PUBLICATION LAYOUT AND DESIGN SUMMARY

Introduction to Copy Preparation

What is Copy? It refers both to text and all other materials like diagrams, pictures that are brought in to be worked upon for
the purpose of publication.

Why Must Copy be Prepared?

The various materials submitted for publishing are not ready to be published. They need to be worked upon to change them
from ‘raw food’ to ‘processed food’, or from raw materials to finished products. Remember that materials are not gathered
simply for the purpose of being gathered. They are gathered for the benefit of the reader, and unless the reader can derive
benefits from the materials, the publication cannot be said to be successful. This is the essence of copy preparation. It is
simply like preparing raw food so that it can become a delicacy.

Who Prepares Copy?

During copy flow, different people work on the draft or ‘raw material’ with a view to making it refined, better, or more
appropriate. They may add, subtract, rework, amend or do other things, which they believe, are necessary to make the copy
into what it is supposed to be, or to put it in a better stead to perform the function it is meant to perform.

The first person to work on the copy is the writer or reporter. the news editor or line editor works on it. if it is a sports story,
the sports editor is the line editor that will work on it. If it is a feature article, the features editor is the line editor that will
work on it.

The idea here is that apart from the originator of the copy, somebody else at this juncture, works on it. Two good heads, they
say are better than one. The subeditor (otherwise called the copy editor) performs the ultimate task in copy preparation. His
desk is the final quality control post before the material is published. As a result of this, it is usually assumed that copy is
prepared by the sub-editor.

The Meaning of Copy Preparation

Copy preparation is all about making copy suitable for publication, putting into consideration various factors such as the
audience, nature of the material and available space, among others. Copy preparation ensures that there are no missing
links, and that the reader is not given unnecessary and inappropriate copy.

Copy preparation refers to the handling, processing or treatment of copy after it has been submitted by the writer or
reporter.

Copy preparation involves a number of activities. These involve the following, among others:
Copy tasting,
Reading and reading copy,
Re-arranging (or rejigging) copy,
Re-writing copy,
Cutting and trimming copy,
Writing headlines.
Copytasting This is the very first step in copy preparation. Once a material is received, it is ‘copytasted’ to see if it should be
accepted or rejected. If it is considered acceptable, then a decision needs to be taken on which section of the publication it
can be considered for. Is it for news, metro, fashion, entertainment etc.

A copytaster who processes copy that comes in from news agencies (such as News Agency of Nigeria, NAN, Reuters, Agence
France Press, etc) is usually referred to as a cable Editor or Telegraph Editor. Different types of names are used for different
types of copytasters. Due to shortage of staff and other considerations, sometimes the task of copytasting is done by the
chief sub and copytasters are not employed.

Reading and Re-Reading Copy After copy has successfully scaled through the first stage called copytasting, it now faces a
new challenge. This second challenge involves reading and re-reading copy. For:

(a) For the purpose of adding anything that may have been left out;

(b) Removing any unnecessary or inappropriate material that is still contained in it;

(c) Generally making it refined.

Re-Arranging (or Rejigging) Copy Often, copy needs to be re-arranged (or rejigged) to make it more meaningful or more
logical. This may involve moving some portions (e.g. lines, paragraphs, sentences, phrases, words, etc.) away from where
they were originally. While some are moved forward, others may be moved backwards. It is like “juggling”, but the main aim
is to ensure that copy is excellent, appropriate and suitable.

Re-Writing Copy Sometimes, the whole copy or portions of it may need to be re-written. There are different reasons why
they may be re-written. These include the need to make them more explicit or more meaningful; to make them conform
with the publication’s house style; to make them fit into the available space, and so on and so forth. Sometimes, re-writing
helps to bring out the meaning or message of the copy more forcefully. At other times, re-writing is meant to help a writer
who has a very good idea but is unable to communicate such ideas as perspicuously as possible.

