SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

STARTING STRONG:
ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM
TRAINING FOR SCHOOL
PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024

@ CEBU CITY SCIENCE HIGH SCHOOL
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

COPY READING
&
HEADLINE WRITING
HAIDE M. MAYOL
LALAINE W. KASAYAN
ROSEMARIE GABUYA
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

OBJECTIVES
o develop the ability to edit and proofread articles
for clarity, accuracy, grammar, and consistency,
ensuring that each story adheres to journalistic
standards.

STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

OBJECTIVES
o To increase awareness of common copy errors
(e.g., punctuation, spelling, subject-verb
agreement)

STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

OBJECTIVES
o To equip advisers with the skills to create clear,
concise, and attention-grabbing headlines that
accurately reflect the article’s content.)

STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

FACT OR BLUFF
The first letter of the
sentence is always
capitalized.
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

The first letter of the

sentence is always
capitalized.
FACT
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

FACT OR BLUFF
A period is usually used at
the end of the headline.

STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

A period is usually used at

the end of the headline.
BLUFF
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

FACT OR BLUFF
If the numbers are at the
beginning of the sentence, they
should be in words.
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

If the numbers are at the

beginning of the sentence, they
should be in words.
FACT
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

FACT OR BLUFF
=Set in numerals

STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS

DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

=Set in numerals

FACT
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

FACT OR BLUFF
KILL
=to delete one
paragraph
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
 SCHOOLS DIVISION OF CEBU CITY

KILL =to delete one

paragraph

FACT
STARTING STRONG: ESSENTIAL JOURNALISM TRAINING FOR SCHOOL PAPER ADVISERS
DECEMBER 16-18, 2024
@ VENUE
COPYREADING/
PAWAWASTO NG SIPI

Arrange / pasunod-sunurin
• Correct/ iwasto
 Copy Reading
gives the article the final
touch before it goes to the
printer
editing / correcting
Qualities of a Good
Copyreader

▪a good command of
the language
▪a wide vocabulary
• be well read and have
a storage of general &
current information
• be well aware of libel
laws
DUTIES of a COPYREADER
1. Check facts.
2. Check names, addresses, titles,
designations, etc.
3. Correct errors in grammar,
spelling, punctuation, usage,
organization and others.
 DUTIES of a COPYREADER
5. Write effective lead.
6. Cut or delete irrelevant
materials.
7. Delete “editorializing
materials” in a news.
8. Make articles conform
to editorial policies.
9. Guard against libelous
statement.
10. Write headlines and
decide its typography.
11. Make copy simple and clear.
12. Make copy conform to the
newspaper style sheets.
13 Give instruction to the
typesetter regarding font type
and font size to be used and the
number of columns and ems.
14. Check sluglines and
paging sequences.
15. Indicate corrections by
using the copyreading
marks.
1.Read the article first to
determine what kind of story it is.
2.Having determined the type
of story , read the article again.
3.Take note of errors in fact.
4. Read the story again and
mark all paragraph.
5. Improve the organization of
the story.
6. Go over the whole story
again.
7. Check the length of the story
and then prepare the clean
copy.
8. Write a very catchy and fitting
headline for the story.
9. Give the printer’s mark for both
the body text and the headline.
Write the slug line.
10. The article is now ready for
printing.
11. End page with a paragraph. Do
not cut paragraph and continue on
the next page.
12. Write “more” at the bottom of
the page of unfinished story and
continue the next sheet. Do not
use the back page of the paper.
13. On the second page, instead of numbering
as page 2, label it “first add” or “add one”
followed by the slug. For example, “first add
kidnap” or “add one kidnap”.
14. End the story with number 30 or sharp (#).
15. If the copy could hardly be read because of
so many corrections, retype it if time permits
to facilitate editing and typesetting.
Writing the Headline
 Headline means the
biggest story of the day.
In journalism, HEADLINE
is the title of the news story
big or small.
http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS903Gr3jmcQ4nYA7C39PAd2ZCjs7Cwo8MaDn1E4ZwIDBlb7hm34lHbEQ
 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.
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 newspaper.
Some things to remember
about headlines.
1. The headline presents the
news in a 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
place for details.
3. It must be so constructed
as to catch the reader’s
attention and make him read
the story.
4. Size and length of the
headline must be propor-
tional to the length of the
story and its importance.
5. The headline is based on
the lead.
6. The headline makes use of
special vocabulary which is
not suitable for ordinary com-
munication situations.
Ex- stude –student
Rules in Writing Headlines
1.The headline must have a
verb and it must be in the
present tense.
Wrong: Reyes topped editorial tilt
Correct: Reyes tops editorial tilt
2. Do not use a 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 in Tondo
Correct:
Fire hits squatters’ area in Tondo
5. Don’t use names unless the
person is well-known
Wrong: Santos electrocuted
Correct: Carpenter electrocuted
6. Use the infinitives 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
8. The maximum headline length is
eight words.
9. Use short(one or two syllables),
simple words in place of long
words. For instance, us bare
instead of reveal, confab instead of
conference, hike instead of
increase, quit instead of resign
10. Leave out the helping verbs is
and are .
Wrong:
Environmental drive is going full blast
Correct:
Environmental drive going full blast
11. Active verbs are preferred over
passive verbs, as the former are
stronger the latter.
ACTIVE: Honest driver gets award
PASSIVE: Honest Driver awarded
12. Don’t use abbreviations except
those which are very well-known
such as PTA.
13. When initials are used, do not
allow space or add a period
between letters.
Wrong: F.V.R. Correct: FVR
14. Use numbers only if they are
important. Avoid starting a
headline with a number as much as
possible. When numbers are used,
they appear as numerals.
Ex. FVR cites 10 top students
15. Avoid using the word “may” in
heads. Avoid negative heads. They
weaken not only the headlines but
also the story.
16. Avoid ungrammatical
construction in headlines.
Wrong: Teachers urges salary hike
Correct: Teachers urge salary hike
.
17. The headline and the story
must agree.
18. Headlines for feature stories
may deviate from the strict rules
for heads of straight news stories.
 Counting the
Units in Headline
Units in Headline
The Unit Equivalents of Letters and
Punctuation Marks
1. All lower case letters except j, i , l
and m , w , f . = 1 unit
2. Lower case m and w =1 ½ unit
3. Lower case i , t , l and some
styles of j and f = ½ unit
4. All punctuation marks except
em dash, double quotations and
question mark = ½ unit
5. All capitals except M , W , L and
em dash = 1½ unit
6. Capitals M and W = 2 units
7. Capitals I and J, quotation marks,
question mark, space, all figures and
all lower case letters except m , w , j , i
, l , t , f = 1 unit
8. The larger the type, the fewer the
units in each line.
9. Type is measured by points,with 72
points in type that is one inch high.
10. Type sizes 14 point or smaller
may be counted by the letter rater
than by unit.
11. Heads set in all capital letters do
not use the foregoing count. Each
letter is counted as one unit, except
M and W, which count 1½. Capital I
and figure 1 count ½ unit each.
Spaces count 1 unit , punctuation
marks ½ , except the dash and
double quotation marks.
12. Most newspapers use
downstyle headlines, with the first
words of the head and the proper
nouns capitalized.