COPYREADING AND
HEADLINE WRITING:
On Broken Pencil Leads
“You cannot correct unless you know that there is something wrong.”
RUEL C. FERNANDEZ
School Paper Adviser, The Synchronizer
Catanduanes NHS
Sex Education Delayed;
Teachers Request More
Training
Shades of Green Loom Dark
in the Paper
Jose M. Almario was
elected Pubic
Information Officer…
Your penis
wonderful. I enjoyed
using it last night.
Eagle’s Eyes Ready
40 Filipino pieacekeepers are battling heavily armed Syrian
rebels who are trying to overran UN encampment on the Golan
Heights, Defense Secretary VOLTAIRE GAzmin says
yesterday.
They have high morale Gazmin told reporters, referring to the
group of Filipino peacekeepers defending Area Position 68 of
the United Nations Disengagement Observer Force (Undof) on
the Golan Heights
gazmin said the rebels attacked Area Position 68, about 4
kilometers from Area 69, after noon but was repulsed by the
Filipinos
Palace spokeswoman Abigail Valte said on the government-
run Radyo ng Bayan that even without having to take the
challenge thrown by Netizens for the President and Cabinet
members to try using the MRT themselves, government
officials were cognizant of the problems hounding the MRT.
The fire fight was going on bet ween the Filipino
peacekeepers and the rebels as of 5 p.m. in Manila
gazmine said the filipinos had reported no casualties. He
praised the elite troops’ courage and “high morale”.
A military officiasl who asked not to be identify said the
filipino troops manning Area Positions 68 and 69 belonged to
the Philippine
Army’s elite Scout Rangers and Special Forces
Philippine Daily Inquirer, Aug. 31 2014
What is COPYREADING
AND HEADLINE WRITING?
Itis the way of improving a story
and making an appropriate
headline for the article.
Tasks of a Copy Editor
Headline Writing
Mechanics in Writing
Grammar
News Value
Printer’s Directions
Unit Counting
Headlines
Headlines are display windows of
newspapers. It is a quick source of
information about the story.
Headline / head
The headline or head is the title of a news story. While
the lead summarizes the story, the headline
summarizes the lead.
Army troop volunteers
to repair library roofing
Military personnel of the
Bravo Company 565 Engineering Battalion
volunteered to repair the library
roofing after it was damaged by Typhoon
Nina in December 2016.
ONLINE PUB TILT CHAMPION
Synchro widens audience
on social media
After winning the championship
in the first-ever Online Publishing
contest during NSPC ’17, The
Synchronizer continues to intensify its
campus journalism breadth through social
media via Facebook.
Maynilad wins appeal
for water rate hike
Theappeals panel has ruled in favor of
Maynilad Water Services Inc. in its row with
the Metropolitan Waterworks and Sewerage
System (MWSS), paving the way for the
west zone concessionaire to raise base rates.
Inalertong Department of Health (DOH)
ang Bureau of Quarantine laban sa umano’y
panibagong sakit na ‘Cambodia respiratory
disease’ na sanhi ng kamatayan ng
karamihan sa mga bata sa naturag bansa.
Isang Pinay maid ang nagpakamatay
sa pamamagitan ng pagbigti sa sarili
sa loob ng bahay ng kanyang amo sa
Qadsiya, Kuwait noong Hulyo 1.
HEADLINE
SUBJECT VERB (Present Tense)
Doer Active
Receiver Passive
Parents urged to help in child discipline
Use the present tense for past
stories; the infinitive for future
stories.
Ukraine seeks to join
Nato to counter Russia
Ukraine to join Nato
to counter Russia
The active verb is preferable than the
passive, but when the doer is not
prominent, use the passive head .
