy are available for download from: www.uiowa.edu/~provost/deos/crossenroll.doc. |
| SCHOOL
INFORMATION: |
School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Main office: E305 Adler Journalism Buildingl
Office phone: 335-3401 (Lynne Richey or Rosemary
Zimmerman)
Director: Pam Creedon, E305B Adler Journalism
Building
335-3482; pam-creedon@uiowa.edu |
REQUIRED
BOOKS
and OTHER READINGS: |
The
Editorial Eye (2nd edition, 2004)
Jane Harrigan and Karen Brown Dunlap |
| |
Working
With Words (5th edition, 2003)
Brian S. Brooks, James L Pinson and Jean Gaddy Wilson |
| |
The
Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual
(2005 edition preferred)
The Associated Press (Norm Goldstein, editor) |
| |
A good dictionary.
Webster's New World Dictionary is the standard. |
| |
Five
professional daily newspapers are available to you through a minimal
student activities fee. Please read at least one daily. Editors
know what is going on in
the world
and think constantly about what is relevant,
useful, interesting and important to the people who rely on them
for information. Editors also look critically at design, or the way
information is presented. |
| RECOMMENDED
BOOK: |
Eats,
Shoots & Leaves (2003)
Lynne Truss
Maybe the only book about punctuation to be a best-seller! |
| Read
good news writers: |
One
of the best ways to become a good editor is to read good writers.
Seek
examples of strong print or online journalism and read them
critically -- look for what makes them compelling. You may have
your own favorites; among newspapers, Jane recommends The New
York Times and The Wall Street
Journal (especially
its feature stories) as particularly well-written and well-edited.
Develop the habit of clipping and saving (or printing out) fine pieces
of writing, as well as good and bad headlines and page designs. It's
a great
way to develop what your textbook authors call "an editorial
eye." |
| INSTRUCTOR: |
Dr.
Jane B. Singer
W341 Adler Journalism Building
335-3431
jane-singer@uiowa.edu |
| Office
hours: |
2:30
to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays and 9 to 11 a.m. Wednesdays
Or by appointment |
| About
your instructor: |
Jane
has 15 years experience as a print and online journalist. Starting
as a newspaper reporter, she moved to the copy desk after one year
and never looked back. She worked as a copy or city desk editor
at three East Coast newspapers before joining CBS in 1982 as an
editor of its fledgling “videotex” service. That project
evolved into the Prodigy Services Company, and she was Prodigy’s
first news manager. The job included staffing an online newsroom,
designing and producing various editorial sections, and maintaining
a "24/7" national news service. Jane holds a Ph.D. in
journalism from the University of Missouri, an M.A. in liberal
studies from New York University and a bachelor’s degree
in journalism from the University of Georgia. She has been at Iowa
since 1999. |
GRADING
Editing Workshop students can earn a total of 1,000 points. All
work must be completed on time to be eligible for full credit.
In general, Tuesdays will be for demonstration, discussion and practice;
most, though not all,
graded assignments will be completed in class (and on deadline!)
on Thursdays.
Below are the grading components for undergraduates. Graduate
students will meet with Jane during the first two weeks
of the semester to discuss additional requirements for earning graduate
credit.
PLUS-MINUS: We will use plus-minus indications for final grades.
GRADE CHANGES: If you believe a grade is wrong, you
must see Jane within one week after the graded item has been returned
to you. After that, the grade stands.
TESTS
(350 points total):
|
We
will have three tests this semester. They will combine material
covered
in class and in the readings with hands-on editing. The first
two will be worth 100 points each (10 percent of your final grade
each); the final will be worth 150
points (15 percent).
First
test: Thursday, February 16 (100 points)
Second
test: Thursday, March 30 (100 points)
Third
test: Monday, May 8 (150
points)
|
EXERCISES
(500 points total): |
We
will have in-class editing exercises (including headline writing
and other such tasks) most Thursdays. They will be worth 50 points
each (5 percent of your final
grade each).
In-class exercises:
Thursday, January 26
Thursday, February 2
Thursday, February 9
Thursday, February 23
Thursday, March 2
Thursday, March 9
Thursday, March 23
Thursday, April 6
Thursday, April 13
Thursday, April 27
|
DESIGN WORK
(100 points total): |
We will have two layout assignments this semester, designed to
give you an introduction to this visual component of editing.
