*The art of arranging, correcting, and

selecting the quality and type of news

that are within acceptable journalistic
standards in terms of style and editorial
policy.

*Specialist in this field is called a

copyreader/copy editor
*Copyreading gives the article the final
touch before it goes to the printer.

*Copyreading, editing, correcting the

article are synonymous terms.

*The copyreader goes over the article,

makes all the necessary corrections
*He reads the article very carefully
looking out for errors in grammar and
spelling, errors in fact and in style.
*He also does away with libelous
statements which harm the reputation of
the persons or subjects mentioned in the
article and which may put the editorial
staff in hot water.

*The copyreader also writes the headline

and determines the typography for it.
♦ edits errors on grammar (spelling,
tenses,etc.)
♦ edits errors of fact (accuracy check)
♦ judges news value (grading of news)
♦ edits verbose copy
(keeps the copy tight)
♦ writes the headline
♥ Must possess certain qualities not everybody
in the staff may have.

♥ Must have a good command of the language.

♥ Must have at his fingertips a good working

knowledge of the rules of grammar.
♥ Must have a wide vocabulary.
♥ Must be well-read and
must have a storage of
general and current
information.
♥ Must be well aware of
libel news.
♦ connect letters cea se fire won’t be an issue

♦ transpose letters time si glod

 
♦ transpose words if you happen know to the rules

♦ delete letters/words to prevent the plounder

reached a final conclusion

♦ spell out nos. ( 10 human rights victims)

♦ spell out words (former VP Noli de Castro)

♦ abbreviate nos. ( one-hundred per cent of the

respondents)

♦ abbreviate words (President Barack Obama)

♦ insert letters/words
( the trimph of Pcquiao dela Hoya)
♦ separate words theissue on CharterChange
♦ capitalize letters gen. jovito Palparan
♦ make letter lowercase Two solons
♦ period mark The seamen were freed
♦ restore The kidnap victim was released
♦ insert space andthey live happily everafter
♦ bold face the pauper
♦ paragraph Villar called for an entrepreneurial
revolution
♦ do not paragraph Villar called for an
entrepreneurial revolution.
♣ Whenever the copyreader sits down to work, he
has the intention of making the copy free of errors.

♣ It is the goal of copyreader, therefore, to do his

work systematically and efficiently.
♣ It would be good to follow the following
steps.
1. Read the whole article first to
determine what kind of story
it is.
2. Having determined the type of story, read the
article again.
3. This time, determine which is the lead
paragraph.
4. Read the story again and mark all paragraph
beginnings. Then correct errors in
grammar, spelling, punctuations
and style using copy reading
symbols.
5. Improve the organization of the story. Make
sure the lead features the lead fact.
6. Go over the whole story again. Remove all
unnecessary and irrelevant materials.
7. Check the length of the
story, then prepare the
clean copy.
8. Write a very catchy and fitting head-
line for the story.

9. Give the printer’s mark for the

body text and the headline.
Encircle the slug line.

10. The article is now ready

for printing.
☺An assemblage of
words written in bigger,
bolder letters than the
usual page text at the
beginning of the news,
also known as the head,
but not a title.
The word “headline” is understood
by many people to mean the biggest
story of the day. In journalism,
however, “headline” is the
title of a news story big
or small.
 There’s no doubt headlines are one
of the most important things to get
right, unfortunately they can also
be the most problematic too.

A good headline grabs the readers’

attention, and compels them to
read on.
A well-written story will
go unread if the headline
does not grab the reader.
Headlines also serve as a
graphic element on the
page
 Good headlines capture the
readers’ attention and
make them want to explore
the story.

 Bad headlines confuse

readers, turn them off,
invite criticism or invoke
laughter
♦ news headline – deals with hard facts and
summary
Ex.: Business leaders tackle global crisis

♦ feature headline – deals with novelty,

human interest element
Ex.: The sea is on red alert! (pertains to red
tide menace)
As title of the news, the headline serves
the following purposes:

1. It gives the summary of the news.

2. It allows the hurried reader to get a
quick glimpse of the news. Later in the
day, when he has the time, he will
read the story in its entirety.
As title of the news, the headline serves
the following purposes:

3. It indicates relative importance of the

story by the amount of display and
thus helps the reader evaluate the
significance of the news.