Cutting and Trimming Sometimes copy is too big and needs to be cut or trimmed to avoid boring the reader. At other times
it has nothing to do with boredom but space. Perhaps the available space is small and copy needs to be cut and trimmed so it
can enter.

Writing Headlines
Most people read newspapers because of catchy headlines. It is not the duty of reporters to write, craft, carve or cast
headlines. Copy editors are the ones that are trained to perform the function of writing appropriate headlines for copy.

Methods of Copy Preparation

There are two main methods of copy preparation, namely the manual method and the computer–assisted method.

Manual Method of Copy Preparation

Under the manual method of copy preparation, copy comes in handwritten or typed, and the sub editor reads through
manually to ensure correctness (in names, titles, dates, etc.). He also checks through for correct spellings and ensures that
the story conforms to the “housestyle” of the publication. The subeditor using the manual method also subs edits (or subs)
the copy, line after line, sentence after sentence, paragraph after paragraph, page after page, etc to ensure that it fits the
available space as specified by the layout. He then writes a headline that fits the allocated space and checks each paragraph
of copy to ensure correctness. Manual copy preparation is laborious and time consuming. Sometimes it could be very boring
too.

Computerised Copy Preparation

computer – assisted sub-editing is faster, more, efficient and precise. All the tasks performed by the subeditor working
manually are still performed, but this time not manually but using a computer.

Copy can be inputted directly into the computer by a reporter or writer, and even by an operator who is not necessarily a
journalist. This is the trend among up-to –date publishing houses in different parts of the world.

The basic principles that guide manual sub-editing still guide computerised sub-editing. These are:

Conciseness- which simply means using a few words to express an idea instead of using a multiplicity of words.

Accuracy of expression- which implies that an expression should say exactly what it is meant to say.

As a subeditor works on any copy (whether manually or computer – assisted) the following questions run through his
mind:

Is this the most appropriate way to express this idea or is there a better way of expressing it? If there is a better way, why am
I not using it?

Is this word correct in this context? Will my readers understand this word, or is there a more familiar alternative that I can
use?

Why should I use this word if the alternative is easier for the reader to understand?

Would it be better to shorten the words? That is, should I reduce the number of words?

If I reduce the number of words, will I still be properly understood, or will I be misunderstood?

The Computer and Copy Preparation

The computer facilitates more efficient, fast and precise copy preparation. The sub desk is a quality control post, and a
subeditor who competently uses the computer will produce better quality copies at a faster speed. Such a subeditor attracts
more respect than one who cannot use the computer

With a computer, the subeditor performs the following and other subbing tasks that are expected of him.

Editing for Clarity (Ensuring that Copy is as Clear as Possible)

Sometimes copy contains several ambiguities. After reading through it, the sub-editor may wonder what the main point is all
about. He may spend some time trying to get a proper understanding of the issue and the way it is presented. The final
reader out there does not have the time and patience to do this. He may simply dismiss the article and even the publication.
To avoid this type of negative reaction from esteemed readers, the sub desk works hard to eliminate all forms of ambiguity.
The duty of a subed includes simplifying or reworking parts of the expression which create lack of clarity.

Editing for Correctness of Grammar, Spelling and Punctuation

The way copy is punctuated conveys various meanings.

The duty of the sub-editor, among other things, is to ensure that the meanings of expressions in copy are clear, and that the
right meanings are conveyed.

English, like any other language, has rules that guide usage. The sub- editor ensures that copy complies with the rules of
usage. Expressions that do not comply with the rules of usage offend the sensibility of readers and the sub-editor works
towards ensuring that all such offensive expressions are eliminated from copy. Spelling errors are also a serious kind of
problem, and they can be highly embarrassing.

Editing for Style (Ensuring that the Appropriate House Style is Used)

Style is a very important thing in publishing. There are various definitions of style, but the baseline is that style differentiates
one thing from another. One style may be appropriate in one context but inappropriate in another. So style is not just about
correctness but also about appropriateness. It is because of the importance of style that publishing houses maintain house
styles that distinguish them from other publications.

