Reporting, Editing

&
Production
Print Journalism – 1

Course BJMC 104

Lecture-3

Ratan Mani Lal

 The news desk
 Journalism and the world of media
have a tendency to emphasize the
reportorial function, because it is
the reporter that the public sees

 On the contrary, the role of a

copy-editor is anonymous one,
virtually unknown to the public
 What does the desk do?
 The general principles of editing are
to prepare, supervise, direct and re-
arrange material so as to make it fit
for publication or public consumption
 A sub-editor has to be well-versed in
what is being written about
 an expert in language
 capable of appreciating value in the
work of others
 Role of sub-editor
The role of the sub-editor is to:
 Understand what is meant to be said
 Simplify it, so that others understand
it better
 Rewrite it, so that its meaning is not
changed
 Localise it, so that the context is kept
intact
 More quality  The input is
received at the
than quantity newsroom from
various sources
from the world
over, whereas the
space available
for displaying
such material is
limited. Therefore
it is important to
cut down on
quantity to retain
quality.
 Assessing importance General
requirements
 Fixing length
(cut or add matter)

 Remove mistakes
(of fact & language)

 Ascertain liability
(responsibility of
source, writer)
 Requirements
 Ensure objectivity and legal clarity
 Decide length and display

 Break or make sentences, give headline

 A sub-editor must know…
 Language and grammar
 Production technique (typography
in case of print)
 Facts and law
 The publication’s intent, reach and
readership.
 Local, regional and national affairs.
Sub-editor & computer editing
 A great deal of copy
editing is actually
copy management
 In computer editing,

the uniformity of
fonts and type size,
spacing, indentation,
space adjustment
etc. can give the
looks of a properly
fixed copy.
 The craft of editing
 A good sub-editor knows that editing
craft demands responsibility more than
style.
 Neatness has

its own virtue,

but a mistake
amidst neatness
is doubly
unpardonable.
 The real issue
 The real issue is to understand the
story and its import, and to tell what
has happened
 The reader is supreme
 The reader is the real customer of
the newspaper and even the
advertiser prefers a newspaper
because of its readers.

 The reader ranges from the

virtually illiterate or neo-literate to
a laureate or someone with
extremes of reading ability
 For the masses
 The newspapers are meant for the
masses and must cater to the needs
of the masses

 If most readers fail to understand

news, the basic purpose of the
newspaper is lost

 It is the responsibility of a sub-editor

to ensure that it is not the case.
 Needs & constraints
 The role of a sub-editor is to keep in
mind the requirement and
constraints of the reader and the
organisation
 There might be a situation when the

reader does not want what the

newspaper wants them to read
 And the management does not want

to give the readers what they want

to read.
 Reader requirement
It comprises:
1. Facts
2. Short
3. Simple
4. Proximity
5. Interesting
6. Visual support
7. Catchy headline
 What is editing all about?
1. Collection of facts, figures and
examples at one place and the
sources.
2. Classification of the available
information (inputs) in categories
in chronological or in a certain
order.
3. Checking for errors of fact.
4. Checking of for errors of language.
 What is editing…
5. Adding relevant information to
ensure continuity.
6. Fixing the length (size) of the
inputs according to available space.
7. Removing bits of repetitive
information and adding disjointed
ends.
8. Giving a headline to the final
compiled work.
 …and this too!
9. Giving a display to the item
according to priority
10. Readjusting priority after
comparison with other items.
11. Designing the page with the
edited items by placing them in a
fashion that appeals to the
viewer/reader.
 Good expression
A sub-editor must-

 Have a good sense of

proportion and display
 Have good expression
and have a healthy,
unbiased interest in
everything (and that
includes everything)
 Style check
 Can switch
from one style
to another
without losing
control

 Has the
patience and
respect for
others’ work
 Copy testing
 This step means taking a decision on
the usefulness of a given item
 Item is tested for its-

 News Value

 Libel

 Slant

 Colour

 Advertisement

interest
 How to test

 News value:

The time-tested factors of

What, When, Where, Who,
Why, How are to be applied
 How to test
 Libel:

Defamation, deliberate or
intentional content to
damage someone’s
reputation
 How to test
 Slant:

Misinformation to favour a
particular viewpoint
 How to test….

 Colour:

To use language so as to
make it appear different
from what it actually is
 How to test….
 Advertisement matter:
Any matter that is in the nature of
the publicity of a commercial item or
organisation.
 Its not news if…
Items that:
 praise or condemn one item,
company, activity over the other
 make unnecessary reference to the
brand name of an item/company
 give information which is not
essential in public interest
 identify brands with a motive
The language
 In view of English
being a foreign
language adopted as
our own by us - it is
common for writers/
reporters as well as
sub-editors to commit
and come across errors
of language in daily
work
 Importance of language
 Writing for a mass medium must
convey meaning to an extremely
diverse audience
 For mass circulation the writing has
to be readable as well as correct
 Correct writing must never be
pompous
 Readable and meaningful writing
need not be incorrect
 Always remember

 The tense-
past, present, future –
never use together in one
sentence
 Always remember

 Direct & Indirect –

Must be correct
 Always remember

 Pause –

Rules for comma, colon,

full point
 Always remember

 Prepositions –

Follow the rules

 Always remember

 Verbs, adjectives & nouns

 Always remember

 Slang & vernacular

 The continuity
 All the information, which is being
received in the newsroom, has to be
constantly updated as later versions
keep coming in.
 A technical exercise
 To keep track of information from the
first flash to the overall lead

 Introducing continuity is the exercise

by which all similar stories are linked
to give shape to one comprehensive
report, and through which snatches
on one-line information are taken
from early reports to fill in gaps in
the later reports.
 Options

 Joining and
collation

 Re-writing
 Alert application of mind
 Clarity and maintaining of
chronological order are the two
main features of a good continuity
exercise

 The final product in this case

automatically takes on such
dimensions that any subsequent
events or bits of information can
be joined to it almost effortlessly.
 A paragraph
It is a structural part of a


written text, meant to give

pause or changing of
context.

Similar to chapters in a


book, these can be either in

continuation or independent
of each other
 Why a paragraph?
Paragraphs should occur when:
 There is a gap or pause in narration
 A change-over of context
 Change in sourcing

 A big story or big paragraph too

should be broken into smaller
paragraphs, and long sentences into
short ones.
 Conclusion

 The objective of editing is to help

the reader in smoothly
navigating through the
newspaper.

 Good editing makes it still easier.

Thank you