Good morning Leslie,
Thank you for the insights from the other side of the barricades. Brevity is
hard work, as expressing complex ideas succinctly is often of the order of
making an armchair out of a sofa: much gets lost in the process.
Like Avis, we'll just have to harder.
Much copy I get to see is written as a rational argument, whether the
subject is about facts or the abstract or not. i believe - and correct me if
I am wrong - that journos and editors look for the emotional, the passion
rather than the (boring) facts in a story, so when writing copy we may do
better if we can communicate in both languages 'simultaneously at the same
time': the rational and emotional.
Have a good time, rgds John
----- Original Message -----
From: Leslie Harris <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Sunday, January 30, 2000 1:07 PM
Subject: Of writers and editors
> I have been following the language debate with interest and have a few
> observations about the practical difficulties journalists and editors
face.
>
> I have worked on both sides of the fence in hournalism - first as a
> reporter, and now as a copy-editor. I quikly learned that once copy is
> submitted to the newsdesk, the reporter loses almost all claims to its
> contents. The best you can hope for is a sensitive copy editor who prefers
> to whittle text rather than slash it. They are rare. Too often what
appears
> in print under a reporter's byline bears very little resemblance to the
> copy that was submitted. Suggested headlines are almost never retained.
>
> Copy-editors face different pressures. First, the copy has to be edited to
> conform with the style of the publication. And it has to be made to fit
the
> space allocated. Particularly in newspapers, the advertiser is king, and
> stories are placed on a page around and between the ads. If new ads arrive
> late in the day, stories are cut again (and again) to accommodate the
advert.
>
> When the publication's style outlaws acronyms, as some do, the problem is
> exacerbated - the phrase "people with disabilities" for example can be
> almost one line in a column. In such cases the phrase "disabled people"
> (which appears acceptable to most and preferable to some in this country)
> is often substituted. And when even that is too long one tends to see "the
> disabled". At least one disability activist I know finds that term
acceptable.
>
> That said, there are some tricks which might help the piece survive
> relatively unscathed:
> * Before submitting anything yourself, contact the news editor of the
> publication and find out what sort of space s/he is likely to allocate.
>
> *Us the active tense, not the passive. It is shorter and more interesting
> for the reader.
>
> *Write the piece so that it can be edited easily - indicate which
> paragraphs can be excised, and which are crucial to the article.
>
> *Make all the important points close to the beginning - most editors lop
> paragraphs off the end when cutting.
>
> *Use short words (eg "about" instead of "approximately")
>
> *Use words, not phrases (eg "because" rather than "as a result of")
>
> *Newspaper editors and academics have different ideas of what a long
> article is - most news stories are between 250 and 350 words, a feature
> could be as long as 500 words, and op-ed feature articles are about 800 to
> 900 words. These numbers might vary from publication to publication. They
> are accurate for the newspaper I work at. As an example, I was recently
> assigned a closely argued op-ed item that was about 1000 words, with the
> instruction "Very long - slash and burn". I had to cut it to 650 words...
>
> These points don't guarantee that the piece will appear in print as you
> would like it to, but they do improve the odds. Unfortunately, many
> journalists break most of the above rules when writing their itmes. And,
in
> many publications, there is often an adversarial relationship between the
> reporting staff (journalists) and production staff (copy editors) wich can
> make things difficult.
>
> Apologies for the wordiness, and I hope this helps.
>
> Les
>
>
>
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