4. It contributes to the
physical attractiveness
of the paper.
• to attract readers (come-on element of headline)
• to tell the story (in a gist/summary)
• to add variety of type (break the monotony of
sea of type)
• to identify personality of newspaper (use of
font/style of letters)
• to index/grade the news (big type for important
news than less important)
1. The headline presents the news in
capsule, thus it is telegraphic.
2. It must contain the most important,
the most intriguing, the most
unusual fact of the story. It is not
the place for details.
3. It must be constructed as to catch the
reader’s attention and make him read
the story.
4. The size and length of the headline
must be proportional to the length of
the story
5. The headline is based on
the lead.
6. The headline makes use of special
vocabulary which is not suitable for
ordinary communication situations.
For example: the word “stude” is
headline equivalent for “student” as in
“Four studes win in quiz bee” However,
it is not acceptable to say there are
2,000 studes in our school.
1. The headline must have a verb and
it must be in the present tense.

Wrong: Cuadra topped editorial tilt

Correct: Cuadra tops editorial tilt

2. Do not use period.

3. Minimize punctuation marks. Use single
quotation marks. Use a comma in place
of “and” and a semicolon to separate
sentences.

Wrong:Rolling stores to sell rice and groceries

Correct: Rolling stores to sell rice, groceries
4. Don’t use the articles- a, an, the

Wrong: A fire hits the squatters’ area

Correct: Fire hits squatters’ area

5. Don’t use names unless the person is

well-known.
Wrong: Simon electrocuted
Correct: Electrician electrocuted
6. Use the infinitive for future events.

Wrong: City Hall will push anti-squatting drive

Correct: City Hall to push anti-squatting drive

7. Use specific terms instead of generalities

Wrong: School official gets scholarship

Correct: Principal gets US scholarship
1. Always in active voice / use action word
2. Use the present tense, historical present
and future tense
3. Prioritize use of subject / direct object
4. Must not hang prepositions
5. Never repeat words
6. Use familiar abbreviations only
7. No typographical errors/ grammar
errors
8. Reflect the tone of the story

9. Avoid labels / titles

10. Do not editorialize

11. Do not use negative construction

except when necessary
• fit into space
• must know the font size of letters
• must know the head unit count
• must know the number
of decks (layers of headline)
• must know the number
of columns (one, two,
three, four etc.)
♦ The verb is said to be in the active
voice when the doer of the action is in
the subject position.

♦ The ACTIVE Voice is preferred over the

PASSIVE voice because it is more vigorous;
however, the PASSIVE voice must be used
when the action is more significant than the
doer of the action.
Exercise 1: Write the correct form of the verb in the
following headlines. Observe agreement
between subject and the verb.

• CA (deny) Leviste’s petition for bail

• World pirate attacks (soar) in first quarter
• Noli (hail) Syria as RP ‘strategic partner
• Shell, Petron (raise) gas prices
• SC (uphold) oil deregulation law
• DSWD (launch) ‘war’ vs child abuse
• Local bets (win) in science fair
Cont… >>> Write the correct form of the verb in the
following headlines. Observe agreement
between subject and the verb.

