Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course

Newswriting

Copy-editing and AP Stylebook

familiarization
The AP stylebook can help military
journalists correct typographical errors
that appear in a publication. Errors chip
away at the publication’s credibility.

Every time a journalist uses improper

grammar in a story, people read it and
wonder why a trained writer has made
such a blatant error. It is extremely
important for a public affairs office to
make sure everything it publishes is
absolutely accurate – from spelling to
grammar to punctuation to facts.

Effective copy-editing concentrates

on the nuts and bolts of journalism:
ensuring accuracy, using proper grammar
and Associated Press style, eliminating
wordiness from copy, fine-tuning copy and
rewriting.

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 Apply English Skills Newswriting

Copy-editing yy Wordiness means the writer is

using too many words to express a
thought. Some examples:
responsibilities 1. Large number of instead of
many
Copy-editing corrects stories and
2. In the course of instead of
improves the mechanics, flow and
while or during
cohesiveness of the text. When you
3. Render assistance instead of
know grammar, good writing practices
help
and editing symbols, you can swiftly edit
4. During the time that instead
stories to meet deadlines. Journalists must
of while
review their work to find and correct all
5. Officially designated
errors in:
representative instead of

representative
Facts and accuracy – When
published, readers almost always catch
Clarity – The writer must edit the
errors in accuracy. Errors detract from
copy to make sure it is free of technical
the paper’s credibility and the writer’s
words, jargon and other words or phrases
ability to communicate. Errors are most
readers may not be familiar with.
often found in rank usage, name spelling,
title usage, locations of events, dates and
Spelling – Correct spelling signals
times, telephone numbers and statistics/
that your staff upholds precision and
numbers.
professionalism. There is no excuse for
misspellings in a newspaper. You can
yy Names – Of all errors a writer can
train your eye to spot spelling errors
commit, the most inexcusable is
by becoming familiar with words you
to spell a person’s name wrong.
commonly misspell and words other
Double- and triple-check the
people commonly misspell.
spellings of names. Box and tick
them on first reference, ensuring
Style – refers to the uniform way to
each letter of the name is correct
write or refer to things. In journalism,
as you do.
this uniformity helps make stories easier
to read and it presents a professional
yy Numbers – Always double-check
product to readers. The Associated
figures and verify tabulations,
Press Stylebook provides consistency in
percentages and casualty lists. A
presenting information, but your unit may
misplaced comma or decimal can
have its own local stylebook supplement.
make a huge difference.
We’ll talk about the AP Stylebook a little
later in this lesson.
Brevity – A reader can easily lose
track of the intent of a story if it is cloaked
Grammar – The journalist who uses
in wordiness and redundancy. These
language correctly increases readers’
are common writing defects that can be
understanding of the text. Grammatical
eliminated. You need to ensure stories are
errors place the writer on a mediocre
clear and concise.
level and make the newspaper seem
unprofessional. If necessary, do extra
English grammar. Several grammar

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tutorials and reference books are available
at the schoolhouse, your post library,
your local bookstores and in the additional
resources link for this course.
Policy – The copy editor ensures
violations of service policies, statements in
bad taste or security violations are deleted
from stories. It is your responsibility to
ensure the content of your publication
doesn’t violate the sensitivities of the
community. Refrain from including
vulgarity, gore, obscenity, lewdness,
excessive violence and information that
may ridicule the military or its members.
Journalists should become familiar with
the appropriate regulations, policies and
instructions to be able to identify potential
policy violations.
Three-step copy-editing method
– If there are major problems with the
story, spend time improving the content of
the story. After you gain more experience
and confidence in your copy-editing
ability, you will probably streamline the
way you copy-edit.
yy Second, read for errors. Look for
all the mechanics. It may help to
break this step into two or more
readings so each time you look
for specific errors. The mind tends
to remember the last kind of
error caught and can skip over a
different type.
yy The third reading is for polish. This
is where you look at the phrasing,
descriptions, narrations and
paraphrases and try to make them
as well written as possible.
Copy-editing a story is no easy task.
As you gain more experience, you’ll
see first-hand why the writing process
demands an eye for detail. Next, let’s talk
about some of the tools and resources
you have available to aid in the editing
process.

yy Read first just for the tone of the

story. See if it is a good piece
of writing: do not try to catch or
correct errors; this will distract
you from reading for tone. Also be
on the lookout for omissions and
confusing phrases.