Editing for Word Economy

Word economy simply involves ensuring that words are used as carefully and as skillfully as possible, to avoid the use of very
many, meaningless words.

Editing Pictures, Cartoons, Graphs, etc. and Ensuring that They have Appropriate Captions

Have you ever seen a picture and wondered why a better caption was not used? The query goes to the sub desk. It is the
duty of the subed to ensure that all illustrative materials, including photographs, cartoons, graphs, and others are properly
edited and correctly captioned. Wrong captions are particularly embarrassing, but again and again, some publications have
had to apologise to readers over the use of wrong captions.

-Sometimes the people in the photograph are wrongly identified.

-At other times, the order of identification is changed in error, so that instead of identifying the personalities in the picture
from the left as indicated, it is done from the right or vice versa.

-The wrong events or occasions are even identified sometimes. These are things which the subed checks before certifying
copy ready.

Ensuring that Background Information that Put Stories in Proper Perspective are Provided

There are some copies that readers may not readily understand unless the antecedents are well explained. For example, if
there is a copy that reports that somebody has been buried, the reader first needs to be told or reminded of the death. If
tears are reported to have flowed down a person’s cheeks at last, the reader will need to know or be reminded of what
transpired earlier on. If such background information is not provided the reader may not have a clear understanding of the
present situation.

Ensuring that Copy Fits into the Allocated Space

In the layout of any publication, spaces are provided for specific items. If the space is for a picture, the size is specified. If it is
for a text, a graph, etc, the space allocated is specified. The subed ensures that copy aligns with the space specification so
that no copy takes more than or less than what is specified.
THE STYLEBOOK

Style is a very important thing in publishing. Style is that element that distinguishes one thing from the other; one publication
from the other and one discipline from the other. Each publication or profession wants to be unique; to stand out of the
crowd. Journalistic style of writing, for example, is different from other forms of writing because of what is called the
inverted pyramid. When writing a news story, a journalist is expected to follow this style.

The Stylebook The stylebook codifies all these so that journalists can understand and comply. The stylebook is also used in
training people in a specified profession. Where there are no standards, people can act or write the way they want. But
where there are standards, a person’s performance can be measured against those standards. That is what the stylebook is
all about. Using of titles with names,

Journalistic Style Journalistic style refers to the copy style used by newspapers and magazines. The style of news writing is
usually different from the style of essays, letters and other forms of writing. Journalists usually adopt what is called the
inverted pyramid style in writing news. All the rules that guide the presentation of copy by journalists are referred to as
journalistic style.

It should be noted that style is not all about correctness or incorrectness. It is about what is acceptable (or conventional) and
what is not. A sentence may be grammatically correct but stylistically unacceptable.

Housestyle Apart from the general journalistic style of copy preparation, a particular media house may have specific rules
that guide the preparation of copy. This is called the housestyle and it differs from a particular media house to another. Style
is not a matter of correctness but a matter of what is acceptable and what is not acceptable.

Stylebook Errors Stylebook errors simply refer to things that are not acceptable in journalistic style of copy preparation, but
which find their way through.

PRINT PRODUCTION

God reportedly gave to Moses, the leader of the Jews in the era of the Exodus, two tablets of stones on MIt is evident that in
the days after this classical instance, etching letters on stones and other hard surfaces became popular. The problem,
however, was that although this method ensured that the texts survived for long periods, mass circulation was difficult
because the letters had to be carefully etched by diligent craftsmen. ount Sinai in the wilderness of Persia.

Formal written communication later began, with the invention of the ink, and scribes took over the duty of writing. The
scribes wrote long scripts on broad sheets called the scroll which could be rolled up at both ends.

