COPYREADING AND

HEADLINE WRITING
Functions of Copy Editor
 Check Facts.
 Correct errors in grammar, spelling,
punctuation, usage, organization and
others.
 Improve news value.
 Write effective lead.
 Cut or delete irrelevant materials
 Delete “editorializing materials” in a news.
 Write headlines and decide its
typography
 Make Guard against libelous statement.
 copy simple and clear
 Make copy conform to the newspaper
style sheets
 Give instructions to the typesetter
regarding font type and font size to be
used and the number of columns and
ems
 Indicate corrections by using the
copyreading marks
COPYREADING
PROCEDURES
 1. Double or triple space-typewrite all copy on
standard 8 ½ by 11- inch paper. The spaces
between the lines are for writing corrections.
 2. In the upper-left hand corner of the paper,
about one-half inch from the top, write your
name and a guideline or slug to indicate the
nature of the story. For example: “Kidnap” for
news about kidnapping, “Typhoon” for a
typhoon story and “GMA” for news about Pres.
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. The slug is used for
identification and for record purposes
 3. Start typing the story about three or
four inches from the top of the page,
leaving one-inch margin at the left and
the right sides. The wide margin at the
top is for instruction to typesetter and for
headline.
 4. Indent five or ten spaces at the start of
each paragraph.
 5. End each page with a paragraph. Do
not cut paragraph and continue on the
next page.
 6. Write “more” at the bottom of the page
of unfinished story and continue on the
next sheet. Do not use the back page of
the paper.
 7. On the second page, instead of
numbering as page 2, label it “first add”
or “add one” followed by the
slug.Example, “first add kidnap” or “add
one kidnap”
 8. End the story with number 30 or ( # ).
 9. After typing the story, through the use
of soft-leaded pencil and copyreading
marks, correct errors and improve it.
 10. If the copy could hardly be read
because of so many corrections, retype it
if time permits to facilitate editing and
typesetting.
Responsibilities of a
Copyreader
 Straighten out ungrammatical
construction.
 Shorten sentences and tighten
paragraphs.
 See that the paper’s style requirements
are strictly followed. Check names,
addresses, title, designations,
identifications, figures, etc.
 Rewrite the story completely if it is poorly
written.
 Rewrite the lead or the first few
paragraphs whenever necessary, but
must never tamper with the facts unless
he is sure of his corrections.
 Delete all opinion, speculations and
statements on news which are without
attribution or sources.
 Watch out for slanting or any attempt to
present the story in a subtly biased way.
 Watch for libelous statements.
 Recheck figures and totals.
 Cross-out adjectives in news which tend
to make a story sound over-written.
 Cut a story to size or to the required
length if necessary.
 Check attributions and see to it that they
are properly identified.
 Challenge facts, claims, or reports when
they sound anomalous, illogical and
incredible.
 Check sluglines and paging sequences.
 Write headlines.
 Memorize and functionally use
copyreaders’ marks.
HEADLINE WRITING

 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.
Objectives of the
Newspaper Headlines
 1. To attract the readers.
 2. To tell the readers what the news is all
about.
 3. To persuade the readers to read as
many individual stories as possible.
 4. To add variety and attractiveness to
the page.
 5. To create distinction or personality of
the newspaper.
Qualities of a Good
Headline
 It attracts the reader’s eye and directs its
attention to the story beneath it.
 It is concisely constructed to save space.
Articles and other unnecessary words are
omitted.
 It must be positive and active. Active verb
in the present or future tense is used
because aside from being a short word, it
 It is also the tense of immediacy and it is
more vivid.
 It is adjusted to a predetermined
typographical style of paper.
STEPS IN HEADLINE
WRITING
 Read the whole story to understand its
message.
 Underline key words from its lead, for
headline writing.
 Using the key words from the lead, write
a short telegraphic sentence summary of
the news.
 Use the shortest words possible.
Substitute simple effective synonyms to fit
the headline within the allotted space.
Divide it according to unit of thoughts into
the number of required lines or decks.
Use colorful noun and vigorous and active
verb.
Start with noun followed by a verb.
KINDS OF HEADLINE

 1. Flush left- two or more lines of

headline are aligned at the left edge of
the column.
Example:
Malacañang considers
Abad adventure over
 2. Flush right- two or more lines of
headline are aligned at the right edge of
the column.