Enrilewants new book
published only after death
Overseas
job seekers
warned vs Web offers
1. 65 % of Pinoys (favor)
the implementation of K to 12
2. “Noah” vs floods (launch)
3. RP (eye) P7-B loan from Japan
4. NFA (assure) sufficient rice supply
5. 2 foreigners (victimize) by burglars
6. Waterborne disease (down) 30 in Cebu
7. Leftist rebels (free) 3 mining officials
(kidnap) in Agusan
8. RP (tighten) airport screening
of internat’l passengers due to
fatal illness
9. West Phl Sea disputes (get) spotlight
at Asean Meet in December
10. MMDA (improve) traffic management
system
Try giving this lead a headline:
The municipality of
San Mateo in Rizal
has been placed Subject – Municipality of San Mateo
in Rizal
under a state of Verb – has been placed
calamity due to the
destruction brought Other detail – under state of calamity
about by the heavy due to …
monsoon rains and
floods over the
weekend San Mateo under state of calamity
due to rains
Try giving this lead a headline:
A Nueva Ecija court has Subject – Nueva Ecija court
junked the murder charges
Verb – has junked, revoked
and revoked the warrants of
arrest against former Gabriela
Women’s party-list Other details – murder charges,
representative and current warrants of arrest of …
National Anti-Poverty
Commission lead convenor
Liza Maza, former Anakpawis
representative and former
agrarian reform secretary
Rafael Mariano and former
Bayan Muna representatives Court junks murder raps
Satur Ocampo and Teddy
Casiño. vs 4 leftist ex-solon
Vigan among 21 finalists
in 7 wonder cities race
Residents and netizens in this Ilocos Sur
capital woke up to the news that the country’s
only heritage city made it to the list of the 21
finalists in the new Seven Wonder Cities of the
World Race.
Philippine Daily Inquirer, July 9, 2014
4 BIFF men killed;
6 soldiers hurt in clash
Four suspected members of the
Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters
(BIFF) were killed while six soldiers
were wounded in an encounter in Datu
Urusay town in Maguindanao.
Philippine Star, August 14, 2018
Education Secretary Armin Luistro yesterday said his agency had
not abandoned its development of “God-loving learners” as he denied
having been pressured by any group into removing the phrase “God-
loving” from the DepEd’s vision statement.
Luistro: DepEd developing God-loving learners
DepEd hones God-loving learners, says Luistro
Luistro says, Deped honing God-loving learners
Niliwanag ng pamunuan ng Philippine
Amusement and Gaming Corporation
(Pagcor) na isang “isolated’ case lamang at
nakagawian na ng kumpanya noon pa ang
usapin sa mga botelyang tubig na gamit sa
mga casino branches nito.
Pagcor: isyu sa bottled water
isolated case lang
Pansamantalang ipinagpaliban ng administrasyon
ng UP ang pagpapatupad sa credit card payment
scheme sa pagbabayad ng matrikula ngayong
semestre, matapos mapag-alamang maniningil ng
karagdagang 12 percent Value Added Tax (VAT)
ang bangkong hahawak sa mga transaksyon.
Pagbabayad ng matrikula gamit ang
credit card ipinagpaliban
Wrap-up News
*Philippines’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose
by 7.1 % in the 1st three months of Duterte
administration surpassing China which is said to be
Asia’s fastest growing economy in 2015.
*Farmers from Central Luzon said they did not feel
the rise in the country’s economy saying they had
lesser profits from their crops in the last two years.
Farmers from Central Luzon aired sentiments over reports that
the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) rose by 7.1% in the
first three months of Duterte Administration, saying they had
lesser profits from their crops in the last two years.
Nakatanggap ng ‘very good’ satisfactory rating or +66 si Pang. Rodrigo
Duterte sa unang 100 araw ng kaniyang panunungkulan bilang
president, ayon sarbey ng Social Weather Station (SWS).
Umalma ang human rights groups sa +63 rating ng Pang. Rodrigo
Duterte sa criterion na ‘protecting human rights’ sa kabila ng mga
naitalang kaso ng extra judicial killings dulot ng kampanya ng
gobyerno kontra iligal na droga.
Umalma ang human rights groups sa ‘very good’ satisfactory
rating ng Pang. Rodrigo Duterte sa criterion na ‘protecting
human rights’ sa kabila ng mga naitalang kaso ng extra
judicial killings dulot ng kampanya ng gobyerno kontra iligal na
droga.