RAW MATERIALS FOR PRINTING

There are two main raw materials for printing. These are: (a) Paper, and (b) Ink

Paper is now produced from wood, although it was initially developed from a plant that grew along the banks of River Nile in
Egypt. Paper is vital to printing, and it comes in different shapes, sizes and colours. For our present purpose, we shall look at
two different types of paper used in printing.

Briefly Calendered Paper

This refers to newsprint, the type of paper that is used in the production of most newspapers. It is one of the two paper
products that do not pass through what is called ‘stock preparation’. The other paper product that does not pass through
stock preparation is tissue paper. Newsprint is less glossy than other types of paper. Most other types of paper, during
production, pass though a set of rollers called the “calender stack”, to adjust their surface finish.

Newsprint usually comes in large reels and is usually one of the main items on which media houses expend money.

Super Calendered Paper This is a glossy form of newsprint. It goes through the calender stacks several times more than the
newsprint and comes out more refined and with less absorbent surface. It is more expensive than the conventional
newsprint, and most times, newspapers and magazines use them only for coloured pages such as those used for
advertisements, advertorials, special projects, etc. It must be quickly added that some types of paper used for printing
magazines are not in the category of super-calendered paper. They are chemically polished types of paper which are usually
more refined and more expensive than the super-calendered type of paper.

Ink

The kind of ink used in printing is not the water-based type used in pens and biros, but the vegetable oil-based type. It comes
in cans, and when the cans are opened the ink is usually semi-solid. The type of ink used in printing is made up of the
pigment. Without ink printing cannot take place because, it is only when ink is stamped or impressed on paper that printing
can be said to have taken place. As in the case of paper, a major challenge for Nigeria as a nation is to ensure the sustainable
production of high quality ink for the print industry. If high quality paper is available at an affordable price and printing ink is
not readily available at affordable price, the printing industry is still at a disadvantage.

TYPE COMPOSITION

The word ‘type’ refers to a letter, number or any other character used in printing. Type composition simply refers to the
process of bringing different “types” together to form a reading material or text. The types, as individuals, convey no
meaning,

In modern terms, type composition simply refers to the process of feeding materials into the computer, following the copy
editor’s instructions and arranging them in a proper, meaningful way.

There are various kinds of types or typefaces, and they are grouped into different families or classes, based on shared
identity. The conventional classification of types yields the following categories:

(a) Modern (b) Old style (c) Sans serif (d) Script (e) Venetian.

But the average computer has over several fonts from which the compositor may select,

What is uppermost in the mind of the copy editor as well as the compositor is readability. “How readable is this stuff to the
reader?”

In addition to readability which is a basic concern, other things are achieved during type composition and these include the
following among others.

(a) Harmony (b) Style (c) Colour-the emotion or the mood that is created
METHODS OF PRINTING

There are various methods of printing or printing processes. In this unit, we shall take a look at the five most common types.

The method of printing include the following:

(i) Lithography

(ii) Offset

(iii) Gravure

(iv) Screen process (otherwise known as silk-screen printing)

(v) Laser printing

Ways of Printing

Manually (hand-printing): Types are selected they are arranged the way they are to be printed and the appropriate type of
ink is put on them.

Machine printing: It is the more efficient, faster and cost-effective method of printing involving the use of machines. This
method involves the preparation of plates. It is from the plates that the impressions are produced. The process requires
much skill and it is generally more complex than hand printing.

The five methods of printing discussed below involve machine printing, because generally machine printing is more
popular and more advisable than hand printing.

Lithography: This involves printing from a smooth surface of a metal plate which has been treated such that the ink used
sticks to the design being printed.

Offset: It involves taking a photograph of the page to be printed and placing the negative, over a plate. The light – sensitive
plate is exposed to some ray of light through spaces on the negative, thereby hardening the letters. The non-printing surface
is washed away and the printed plate is soaked in water and later in ink. The inked letters are impressed on a rubber blanket
which then prints on paper.

Gravure: This is a printing process in which images are transferred from ink-filled depressions in a surface to the printing
paper. It is often used in the printing of photographs and artistic works because of its ability to reproduce excellently.