Example:
Malacañang considers
Abad adventure over
 3. Dropline- two or three lines of
headline, usually of the same length and
arranged diagonally.

Example:
Metrobank Foundation donates
computers to Tanjay Division
 4. Hanging Indention- usually three or
more lines of headline, the first line set
flush to both margins and the succeeding
lines are indented or beginning several
spaces in from the left margin, thus
hanging as if from the first.
 Example
Military ready to step in
if anti-gov’t protests
turn violent
 5. Crossline or barline- a single line of
headline running over two or more
columns.
Example:
DepEd sets new guidelines
for teacher applicants
 7. Flushline or full line- consists of two or
more lines of the same length.
Example:

Garci names solons

who also called him
 8. Streamer- striking boldface head
extending across the top of the page.
 9. Umbrella- a streamer that is placed at
the very top of the page above the
nameplate of the newspaper.
 10. Binder- a streamer at the top of the
page.
 Boxed head- the headline is boxed either
for prominence or to avoid tombstoning.

 A. full box - ICT to generate 1M jobs

 B. half box-
_______________________
ICT to generate 1M jobs
________________________
 C. quarter box

 _________________________
ICT to generate 1M jobs
 12. Tagline, kicker or teaser- a short
single line placed above the main head,
may be of smaller type, underlined and
set flush left or centered.
GUIDELINES FOR
WRITING HEADLINES
 The head should tell the gist of the story
simply and accurately.
 It should contain a verb, but not start with
one.
 Be in the active voice.
 Be in the present, the historical present
or the future tense.
 Avoid the use of articles to begin a
headline.
 Use no abbreviations except those
generally known ones.
 The first line of two-line or three-line
headline should not end with a
preposition, conjunction, articles or any
form of the verb to be, unless the
preposition goes with the verb, as in the
word call up.
 Be specific. Avoid generalities.
 Wrong: Student wins contest
 Right: Tanjay scribe wins nat’l essay
writing tilt
 Avoid label head
 Wrong: Auctioned
 Right: Imelda jewelry auctioned
 Do not editorialize your headline.
 Wrong: Tanjay Division shows great
performance in RSPC
 Right: Tanjay Division wins six out of
seven in RSPC writing contest
 Do not use the same word in the headline or
kicker.
 Ex. Gun haul
Tanjay cops seize 24 guns
from suspected bandits
 Never use the word “may”. It denotes the
uncertain element of the story.
 To use direct quotation as head, use any
of the following forms instead of the
traditional quotation marks:
 A. Using the dash instead of the
quotation mark.
Ex. Truth commission repugnant - Mirriam
 B. Using the colon
 Ex. Sto. Tomas: Brain drain just a
prescription

 C. Using narrative form

 Ex. Garci is back, says wife
 Do not be in the negative.
 Wrong: Tanjay festival won’t be held
 Right: Tanjay festival cancelled

 The first letter of the word and proper

nouns are generally capitalized.
 Avoid awkward verbal breaks.
 Wrong: GenSan SPED debaters to join
nat’l tilt in Manila
 GenSan SPED debaters to join Nat’l tilt
in Manila
 Mention only the name of person, who is
prominent.
 Wrong: Jacoba wins Microsoft global
award
 Right: Filipino wins Microsoft global
award
 Use M for million and B for billion.
 Ex. Philhealth lost P520M to fraudulent
claims, says chief
 Use comma instead of and.
 Ex. GMA, Bush skip rape issue in
Busan meet
 Separate double line by a semicolon.
 Ex. Bomb explodes at GenSan market;
13 killed, 53 hurt

 Do not end the headline with a period.

