Articles in newspapers and magazines undergo processes before submission and publication conducted by editors with expertise who are responsible for ensuring grammar, organization, and checking the contents of the article (mechanics of writing).
What is read and presented in newspapers, novels, and texts reflects the processes thoroughly ensured to heed the standards of publication and ensure completeness. Those responsible for the aforementioned processes are called editors, proofreaders, and copyeditors.
Their roles in editing, proofreading, and copyediting are among these processes which are vital constituents in journalism. Editing is where grammar, organization, and contents of the article are revised. Its process involves close reading (looking/studying the sentences, punctuations, and paragraphs carefully) and ensuring the article is well organized, well designed, and serves its purpose.
Proofreading is where the final draft of a text is examined and thoroughly checked after it has been edited, thus, it also includes ensuring scarcity in errors and mistakes in grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Its process also involves checking of the text style consistency such as highlights, bold and italics, spacing, fonts, underscore, and more.
Copyediting or copyreading is a more in-depth process as it not only involves proofreading checks but revision in order to improve flow, consistency, structure, and style as well. Its process also centralizes on checking the consistency in spelling, capitalization, font usage, numerals, and hyphenations as well as checking for the style consistency, cohesiveness, and completeness of every element in the story. Copyeditors are therefore the partner in publications as they ensure the manuscript/text tells the best story possible.
Apart from these editors, desk editors also bear the responsibility for editing the final contents of a draft before publication. They are also known as "assignment editors" and not only are they responsible for the coverage of news stories in their respective media outlets, they also manage and delegate the coverage of news items for print, broadcast, and online news media.
Other than that, these editors also monitor police scanners, Internet sources, newsroom telephones, and wire services to gather leads on possible news stories or newsworthy topics. Desk or assignment editors are responsible for monitoring the status of news teams and with coordination of the coverage of multiple stories all at once, therefore, requiring organization and management skills.
They decide what will be covered and they also assign coverage to the news team members (writers, reporters, photographers, and etc.) working sufficiently and efficiently to ensure everything is met and achieved before the deadline.
At print outlets, these editors edit and review completed work, check for accuracy, select photographs, and correct errors. They also decide the alteration or addition of materials in the final layout or content of the publication. In addition, the deskwork refers to the overall and general functions of desk editors which are the following:
· Tasting – A “taster” or slot desker is the one who is responsible for the assessment of incoming copies. The primary role is to give priority to urgent news, deciding which stories need attention, and which stories need referral back to the reporter.
· Product Management – Desks also have a product management role in which case, they hold the responsibility for checking stories that have already been received by the target audience, making corrections, and with regards to advisories.
· Single/Multi-take Filing – Stories are to be filed on a single page in nearly all circumstances. Occasionally, however, a second take is necessary, most commonly to add cross-reference information. In such cases, the second take uses the same Unique Story Number.
· Sub-Editing – A copy editor’s approach is divided into two or three stages: the news story must be ensured to be in a logical structure, thus, the lead, sourcing, and context must be relocated in order to avoid "buried leads" and "buried sourcing". The second stage is where fairness and accuracy are assessed, thus, the checking of key facts, context, and sourcing are assessed. The final stage is where the sub-editor comes into view - the responsibility is to check the story for typos and grammar, website addresses, dateline, and many more.
· Filing – The filer may be the sub-editor and is the one responsible for making sure the fundamentals and codes to ensure the story reaches the audience and the clients. Other responsibilities include final coding, deciding the story for clients/the audience, and checking the headline and slug before filing the story.
· Bureau Support – Deskers are encouraged to reinforce the bureau on big stories, just as reporters are encouraged to spend time on desks. They help drive files and often assist reporting bureau chiefs and team editors in co-coordinating stories concerning a large community or that of which affects more than one country or region. Their responsibility may also include writing news summaries, breaking news updates, or monitoring news sources such as broadcasters and websites.