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 Apply English Skills
Tools and
Resources
As a journalist, you should
be aware of all of the tools and
resources available to correct
and improve stories. We’re going
to examine a few of the more
common ones including the AP
Stylebook, dictionary and copy-
editing symbols.
AP Stylebook – There are many
stylebooks in use in the journalism career
field. The Associated Press Stylebook is
considered the career field standard in the
military. A copy editor must be familiar
with the stylebook used for his publication
to ensure consistency throughout that
publication.
yy Consistency is a key element in
ensuring the publication and its
staff have a credible reputation
with readers. The key to following
a style is consistency. If, for
example, your news organization
adopts a style that requires writers
to capitalize titles when they
appear before names, then writers
must capitalize titles every single
time they appear before a name.
Capitalizing titles inconsistently
makes the newspaper’s style
appear random. Inconsistency can
appear to readers to be mistakes.
And nothing kills a newspaper’s
credibility quicker than mistakes.
Uniformity ensures military and
civilian writers and editors speak
the same language.
yy In a world of multiple options,
stylebooks standardize the
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Newswriting
choices for editors, whether it’s
capitalization or word usage or
other categories. Consequently,
there will not always be an
explanation of why with an entry.
For example, towards vs. toward.
Both are correct. The AP opted for
toward. So, writers and editors
using AP should be consistent in
their usage of toward.
yy There are two ways to look up
points in the stylebook – in
alphabetical order by word or
by topic. Take time to become
acquainted with the text because
co-workers will brand the journalist
who does not know AP style basics
as an amateur — it’s that central to
the profession.
yy Let’s not forget the stylebook’s
bibliography. There are accepted
references sources for material not
covered by the stylebook. Most
public affairs offices have these
books available for their public
affairs staffs.
yy The public affairs department
has compiled commonly used
terms in a DINFOS supplement
to the AP Stylebook. You will use
this supplement throughout your
time enrolled in this course. The
supplement is located in your
BPASC ADL course Intro and Admin
Handbook.
Dictionary – For spelling, style
and usage questions not covered in the
AP Stylebook, consult Webster’s New
World College Dictionary, Fourth Edition,
published by Wiley. Use the first spelling
listed in Webster’s unless a specific
exception is listed in the stylebook. See
the dictionaries entry in the stylebook for
more specific information.
 Apply English Skills Newswriting

Copy-editing symbols – Once you

identify changes that need to be made to
copy, it’s your responsibility to use the
proper copy-editing symbols to mark the
copy. It’s important to use a sharpened
pencil and to make symbols clearly and
correctly. You can find these symbols in
your AP Stylebook.

1. Copy-editing symbols are a

shorthand method of making
corrections rapidly and efficiently.

2. The symbols used at DINFOS are

standard; however, some military
installations or newspapers may
vary slightly.

3. Practice your copy-editing symbol

knowledge by completing an
exercise on pp. 48-49 in your
Copy-editing and AP Stylebook
Workbook.

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 Basic Public Affairs Specialist Course
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Conclusion

When you correctly copy-edit stories

using the tools and resources you’ve
learned about today, you’ll find that your
quality of writing will improve immensely.
Consistently reviewing and editing your
work will help you to develop an “eye”
for detail that will allow you spot errors
quickly and effective. This editorial eye
will be a valuable asset to you throughout
your career as a public affairs practitioner
because your products will be more
concise, accurate and professional.

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References

Goldstein, N. (2007). Associated Press style book and briefing on media law. Associated Press,
New York

Harrigan, J. & Dunlap, K. (2003). The editorial eye. Bedford/St. Martins, New York, New York
10010

Baskette, F., Sissors, J. & Brooks, B. (1997). The art of editing (6th ed.)

Hohenberg, J. (1983). The professional journalist. Cengage Learning, Florence, KY.

Mencher, M. (1999). News reporting and writing (8th ed.). The McGraw-Hill Companies,

Seitel, F. (1994). The practice of public relations (6th ed.). Prentice Hall Professional Technical
Reference.

Lieter, K., Johnson, S., & Harriss, J. (1999). The complete reporter: Fundamentals of new
gathering, writing, and editing. Pearson

Itule, B., & Anderson, D. (2002). News writing and reporting for today’s media (6th ed.). The
McGraw-Hill Companies

Ward, H. (1985). Professional newswriting. Harcourt College Publishers.

Agee, W., Ault, P., & Emery, E. (1983). Reporting & writing the news. Harper & Row, New York.

Fedler, F., Bender, J., & Davenport, L. (2000). Reporting for the media. Oxford University Press,
Cary, NC.

Rich, C. (1999). Writing and reporting news: A coaching method. Wadsworth Publishing,
Florence, KY.

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