Screen Process (or Silk Screen Printing): This involves the use of a stencil. The stencil itself is a light (thin) sheet (or layer) of
cardboard (or metal) in which holes are cut in a shape such that a designed pattern (figure, letter, etc.) is produced when a
brush, with pigment, is run over
DESKTOP PUBLISHING

Steps/Process in Non-Desk Top Publishing

1 Preparation of Script, Manuscript or Text

2 Text composition/Compugraphics

3 Page Layouts

4 Linotronics

5 Printing

6 Sorting, Stitching and Binding

1. Preparation of Script, Manuscript or Text: Reporters, books written by an author is filed in hand-written. The preparation
of the copy involves editing it and then typing through a manual type-writer or an electronic typewriter.

2 Text composition/Compugraphics: Whether handwritten or typed, the material to be published needs to be further
processed on the text composer or the compugraphic system so that the galleys can be produced. The galley is a continuous
sheet on which the text has been typed in long columns. The galley proofs are proofread at this point for correctness,
preparatory to further processing.

3 Page Layouts: This is the process of page making because the galleys are being made into pages. In the process of making
the pages, each story, article, picture, cartoon, etc, is fitted into the space allocated for it. This becomes a camera-ready
artwork.
4 Linotronics: Negatives need to be produced at this point from the camera-ready artwork. Care is taken before this time to
ensure that there are no errors, because it is time-consuming and costly to begin to think of corrections at this time.

5 Printing: At this point, the negatives will give birth to reading materials. From the negatives the required numbers of copies
are mass-produced .The publication has put to bed.

6 Sorting, Stitching and Binding: The material that has just been printed needs to be sorted or arranged the way they are to
be distributed. If it is a book, the materials sorted and arranged may need to be stitched and guillotined

Processes of Non-DTP in brief

The copy has to be prepared satisfactorily, then on to the composition of text so that the galley proofs can be obtained and
proofread for correctness. Thereafter, the final proofs would be used to make up the page, ensuring that pictures, texts,
graphics, etc are properly fitted. After that, the negatives of the pages need to be produced through the linotronics process
before mass printing of the copies can be done. It is after this is done that the copies can be sorted, arranged and bound,
depending on the type of publication.
Since the processes involved in non-DTP publishing is long,

Disadvantages of Non-DTP Publishing

1. It involves a long process, and as such it is broken down into various small-sized tasks performed by different people. This
means that many hands are involved in the process of non-DTP publishing. This translates into higher overhead cost.
2. It consumes more time, the time required for non-DTP publishing is also long because each person in the production chain
has to complete his/her task and pass it on to the next person. Any delay within the chain could affect the final completion
time. Yet, in publishing there are so many deadlines to meet, and any loss of time has adverse consequences.
3. Non-DTP jobs do not come out as tidy as jobs done by DTP. This is because when DTP is used, the computer itself helps to
achieve accuracy and neatness, making the printed work to come out with more sharpness.

Desktop Publishing (DTP)

It is the exciting fusion of the technologies associated with digital typesetting and electrostatic printing. Digital typesetting,
on the other hand, refers to a computer-aided method of setting the types, preparatory to printing.

Steps/Process in Desktop Publishing

1 Preparation of Script, Manuscript or Text

2 Text Composition/Compugraphics

3 Page Layout

4 Printing]

1 Preparation of Script, Manuscript or Text: With the DTP, a reporter or an author does not need to pass through the
laborious process of writing in long hand, typing manually or on an electronic typewriter. The report or whatever it is, can be
put into the computer straight and saved.

2 Text Composition/Compugraphics: With the DTP the need to wait for compugraphic work is eliminated. Once the
materials are put into the computer and saved, they can be worked upon directly. If proofs are needed for the purpose of
proofreading, they can easily be printed out, and whatever corrections are needed can easily be effected. This helps to save
both time and energy.

