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Figure 5-6. All  Hands  excerpt.
Preparing the Rough

Journalist 3 & 2 - Introduction to Journalism and other reporting practices
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CHAPTER  6 COPY   EDITING One of the most important and exacting jobs on any publication is that of written copy being given the final professional touch of accuracy. This job of catching and correcting inaccuracies before they can be printed and distributed is called copy editing. Readers  may  have  a  high  regard  for  a  newspaper that is carefully edited, but they quickly lose respect for one that is sloppy and full of errors. The   copy.   editor   of   both   civilian   and   Navy publications represents the last line of defense against incorrect copy reaching the reader. It is the copy editor’s job  to  make  sure  copy  is  not  printed  unless  it  meets certain standards. The copy editor is the guardian of both style  and  accuracy. Always  on  the  alert  for  questionable  facts, ambiguous statements and violations of office policy, the copy editor must catch errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, capitalization, and so forth; cutout words or sentences that are not needed; and add copy when  necessary  for  clarity,  emphasis  or  continuity. Another  responsibility  of  the  copy  editor  is  to restore objectivity to a story in places where a writer may have editorialized, quoted out of context or inserted an opinion without attribution to a source or pertinent authority. Also, the copy editor is constantly alert for statements of a libelous or slanderous nature. (Libel and slander are covered in Chapter 10.) The  copy  editor  of  a  civilian  newspaper  has  an additional  function  of  assigning  headlines  for  the  edited stories. Navy copy editors, unless they are editing stories for   use   in   ship   or   station   newspapers,   have   no responsibilities   in   this   area.   They   could   hardly   be expected  to  know  the  styles,  formats  and  individual editorial needs of all the newspapers that receive news releases  from  a  public  affairs  office.  It  is,  however, sometimes appropriate to put a brief heading on a story to  identify  its  subject  readily. Like   any   typical,   beginning   newswriter,   the neophyte   JO   is   dismayed   to   see   his   “literary masterpiece”  chopped  up,  pasted  back  together  again and scored with the copy editor’s pencil. Nevertheless, two minds are usually better than one. Most experienced writers  will  admit  that  the  final  result,  despite  its mangled appearance, is abetter piece of writing. Security is of the utmost importance in the armed forces.  The  responsibility  for  security  lies  with  every person who, in any way, handles a story, but the copy editor sometimes represents the last defense against a possible violation. If you have doubts about the security classification of any information you receive, check it with  your  security  officer. This  chapter  acquaints  you  with  the  standard symbols and style used by the copy editor and explains the procedures, rules and guidelines of copy editing. The basic pattern of news style in this chapter follows the style   of   The   Associated   Press   and   United   Press International.  Most  newspapers  in  the  United  States now  use  this  style.  The  recommended  guide  for preparing  military  news  is  the  latest  version  of  The Associated Press Stylebook and Libel Manual. COPY-EDITING  PROCEDURES LEARNING   OBJECTIVE:   Identify   the   basic guidelines of copy editing. Copy editing follows a set system of procedures. To be absolutely accurate, you should read each story in the following   manner: Read the story quickly to grasp its meaning and note its arrangement. Read the story more slowly and more thoroughly to  correct  every  mistake  and  to  add  or  delete material  as  necessary. Read the story again to check the copy editor’s own  corrections. The final check is also intended to make sure that no new errors occurred in copy editing and that the story reads  smoothly. If  the  story  contains  too  many  mistakes  and  it appears obvious that copy editing will not improve it, the story goes back to the originating JO for rewriting, or in the case of copy received from outside sources, to a  rewriter. 6-1







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