Design projects: Due Thursday, April 20
(story and photo layout; 50 points)
Due Tuesday, May 2 (page layout; 50 points) |
BLOG
(50 points total): |
The
blog (iowajournalism136.blogspot.com)
is your online community. It is a place for you to talk
about editing, share
ideas, discuss guest speakers, ask and answer questions … and,
of course, gripe. From time to time, posting may be required
(for instance, in response to guest speakers); most of the time,
the blog is your own “open mic.” As encouragement
to speak up, you can earn 10 points for each post you originate
and 5 points for each comment you make in response to someone
else's post, to a maximum of 50 points.
|
PROPOSED SCHEDULE of CLASSES, READINGS and ASSIGNMENTS
After the first week, readings should be completed before class
on Tuesday.
Supplemental readings are possible as good new stuff becomes available.
If they are not online, these supplemental readings will be put on
reserve in the journalism resource center on the 3rd floor of Adler.
In addition to the readings from the two primary texts, you should use
the AP Stylebook as needed throughout the semester. It is especially
important that you know how and where to find material on such key style
issues as abbreviations, capitalization, numerals, punctuation of all
sorts, and titles. (The Working With Words [WWW] Appendix also covers
many of these key topics in a succinct format.)
| WEEK
ONE: INTRODUCTIONS and OVERVIEW |
Jan.
17
Jan. 19
|
Welcome
to Editing Workshop!
Panel of Professionals: Life as an editor
Iowa City Press-Citizen: Jim Lewers, Patrick Riepe, Emily Hagemann
Lone
Tree Reporter: Ray Weikal
Midwest
Living, Austin
American-Statesman, Chicago
Reader, Chicago Sun-Times:
Don McLeese
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 1, “Editors Today” (3-16)
Editorial Eye: Chapter 2, “The Copy Editor’s Role” (17-32)
SCAN:
Editorial Eye: Glossary (397-417)
DUE:
Thoughts about editors’ panel
Post to blog (iowajournalism136.blogspot.com)
by midnight Friday,
Jan. 20
|
| NOTE: The
next four weeks will be devoted primarily to a crash mini-course
in English-language “mechanics,” mostly
grammar and punctuation. Eats, Shoots & Leaves is highly
recommended as a supplemental reading during this segment. It is
a
delightful little book about such things as commas and apostrophes.
No kidding -- you’ll like it! |
| WEEK
TWO: EDITING for GRAMMAR |
Jan.
24
Jan. 26 |
Why
"mechanics" matter
Sentence structure: The basics
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 3, “Editing for Grammar” (33-69)
WWW: Chapter 1, “Grammar Basics” (3-15)
WWW: Chapter 2, “Phrases, Clauses and Sentences” (16-26)
SCAN:
WWW: Appendix, “Wire-Service Style Summary” (343-352)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, Jan. 26 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
THREE: MORE EDITING for GRAMMAR |
Jan.
31
Feb. 2 |
Subjects
and objects (aka nouns and pronouns)
Verbs
READ:
WWW: Chapter 3, “Subjects and Objects” (27-46)
WWW: Chapter 4, “Subject-Verb Agreement” (47-54)
WWW: Chapter 5, “Verbs” (55-80)
IN CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, Feb. 2 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
FOUR: EDITING for STYLE |
Feb.
7
Feb. 9 |
Modifiers
and connecting words
Editing
for (more than AP) style
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 4, “Editing for Style” (70-93)
WWW: Chapter 6, “Modifiers” (82-95)
WWW: Chapter 7, “Connecting Words” (96-101)
WWW: Chapter 11, “Writing as a Journalist” (221-234)
WWW: Chapter 12, “Conciseness” (235-268; skim list starting on 240)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, Feb. 9 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
FIVE: EDITING for PUNCTUATION and USAGE |
Feb.
14
Feb. 16 |
Punctuation
and usage
First test (100 points)
READ:
WWW: Chapter 8, “Usage” (102-159;
skim the lists starting on 104)
WWW: Chapter 9, “Punctuation” (163-183)
WWW: Chapter 10, “Spelling Relief” (184-218;
skim these lists, too)
|
| WEEK
SIX: EDITING for ACCURACY and FAIRNESS |
Feb.