3 Page Layout: This is easily done on computer with accuracy and precision. Physical cutting up and pasting of the galleys on
the cardboard to form pages is eliminated.

4. If the publisher decides to print directly from the computer or to produce negatives through the linotronics system, the
computer is a ready companion. For printing jobs that are simple, straight forward and not too voluminous, the publisher
may wish to print directly, but if the demands of the job are more complex, the computer is programmed to offer maximum
support and assistance

Benefits/Advantages of DTP

1 Simplification of the Process of Publishing

2 Interactiveness: DTP is such an interactive process that a user finds help readily available as the need arises.

3 Speed:

4 Storage and Retrieval

5 Neatness and Beauty of Final Print

6 Cost-Effectiveness

7 On-line Dissemination
CRITERIA FOR SUB-EDITING AND SUB-EDITING LINGUA

1 Accuracy and Style Unit

2 News Values Unit

3 Speed and Headlines Unit

4 Defamation Laws and Conventions Unit

5 The Sub-Editing Lingua

Two of the criteria that are used for sub-editing

Accuracy and Style

Accuracy

Inaccuracy is an attempt to place the basic truth above every other thing, including personal gifts. Readers will insist on the
truth, and if they cannot get the truth in your publication they will opt for other publications that can tell the truth the way it
is. If ten people died in an incident, do not add to or reduce from the figure. Say it the way it happened. Do not ‘garnish’ the
story. Aim for accuracy.

Style

Most of all they have to ‘see’ a story in its proper order. No matter how dramatic a story may be, it has to unfold simply and
logically. The last paragraph which should be the second paragraph; the second paragraph which should be the fourth. The
sub’s mind must run through the logical and fundamental questions. What happened? Where? To whom? When? Why?

when subbing, put yourself in the reader’s position. Would you be bothered to read on after such a confused intro? Would
you be bothered to sort out that complicated sentence in your mind? Would I yawn or wince on reading about industry
‘grinding to a halt’?

Also take note of expressions such as bilateral talks, high-powered delegation, landslide victory, unprecedented
achievement, mammoth crowd, etc. Avoid them because they do not add any value to your style. Instead, they take
something away. Sometimes they add a negative thing to how readers perceive your writing.

NEWS VALUES

The decision of choosing between copies to publish is called news judgment, while the factors put into consideration in
arriving at the decision are the news values.

News value refers to those things that make a given occurrence to have value or to be news worthy and make others to be of
little or no news value.

For anything to be newsworthy, it must have the following characteristics or news values:

(a) Timeliness, Immediacy or Currency (b)Oddity or Strangeness (c) Proximity or Nearness

(d) Prominence (e) Magnitude (f) Consequence 72 (g) Human Interest

SPEED AND HEADLINES

Speed: All news stories are subbed to a deadline. Given another half hour the subs might be able to write better headings
and polish stories more. But they haven’t got another half hour. The perfect story is useless if it misses the edition. It is worse
than useless if it delays the edition.

Headlines

The headline is an opportunity to sell the publication. It helps to flag down the attention of the reader.

it can put the reader off if it is not done the proper way. When there are problems with the headline, all eyes are on the sub
desk. The integrity of the sub desk is always at stake and in Nigeria; sub-eds have often caused heartache for reporters,
especially during the dark days of military rule. A reporter writes an innocent- looking story and the sub ed. puts an alarming
headline to sell the publication. it can put the reader off if it is not done the proper way. When there are problems with the
headline, all eyes are on the sub desk. The integrity of the sub desk is always at stake and in Nigeria; sub-eds have often
caused heartache for reporters, especially during the dark days of military rule. A reporter writes an innocent- looking story
and the sub ed. puts an alarming headline to sell the publication.

DEFAMATION LAWS AND CONVENTIONS

Defamation refers to injury to one’s reputation which tends to expose the person to odium, hatred, contempt or other
negative things.