 Use the infinitive for future events.
 Ex. GMA to visit Saudi on way to NY
 Avoid splitting compound word
 Wrong: GMA to award taxi
driver for honesty
 Right: GMA to award taxi driver for
honesty
 Avoid splitting words that naturally go
together
 Wrong: Tanjay celebrates Buwan
ng Wika with beauty tilt
 Right: Tanjay holds Buwan ng Wika with
beauty contest
 Do not mix up typefaces in making
headlines to avoid clutter. Do not use
four to eight kinds of fonts of headlines
on a page. The maximum font type that
you can use on a page is two unrelated
fonts except for features stories.
Guidelines in Determining
Headline Size
 The size of the headline usually gives the
idea of how significant a story is. Here is
a list of short guidelines in determining
headline size:
 A short four-inch story needs only one
column. A one-column headline needs
one or three decks of word depending on
text length. Try using two decks, 24
points.
 Stories of four to six inches may run in
one or two columns. Get headline types
of 24 to 30 points in single or double
decks of words.

 Stories from six to 12 inches deep will

take a multicolumn headline of 36 points
or bigger typeface depending on the
width of the headline of the headline
typeface.
Rules in Acronym

 Acronym is derived from the combination

of the first letters or syllables of the words
or name of an organization. Here are the
rules to follow:
 For four-letter acronym and below, all
letters should be capitalized like in WHO
for World health Organization, UN for
United Nations and MILF for Moro
Islamic Liberation Front.

 For more than four-letter acronym, only

its first letter is capitalized like in Asean
for Association of Southeast Asian
Nations and Unicef for United Nations
International Children’s Emergency Fund.
 For syllabic acronym, the first letter of
each syllable of the words should be
capitalized like in DepEd for the
Department of Education, GenSan for
General Santos City and SoCSKSarGen
for South Cotabato-Sultan Kudarat-
Sarangani-General Santos.
Unit Count in Headline

 All small letters

(except j, l, i, f, t, m and w)
= 1 unit

 Small letters j, l, i, f, t
=1/2 unit
 Small letters m and w
= 1 ½ units

 All capital letters (except I, M and W)

= 1 ½ units
 Capital letter I
= ½ unit

 Capital letters M and W

= 2 units
 All punctuation marks (except the dash,
question mark, dollar, peso and per cent
sign)
= ½ unit

 Dash, question mark, dollar, peso, and

per cent sign
= 1 unit
 All number figures from 0-9 (except 1)
= 1 unit

 Number 1
= ½ unit

 All spaces = 1 unit

Ex. 1½1 11 11 1 1½11½ 1½½½1 1 1 1 1½1 1
Grenade blast kills 2 kids = 23 ½
Slug and Printer’s Direction on the Copy
J. Ceniza Lead: 24 ems-14TNR-bold
Cebu Times Body: 12ems-10TNR
Five suspects
8/20/09

2-44BB-Rom Five suspects of Zamboanga blast charged

The slug is placed at the upper left corner of the copy.

The printer’s direction for the headline is placed
beside the headline.
The printer’s direction for the lead and body text is
written at the upper right corner of the copy.
 Printer’s Direction for the
Headline
2-44BB-Rom
2 means the headline runs across 2 columns of body
text
44 stands for the font size of the headline
BB is Bodoni bold font type
Rom for normal font format, Ital for italic font format
The line below the printer’s direction indicates that
it’s a one-line or one-deck headline
In case there is a kicker, “w/kicker” is written after
the font format
PRINTER’S DIRECTION FOR
THE LEAD AND BODY TEXT
24EMS-14TNR-bold

24ems is the unit measure of the lead occupying

two columns. One column (1.5-2 in) of a
normal layout is equivalent to 12 ems. This
means 12 letter m’s can occupy a line in a
column. Letter m is the widest alphabet.
14 stands for the font size used.
TNR is the font type Times New Roman and it’s
set in boldface.
The SLUG
J. Ceniza
Cebu Times
Five suspects
8/20/09

The slug includes the copyreader’s initial, the

name of the publication, the slug line or catch
line (1-3) words cut from the headline, and the
date the article was edited.