21
Feb. 23 |
Editing
for accuracy and fairness
The "-isms"
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 5, “Editing for Accuracy
and Fairness” (94-132)
WWW: Chapter 13, “Sexism, Racism and Other `Isms’” (269-298)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, Feb. 23 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
SEVEN: UNDERSTANDING LEGAL and ETHICAL ISSUES |
Feb.
28
March 2 |
Ethical
issues
Legal issues
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 6, “Legal and Ethical Issues for Editors” (133-168)
AP Stylebook: Libel Manual, including Copyright Guidelines and FOIA info
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, March 2 (50 points) |
| WEEK
EIGHT: EDITING for OTHER MEDIA |
March
7
March 9 |
Editing
for online media
Editing for broadcast media, with special guest Cliff Brockman
READ:
WWW: Chapter 15, “Writing News for Broadcast” (317-331)
WWW: Chapter 16, “Writing for the Online Media” (332-342)
Dube, "Online
Storytelling Forms"
and “A Dozen Tips for Writing News Online”
Project for Excellence in Journalism (reposted from cyberjournalist.net)
journalism.org/resources/tools/writing/lessons/storytelling.asp?from=online
journalism.org/resources/tools/writing/lessons/tips.asp?from=online
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, March 9 (50 points)
|
WEEK
NINE: Have a safe and joyous Spring Break!! |
| WEEK
10: WRITING HEADLINES |
March
21
March 23 |
Introduction
to headline writing
A few more of the finer points of "heds"
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 10, “Writing Headlines” (253-284)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, March 23 (50 points)
Here
are shortcuts to the Web pages with basic info on writing and counting heds.
|
| WEEK
11: MORE WRITING HEADLINES |
March
28
March 30 |
Headlines
and design
Second test (100 points)
READ:
Catch up for the test … |
| NOTE: Readings
from the Newspaper Designer's Handbook will supplement
our design discussions and work in April. Details will be provided
in class. |
| WEEK
12: THINKING VISUALLY |
April
4
April 6 |
Photos
and Cutlines
Infographics
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 11, “Thinking Visually” (285-340)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, April 6 (50 points)
|
| WEEK
13: DESIGNING PAGES |
April
11
April 13 |
Introduction
to page and story design
Typography and a bit more about design
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 12, “Designing Pages” (341-378)
IN
CLASS:
Editing exercise, Thursday, April 13 (50 points) |
| WEEK
14: MORE DESIGNING PAGES |
April
18
April 20 |
Special
guest: Neil Brown, executive editor, St.
Petersburg (FL)
Times
Putting the pieces together on the page, plus a few special design
tricks
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 7, "Editing Information" (171-195)
IN
CLASS:
Two typed questions for Neil Brown, Tuesday, April 18 (5 points)
Story and photo layout, Thursday, April 20 (50 points) |
| WEEK
15: EDITING for INFORMATION and MEANING |
April
25
April 27 |
Editing
for information
Editing for meaning
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 8, “Editing Meaning: The Big Picture” (196-232)
WWW:
Chapter 14, “Writing News That’s Fit for Print” (301-316)
IN
CLASS:
Last editing exercise, Thursday, April 27! (50
points)
|
| WEEK
16: WORKING WITH WRITERS and NEXT STEPS |
May
2
May 4 |
By
the way, you’re a manager, too
Jobs in editing
READ:
Editorial Eye: Chapter 9, “Working With Writers” (233-250)
Editorial Eye: Chapter 13, “The Next Steps” (379-395)
IN
CLASS:
Page layout, Thursday, May 4 (50 points) |
FINAL
EXAM WEEK:
9:45 a.m. Monday, May 8
Third test (150 points)
|
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
Lots of great resources are available for editors. Many are listed at the ends
of the chapters in Working With Words. Here are a few of Jane’s picks,
some in print and others online:
| PROFESSIONAL
ORGANIZATIONS: |
|
|
| TRADE
MAGAZINES: |
|
|
| ONLINE
VARIETY PACK: |
|
|
| BOOKS: |
The
Careful Writer
|
Bernstein |
The
Elements of Style
|
Strunk
(and, in older editions, White) |
| On
Writing Well |
Zinsser |
Sin
and Syntax
|
Hale |
The
(Deluxe) Transitive Vampire (grammar)
|
Gordon |
| The
(New) Well-Tempered Sentence (punctuation) |
Gordon |
| When
Words Collide (grammar and style) |
Kessler
and McDonald |
| Words
Fail Me and/or Woe Is I |
O’Conner |
|
|
|