Do’s in Writing Traditional Heads
Make the head
Cat’nes places 4th overall
answer as many W’s
as possible in reg’l confab
Scribes win in
Presscon (?) Gulayan sa Paaralan,
sinuportahan ng PTA
Gulayan sa Paaralan,
sinuportahan (?)
Do’s in Writing Traditional Heads
Positiveheads are
preferable to negative
Bulacan gov’t allays
ones.
Hog cholera not in hog cholera fear
Bulacan (x)
ARMM polls,
ARMM polls,
ipinagpaliban
hindi tuloy
Do’s in Writing Traditional Heads
Be specific. Put a verb expressed or implied.
Mentors join
The Seminar on
seminar on English
proficiency (improve)
English proficiency
Mentors join seminar on
(x)
English proficiency
English Olympics
up in October
Do’s in Writing Traditional Heads
Omit articles ( a, an, the). TheKids to Receive Measles,
Do not use all caps. The Polio, Rubella shots (x)
trend is down style
( lower case except for first Kids to receive measles,
word and proper nouns) and
polio, rubella shots
flush left
THE
Enrolment dips
ENROLMENT
DIPS (x) by 2.5 %
Don’t’s in Headline Writing
Avoid
label, wooden Journalism training (X)
and mandatory heads. Join Journalism training(X)
SPAs perk up skills
in division journalism training
Kind Principal bats for moral
Avoid editorializing . values (X)
SPA training, a success (X)
Don’t’s in Headline Writing
Don’tend a line with a preposition, but don’t confuse a
hanging prep. with a two-word verb.
RP sweeps Asian titles in RP sweeps Asian titles
Petron Asian Karting Open in Petron Asian Karting Open
• Guest Speaker bats for
moral values
Don’t’s in Headline Writing
Don’t break off School Choir to per-
words, verb form in NAMCYA in
phrase, preposition Nov. (x)
and object
Choir to perform
in NAMCYA
in November
Don’t’s in Headline Writing
Don’t abbreviate SG election slated
months/ days in October
unless figures
follow. SG election slated on
Oct. 31
Punctuating Headlines
Use a comma in place of the conjunction and.
In a two-line head, separate two independent clauses with a semi-colon (;)
Palace apologizes for sorry state of MRT,
shuns ‘rush hour ride’ challenge
Ebola outbreak spreads to Senegal;
riots break out in Guinea
Punctuating Headlines
In using direct quotation as
head, use dash, colon, and Luistro: DepEd developing
comma instead of the God-loving learners
traditional quotation marks.
No worries, says MILF
SC didn’t ask for e-court on Bangsamoro Law delay
funding–Palace
MILF says, no worries
on Bangsamoro Law delay
Pagsulat ng Ulo ng Balita
Ano ang mali sa ss. na ulo ng balita? Iwasto .
Mag-aaral, kahanga-hangang nagwagi
REG’L SCHOOLS PRESSCON
Editor ng Malaya, nanguna sa pagsulat ng balita
Aklasan sa DAR, nalutas nagsipag-aklas, bumalik
Aklasan sa DAR, nalutas; manggagawa, bumalik
Headline Vocabulary
Malnutrition being discussed at DepEd seminar
Thai company competes for projects in Brunei
Opec reduce amount of forecast
on oil demand
Google considers ad-sponsored encyclopedia
RP team targets 14th spot in Asian games
Call for factory day care centres supported
Headline Vocabulary
Green groups criticize gov’t energy plans
Studies connect starchy foods with diabetes
Army urged to help protect important witness
Police capture two suspects in teacher’s murder
Injuries in fire drill cause legal threat
Use shorter and more catchy words in writing headlines.
agreement- accord
again- anew arrest- nab
dismiss- ax reject- nix
support- back approve- okay
disallow- ban electricity- power
reveal- bare question- quiz
defend- bat resign- quit
request- bid change- revamp
enumerate- cite approve- ratify
conference- confab decide- rule
decrease- dip/cut schedule- set
control/stop- curb kill- slay
connect- link exchange- swap
memorandum- memo attempt- try
Slug
In the upper left-hand corner of the paper about one-
half inch from the top, write the slug to indicate the
nature of the story.