The law of defamation exists to take care of violations of people’s reputation. Every citizen is supposed to value his/her
reputation. The law backs citizens up so that their hard-earned reputation is not needlessly damaged by others, including
journalists.

Defamation is two forms: Libel, which is written defamation, and slander, which is spoken defamation.

There are four essentials ingredients in libel

(a) Publication: This means that the offending matter must have been published.

(b) Identification: This means that the offended person must have been identified in the offending publication.

(c) Harmful Effect: This refers to the effect of loss of reputation.

(d) Third Party: This means that apart from the person who published the libelous material and the person claiming to have
been libeled, somebody else must have read the publication.

Where any of the above is missing, the case cannot be won.

Malice as a Factor in Libel

Malice refers to wrongful intention which the law presumes to accompany an unlawful act, including libel. Malice does not
necessarily mean personal spite or ill will. It may exist even though there is no spite or desire for vengeance in the ordinary
sense.
Defences for Libel

(a) Justification or Truth

(b) The Defence of Fair Comment/Criticism

(c) The Defence of Absolute/ Qualified Privilege

(d) Unintentional Defamation:

(e) Defence of Apology: apologises and retracts the story,

(f) Accord and Satisfaction a publication may approach the offended party for peaceful settlement.

(g) Statute of Limitation: This requires that action on libel must commence within six years of defamation. After that, the
allegation may become void

(h) Mitigation If your publication is found guilty of libel, a plea can be made for the mitigation of sentence. The most
common plea is retraction and apology. The publication retracts the libelous publication and goes ahead to apologise

THE SUBBING LINGUA

This is an expression that is peculiar to subbing or printing. It is an expression used in sub-editing.

Find below some of the expressions used in sub-editing, and their meaning:

1. A Copy: material to be added to a story already in type at a point indicated on an accompanying proof. Example: add
murder/A copy I, add murder/ A copy 2.

2. BF: Abb. Boldface Type.

3. Air: white space in a newspaper or magazine layout. Hence, ‘to give air’ is to increase the amount of space.

4. ADP: Abbreviation of Automatic Data Processing.

5. Accent: emphasis or main angle of story

6. Back of the book: pages behind the centre.

7. Blow up: to enlarge a photograph; also to overdramatise a report.

8. Baseline: imaginary line on which the primary letters align at the bottom.

9. Batter: to destroy a word or words in which a serious or legally dangerous error has been found too late for re- setting

10. Blob: a large black dot used for emphasis or to introduce a number of highlight points from an announcement.

11. Blanket, n., rubber-surfaced sheet clamped around the press cylinder in offset printing and transfers the image from the
plate to the paper.
THE PROCESS OF SUB EDITING

Copy Sources and the Copy Taster

The Copy Taster

The copy taster is the first filter in the system. Copy tasters discard or ‘spike’. They may decide that some items are more
suitable for separate sections like sports, property. They find errors of fact or presentation in copy. It is also the copy taster’s
job to ‘discover’ stories. he is expected to have an in-depth understanding of his publication’s housestyle and audience,
among other things.

Sources of Information for the Copy Taster

-Wire Service such as (AFP), NAN, Reuters, PTI

- Staff such as Chief Staff, Newsroom, General Round District, Special Round
Correspondents

- Photographers such as Staff Retained, Wire photos, Stringers, Freelancers

- Stringer

- Freelancer

THE EDITOR, CHIEF OF STAFF AND NEWS EDITOR

The Editor

An editor is somehow an embodiment of the roles of a copy taster, sub editor and writer.

The Chief of Staff and News Editor

The Chief of Staff and the News Editor are the people who usually decide what is to be story.

They know where to expect certain news items from as well as the competence of their reporters. Accordingly, they assign
the most appropriate reporters to cover unfolding stories.

THE CHIEF SUB AND HIS DEPUTY

is known to be in charge of newspaper production. Part of the Chief Sub’s duty is to meticulously check and cross-check to be
sure that a story is good enough to enter the available newshole.