A newspaper publication cannot survive without an audience. If an article fails to give information and creates an abstinence of interesting value to the readers, the newspaper will therefore be of no value.
In order to garner interest and gain the support of the readers, elements of internal value creation process such as design, editing, and credibility among the few, are the integral aspects that reflect the publication’s journalistic standards and its impact to the readers, thus, these elements are as vital as the paper.
These elements are parts of the work process which also includes product design and delivery, business, customer support, support processes, and etc. These processes involve the majority of the organization or publication’s workforce, stakeholders, and value.
The key work fundamentally relates to the core competencies: factors that determine the success rate relevant to rival publications, and to the aspects regarding business growth. Journalism cannot serve the people if it does not have support – be it be by the people, publication staff, or finances. Newspapers cannot be printed and reports cannot be broadcasted if there is no support process.
Everything consists of processes and procedures. Copyediting is one that is divided into stages with each containing respective procedures and focus, and each usually done by the same editor. A skillful and competent editor uses tools in order to make each stage accurate and efficient, however, the tool depends on the style of the editor. Here are some of the following procedures in copyediting:
· Familiarization of the Editorial Procedures – Necessary reference materials must be obtained. The preferred style guide is up to the person or agency provided the copy edit. Use copy editing marks when editing copy on paper for there are certain editorial shorthand marks which are necessary to be known and used. These marks are nearly universal and will be recognized by other editors, making the task as a copy editor much easier. The editor must be familiar with the editorial software such as using Microsoft word and the like.
· Initial Read-Throughs – The first time of reading the draft should be about getting the big picture and should be free of any editing suggestions. The editor must first read the entire work as a whole before providing notes in order to help with the familiarity of the text and to better understand the writer. The goal is to be aware and to pinpoint the flow and consistency of the text.
· Second Reading and Decision-Making (plan making) – After completing the initial reading of the text, the editor must go back and read it again with a few questions in mind: "Is the writing properly conveying the author’s intent? Do the sentences work logically? Are the pieces of information structured chronologically? Does the piece have a consistent voice/style? Are there any factual or detail inconsistencies? Do the ideas flow smoothly from one sentence to the next and one paragraph to the next?" The editor must create a list of notes in order to have a plan which can address the possible gaps and fill the gaps with.
· Go Line-by-Line – Once the editor has analyzed the writing and formulated a plan for how to edit, he or she should start at the beginning again. Through this, the editor will be able to understand the style and consistency of the text. He or she must then work his or her way through each sentence, implementing any line edits or suggestions.
· Begin a Copy Edit – The editor should skim the entire copy before beginning with the editing process. The tone, content, and formatting of the piece/text should be familiarized. This process is also where the editor starts with correcting grammar/spelling mistakes and wording. Spelling errors crop up in every text, and it is mostly up to copy editors to catch and correct them. The responsibility is to ensure the draft follows correct grammar rules, thus, ambiguous, incorrect punctuations and grammatical errors are corrected. An integral part of this stage is to ensure all abbreviations are defined.
· Ensure Consistency and Structure in Copy – The editor must remove/replace awkward and ambiguous wording acceptable by publication standards. The absence of clarity in wording can only be solved when the editor leaves a note requesting clarification. Correcting ambiguity includes revising passive voice depending on the subject and action. The details should be consistent throughout the entire text and it is up to the editor to examine the logical structure of the copy, and that sections and ideas should be demonstrated well in order to create a build-up or in order to lead up to a climax. Portions and pieces of information should be edited and moved until the progression of ideas makes more sense, emphasis, and gives a clearer idea/picture. Another responsibility of the editor is to ensure that the tone and wording are appropriate for the intended audience, the accuracy of facts must be verified, and the statistics must be provided in the copy.
· Do a Final Read – The editor must check his or her own work. It is important that the editing services help with the improvement of the readability of the writing, however, it must avoid obscuring or complicating the text - although there is a proofing stage, the text should be ensured as error-free as possible.