* Writer’s initial
* Year, Issue No.
* Slug (a word or phrase about the news)
* Date
Example of a slug:
MPA
XXV, 1
ATM scam
01-08-2014
SLUGLINE
Bar Exam Topic
Ana Santos Name of the Writer
7/14/18 Date
The Apprentice Publication Name
3-30 Arial
Mechanics Black-Inverted
of Headline WritingPyramid
A Technicalbody text: or
Instruction Minion Pro Directions
The Printer’s
Meaning:
The first number means that the headline will run across three columns of the
page.
The second number stands for the font size to be used.
AB (Arial Black) indicates the font type.
Inverted Pyramid is the headline pattern to be used.
The two lines below means that make a two-line headline.
Putin ready to invade Ukraine;
Kiev warns a war
Counting the Headline
1.All small letters except jilft and mw are counted as 1.
2. Small letters jilft are counted as ½.
3. Small letters m and w are counted as 1½.
4. All capital letters except MW are counted as 1½.
5. Capital letters M and W are counted as 2.
6. Capital letters J, I, L, F, T are counted as 1.
8. All punctuation marks except the –?, $ and % are counted as ½.
9. Dash, question mark, dollar and percent sign are counted as 1.
10. All figures, except 1, and spaces are counted as 1.
11. Number 1 is counted as ½.
B i c o l a n o t o p s
1½ ½ 1 1 ½ 1 1 1 1 ½ 1
1 1
b a r e x a m = 20 ½
units
1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1
½
S u m u k o n g d r u g
1 ½ + 1 + 1 ½ + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1
s u s p e c t s p u m a l o
1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 + ½ + 1+ 1 + 1 + 1 + 1 ½ + 1 + ½ + 1 + 1
n a s a 1 M = 39 ½ yunit
1+1+1+1+1+1+1+2
Duterte denies silencing critics
DA chief sinabon ni Villar
Headline Patterns
Crossline or barline – a single line of headline running over two
or more columns
Indonesian turns forest into ‘school of life’
Ombudsman, kulang sa abogado
Dropline – two or three lines of headline, usually of the same
length and are arranged diagonally
Dole Philippines donates
armchairs to Sarangani
Headline Patterns
Flush Left – two or more headlines are aligned at the left edge of the
column
Malacañang muling nagpaalala
sa OFWs sa pagdadala ng droga
PH cagers take Croatia
to overtime before losing
Headline Patterns
Hanging Indention – usually three or more lines of headline, the first set flushed to
both margins and the succeeding lines are indented several spaces from the left
margin, thus hanging as if from the first
Military ready to step in
if anti-gov’t protest
turn violent
Inverted Pyramid – two or more lines of headline with the first line flushed to both
margin and the succeeding lines getting shorter and centered
Pinoys escape massacre
in another UN camp
Headline Patterns
Flush Right – two or more lines of headline are aligned at the right edge
of the column
Ordinansa sa riding in tandem,
ipatutupad na sa Manila
Flushline or full line – consists of two or more lines of the same length
FDA: Don’t buy
these eye drops
Other Kinds of Headline
1. Streamer – striking bold-faced head extending across the top
of the page
2. Umbrella – a streamer that is placed at the very top of the page
above the nameplate of the newspaper
3. Binder – a streamer at the top of an inside page
4. Boxed head – the headline is boxed either for prominence of to
avoid tombstoning
Other Kinds of Headline
5. Jump head (run-over head) – headline of a news story, which is cut
and continued on the inside page; it is followed by the word from
page – or the like
6. Subhead – a short title of a portion of news story to break the
monotony of gray text; set in boldface and occupies more than half
the column width
7. 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
8. Hammer – if the tagline or kicker is bigger than the headline
COPYREADING
SYMBOLS
The writer whose work cannot be improved
by a constructive editor does not exist.