• Fishermen (stage) Earth Day protest

• Rotary Club (donate) computers
• COMELEC (proclaim) 32 party list bets
• Failon (appeal) for privacy
• Cuadra (cop) 3 National awards
• Researcher (receive) US grant
• Local cadets (spearhead) projects
• RP, Spain (ink) accord
Exercise 2: Write the correct form of the verb in
the passive voice:

♦ Feeding program (launch)

♦ Resto owner (sue)
♦ Governor (probe) for P72M deficit
♦ Jueteng protectors in CL (identify)
♦ Scout master (kill) in camp site
♦ Shanties in Quiapo (demolish)
♦ Absentees (warn) of expulsion
♦ Parents of honor studes (cite)
♦ 4 holduppers (arrest) in Tondo
(wordy & weak) (better/briefer)
• for the reason that ------------ because
• a large proportion ------------ many
• at the present time ------------ now
• succumbed to injuries-------- died
• at an early date----------------- soon
• is of the opinion that ---------- believes
• in the neighborhood of ------- near
(wordy & weak)
(better/briefer)
• in the event of -------------------in case
• in spite of the fact ---------------although
• draw attention of --------------remind
• tendered his resignation ------resigned
• affixed his signature ---------- signed
• united in holy matrimony-----married
• held a conference ---------------met
• told his listeners ----------------said
 Access ………………......… Obtain
 Accompanied by …………
 Acute emergency …………
With
 Additionally ……………… Emergency
 Adequate enough ………... In addition
 Administrative assistant ...
 Advance planning ……….
Adequate
 Advance reservations ………. Secretary/clerk
 Affiliated with ……………….Planning

Reservations
With
• After careful consideration ….. After
considering
• Aggravated/non consensual/
forcible rape ………...
• Alcoholic liquor ……………… Rape
• And or ………………………. Liquor
• Answered in the negative …… Or
• At 4 a.m. this morning ……… Said no
4 a.m.
 At 5 p.m. last night ………….. 5 p.m.
 At an early date ……………….Soon
 At that time …………….. ……..Then

• At the intersection of
market and the main …………………
At market and main streets
• As in the case of …………………Like
 At this point in time ……… Now
 At which time …………….. When /During
 Attempted hold up ……….. Hold up
 Authored ………………….. Wrote
 Avenues to explore ……….. Ways
 Avid readers/sports fan ….. Readers
 Be cognizant of …………… Know
 Be in receipt of …………… Get
 Bitter quarrel …………….. Quarrel
 Conceptualize ……………… Think
 Concept …………………… Idea
 By virtue of the fact that …... Because
 During the period from ……. From
 Has the capability of ………. Can
 He is the man who ………….. He
 In the final analysis ………… Finally
 Brutal slaying ……………… Murder
 By the same token ………….. Equally
 By virtue of the fact ………… Because
 Call for ………………………. Propose
/Urge /ask
 Called her attention to
the fact that ……… Reminded
 Close proximity ……………. Near
 Come in contact with ………. Meet
 Counterproductive ……… Futile
 Currently ………………… Now
 Deplaned …………………. Left
 Despite the fact that ……... Although
 Downsizing ………………. Layoffs
 End result …………………result
 Exact replica …………….. Replica
 Featured speaker ………… Speaker
 Economically disadvantaged …. Poor
 Feedback ………………………..Response
 For the purpose of ……………. For / to
 Foreseeable future ……………. Future
 General consensus ……………. Consensus
 In case of ……………………… If
 In close proximity ……………. Near
 In excess of ……………………. More than
 In regard to ………………… About
 In the event that ……………. If
 Innovative …………………… New
 Is of the opinion ……………... Believes
 Make inquiry regarding ……. Inquiry
 Make mention of …………… Mention
 Near future …………………. Future
 Oral conversations …………. Talks
 Prioritize ……………………….Rank
 Produce an inhibitory