Difference between Copy Taster, Sub editor, News Editor, Editor

The Checks Sub and the Stone Sub

When the table sub completes subbing work on copy, the copy goes on to the check or revise sub – if a paper is large enough
to have one. Revise sub is another name for Check sub.

There are many types of subbing errors that could be introduced into copy.
1. Spelling Errors:

2. Grammatical Errors

The Stone Sub

The final person in the chain is the stone sub. His is the final bus stop, so to say, before copy leaves the subbing line.

CATCHLINE, MAGAZINE AND SUBEDITORS’ MUSTS

Catchline: Any copy saved into a computer must be carefully catchlined – the one- word label for each item which accurately
denotes the story or piece.

Subeditors’ Musts

1. Be good reporters.
2. 2. Be expert in: grammar spelling punctuation media law
3. Have a design sense.
4. Understand typography.
5. Be numerate, so that they can: cast off; and fit: - illustrations - headlines - boxes - body copy

Techniques and Phases of Sub-Editing

First Reading: Is the newsworthiness?. Weed out any defamatory bits, correct any literals as well as catchlines.

Second Reading: to cast off copy and estimate by how much it must be cut or lengthened to fit the design of the page.

Third Reading: that the story is structured correctly, and if necessary to rewrite offending parts.

Fourth Reading: Now the sub aims to nitpick and polish. He also checks variations from the stylebook.

What Typography is All About?

Typography involves careful study, selection, composition and use of types in such a way as to enhance effective
communication.

There are four elements that can be derived from their statement

(a) Typography must aim at, and achieve legibility. (b) There must be ease of reading (c) Typography should facilitate reading
speed (d) Typography should encourage reading, in other words, it should not be a wet blanket

CASTING OFF AND HEADLINES

Functions of the Headline

1. The headline must make people want to read the story underneath.
 2. The headline should stimulate some response in the readers which sparks their curiosity and makes them feel
involved in the story.
3. The headline should catch the attention of the readers and draw them to the story.
4. The headline should tell the news by summarising the main ingredients of the story, but be careful not to cram in
too much information.
5. Headlines serve as an index of a page’s contents. They enable the readers to skim the page and pick out the stories
they are interested in.
6. The headline conveys the mood of an article. It indicates whether a story is humorous, cynical, serious….
7. Headlines set the tone of the newspaper.

Headline Variations

There are four ways of varying headlines, they are: Size, Weight, Style, Contrast

by size – headlines can be large or small. Remember, headline sizes should decrease down the page as we will see later in
this module. by weight – this refers to the thickness, or boldness of the letters. by style – in one typeface, capitals, lower
case or a mixture of both may be used. In the same sense, either the roman or the italic (but rarely) of a single typeface may
be used. by contrast – some typefaces may be used together successfully, others look awful.

Rules for Headlines

1. Use the active voice, and try to get the verb in early
2. A headline must never start with a verb.
3. Use the present tense,
4. Always use the subject with its verb.
5. Always use the positive aspect of the story in the headline.
6. Never repeat words in a headline
7. ‘Split’ headlines are bad news.
8. Avoid using the anonymous ‘he’ or ‘it’
9. Only use puns if they are very good.
10. Personalise headlines where possible.
11. Place names should only be used when they are well-known.
12. Abbreviations should only be used where they are part of everyday language and generally understood
13. Jargon, particularly police, academic and public-service jargon, should be avoided
14. avoid slang in headlines.
15. When using numerals, be as precise as possible.
16. punctuation in headlines is banned.
Types of Headlines

Fullout – All the lines of the headline fit the space exactly.

Flush left – All the lines of the headline are aligned on the left-hand side

Centred – Each line of the headline is centred across the column space

Reverse – The colour in the headline is reversed so that the letters are white on a black background.

Strapline – A short line of type above the main headline. It is usually about half to two-thirds the length of the main line.

Underscoring – underlining a headline. The