effect on ………….. Inhibit

 Ramification ………………….. Results
 Razed to the ground ………….. Razed
 Reach a truce ………………… Agree
 Repeat again ………………….. Repeat
 Rose to his feet ………………... Rose
 Serves the function of being ... Is
 State of the art ……………….New / Modern
 Student body ………………... Student
 Subsequent to ……………….. After
 Sufficient number ……………Enough
 Terminated ………………….. Fired
 time frame …………………… Schedule
 Track record ………………… Record
 Track record ……………….. Record
 Transpire n………………….. Happen
 True facts …………………… Facts
 Unconfirmed rumor ………... Rumor
 Visual observation …………. See / saw
 Voted unanimously …………. Passed
 Were as follows …………….. Were
 Would be killer …………….. Suspect
 congressman ………...solon
 decrease ……………. dip
 examination …………quiz
 announce …………….bare
 highlight ……………..cap
 speak …………………urge
 conference …………...confab
 investigation …………probe
 investigator …………..prober
 disapprove ……………buck, scrap
• dismiss …….quash • dispute …….... row
• charge ………rap • strengthen…... beef
up
• agreement …. Accord • practice ………hone
up
• sign ………….ink • praise …………laud
• question …….grill • year
………….milestone
• urge …………prod • delay …………snag
• mad killer …..amok • identify ……….finger
• capture ……...net • start …………..trigger
• disregard ……rule out • end …………...wind up
• lessen-----------allay
• approval --------nod
• arrest -----------nab
• student ---------
student
• writer -----------scribe
• government ----govt
• councilor --------dad
j i l t f --------½ unit J I L T F ----------1
? --------------1 unit space ------------- 1
all figures ---1 unit all small letters-- 1
dash (-) -----1½ small m & w -- 1½
M & W -----------2
all caps except MWJ I LT F--1½
42 points - 3 cols. – (21) max. count
____________________________
____________________________ (no. of decks)
 
Race Bias in Schools -20 unit counts
Described as Stupid -19.5 unit counts
☺drop-line (like a staircase)
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
☺hanging indention (top line flush at right)
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
☺inverted pyramid (from wide to narrow)
XXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXX
XXXX
☺flush-left (begin at left hand corner)
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
☺block (flush left and right, from margin to margin)
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
☺cross-line (one-line headline)
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
 ___________________________________
The House of Representatives is set to
conduct an inquiry into reports reports that
P250 million worth of lighthouse spareparts
are rotting in various warehouses of the
Philippine Coast Guard.
 ___________________________
Education Secretary Armin Luistro
reported yesterday that the Department
of Education had doubled the number of
public science elementary schools from
100 to 200 this school year to expand the
elementary education program with
strong emphasis on science.
 __________________________________

Bunawan Mayor Edwin Elorde on Sun

day said giant crocodile “Lolong” will remain
in captivity as he criticized non-government
organizations who want the animal returned
to the wild.
 __________________________________

MANILA, Philippines – A monsoon surge at

around noon on Wednesday caused floods
ranging from thigh- to gutter-deep in several
areas across Metro Manila, the Metropolitan
Manila Development Authority (MMDA)
reported.
 ____________________________

MANILA, Philippines - The Philippines

and Spain signed three agreements on
assistance for health reform efforts in
the Bicol and Caraga regions.
 COPYREADING AND HEADLINE WRITING
DIRECTIONS: Read the article carefully, then copyedit using
appropriate copy reading symbols. Write a one-line head as
indicated. News Headline: ( 2 cols , 60 points, TNRB, downstyle)

_______________________________________

Manila, Phil – the dept. of Foreign Affairs haas confirm

no no that Fil. was kill the in massive earth quake that

rocck central italy yesterday. but that some filipino family

loss their home in the treemor. the DfA receives initial

report fr. the phil embassy at rome that there is no fil.

Amon the cvasualties in the earthquake that strucks

cntral Italy particular in the city of L’Aquila Malaya

said in a text msg. DFA spokes person edardo malaya

says the Phil embassy in rome rported that the filipino

Who loss their homes was bein assisted by the local

Proteczioni Civile (civil protection office)

 FOR FUN!

1. Pulchritude does not possess profundity

of a merely cutaneous nature.
2. It is fruitless to become lachrymose
over precipitately departed lacteal fluid.
3. Lack of propinquity causes an
effulgence of partiality in the cardiac
area.
 1. Beauty is not only skin-deep.

 2. Absence makes the heart grow fonder.

 3. It is useless to cry over spilled milk.