ABSTRACT
This research study is
an agglomeration of intellectual ideas garnered from written and oral
resources.
Having its case study as
National Mirror (a 21st century newspaper organisation), we were able to
explore the needed areas pertinent to the topic- COPY FLOW in the present
technological age.
However, this study is
only constricted to explaining the operations of Copy Flow as obtained in the
extant era in this work in a bid to avert superfluity by describing the
primitive modes of operations and activities involved in a copy flow.
INTRODUCTION.
The whole process
of putting a newspaper or magazine to bed has myriads of activities embellished
in it. Thus, it is not a product of combinations of shoddy works that lack
finesse. It is therefore the responsibilities of certain appointed officers or
personnel in a media organization to ensure that all contents of the paper go
through a thorough fine-tuning process of ‘editorial surgery’ and treatments
before they are eventually slammed on the pages of the publication. This whole
process of exhibiting meticulousness is called Copy Flow.
A Copy can be
said to be any material that goes through the editorial processes of a print
medium (newspaper or magazine) for the sake of production. In other words, a Copy
refers to all the intellectual, artistic and creative works that goes through
editorial processes of scrutiny in a print medium before final production or
publishing is made.
The concept of
Copy Flow determines the whole sequence of events from the initial
conceptualization of ideas for a story, to the final departure of whatever the
editorial team releases and then to the finished process of its typing and
printing on plates.
However, as
simple as the whole process of Copy Flow may appear to be, it is the most
tasking activity embarked upon in a print medium owing to the intricacies
involved in its execution.
In addition, Copy
Flow can also be referred to as the editorial processes of a news story due to
the fact that the whole stages involved in the process is hinged on editing the
story and thus giving birth to a clean copy or an error free work.
THE CONCEPT OF COPY EDITING.
Ndidi (2005) defined copy editing as
the process of “…correcting, improving and marking of a copy to be printed.
Known also as copy reading.”
According to Godwin (2011:74) copy
editing also known as “copy-editing” or “copyediting” is the process of
examining a written work to ensure that it is free from errors. It is a work
that an editor does to improve the quality of written materials. Godwin went
ahead to say that it is germane for the copy editor to ensure that the copy
stands by the ACCCCCC’s principle of being Accurate,
Clear, Concise, Correct, Clean, Complete and Consistent. Also, in doing
this, editors should make the copy say
what it means and mean what it says.
It would be unprofessional and
totally subjective for a writer to personally edit his/her own stories. There
are no other two reasons for this injunction than the fact that a
reporter/writer who single-handedly edits his work would not easily take cognizance
of his flaws.
Typically, copy editing processes
involves correcting spellings, punctuations, grammar syntax, orthography,
semantics, erroneous details, etc. to enhance a flow in readability and
understandability but unlike general editing; copy editing does not involve
changing the substance of the copy. Basically, the bulk of the responsibility
of copy editing rests on the shoulders of the Chief Copy Editor who happens to
be the head of a group of copy editors. The duty of doing a thorough reading on
copies to be submitted for publication lies on the chief copy editor. This is
where copy flow process is at its peak because the termination or usage of the
write-ups is also determined here by the chief copy editor.
In other words, editing involves not
only paying a great attention to detail for issues of punctuation, grammar,
style and spelling but also the ability to transform writer-based contents into
reader-based documents that resonate with the audience.
CLASSIFICATIONS OF COPIES.
There are traditionally two main
types of classifications of a copy. These are;
i.
CLEAN
COPY- This is a news story or article or any write-up containing
relatively a few errors awaiting publication and thus requires a little or no
editing.
No editor enjoys going through the rigor of
having to make several corrections on a copy. Hence, copy editors agitate that
reporters should personally read and re-read their write-ups and news stories
before forwarding it to them. A clean copy therefore would ease the copy editor
the stress of having to emend the copies.
ii. DIRTY COPY- This is the direct opposite of a clean copy.
It is a story that has been engulfed with errors and blunders.
At most times, stories that fall under this
category get to be spiked or killed due to the tedium it creates for the editor
in editing it.
TYPES OF COPIES ACCORDING TO NEWSPAPER CONTENTS.
Within the pages of Newspapers and
Magazines are several kinds of information, opinions, new and non-news items
and advertisements. Although, news stories constitute the prominent item in the
publication, other stories aim at complimenting or augmenting the contents of
the news stories while just a few might serve as fillers or commercial based
items. According to Uyo (1987) cited in Godwin (2011), newspaper and magazine
messages were identified to include;
1. News Stories: These can also be called the straight or
hard news reports which are timely accounts of events. In reporting news
stories, it is imperative that the journalist adheres strictly to the rules of
writing news stories of which the principles and elements of news such as;
Timeliness, accuracy, proximity, etc. are inherent.
2. In-Depth Reports: Unlike the straight news reporting,
this form of news reportage is a step ahead with not only the provision of
facts but also the exploration of the provided facts. Due to its nature of
elucidation on earlier reported straight news stories, a more detailed research
study is pertinent to its execution.
3. News Analysis: The driving force behind this type of reporting
is the reversed cliché that “it is better to know a lot about a little than to
know a little about a lot”. Although, most people shun the adoption of this
phrase but it is indeed the breast plate of news analysis as only specialized
reporters who are very conversant with their areas of specialization can do
this form of reporting.
4. Feature Stories: These are extended news stories which aim at
throwing more light on previously reported news stories. They may be used to
expand in a brief and enlivening manner on an item of basic news, to provide
information of general value or interest, to focus on some human interest item,
or to describe a personality as the case may be.
5. Editorials: An editorial is the view or standpoint of the
newspaper management on an issue of public importance. It is the voice of the
newspaper organization usually arrived at by the top management personnel that
constitute the editorial board.
6. Columns: These
are opinionated write-ups done by either specialists in a field or highly
experienced reporters on certain current issues or events in the society.
Columns are very informative as well as entertaining and they may also take the
form of commentaries on those current events.
7. Advertisements: These are basically sales enhancement messages
usually paid for by sponsors who have certain products or services to promote.
Advertisements may come in several forms nonetheless, whichever form is
adopted, its major aim is either to persuade or inform or even go further to
perform a function of both.
8. Photorama: This simply refers to a story told
primarily through a series of photographs with apt captions related to current
events or issues of public interest. It is a combination of two words;
‘Photographs’ (images captured with the aid of a light sensitive equipment-a camera) and ‘Panorama’ (a view or
description of events or activities).
9. Cartoons and Comics: These are humorous satirical drawings or
strips of illustrations in a newspaper or magazine about, current event or
situation. These drawings are accompanied by humorous or sarcastic captions
that induce laughter.
10. Vox pop/Strip poll/Public Opinion polls: These
are short interviews conducted with members of the public in order to get their
opinions on certain topical issues. While a vox pop is conducted with some
members of the general public on a current issue of public interest, a strip
poll is conducted with a selected set of people who have a certain level of
expertise on the topic of contention/discussion and the public opinion poll is
a random sampling method of conducting a vox pop in order to cut across
different classes of people. In the words of Uyo; these are all products of
interviews that scan or measure the opinions of several people.
Others include; Reviews,
Interpretative Reports, Investigative Reports, Letters to the Editor,
Advertorials, Verbatim Interviews, Special news Reports, etc.
All these and a host of others are
referred to as copies from the moment they are being worked upon in the
four-walls of a news room and its affiliated units.
STAGES IN COPY FLOW
As discussed earlier, the essence of
copy flow in any newspaper or magazine organization cannot be under-estimated,
which without the “gate-keeping function of the media will not be achieved,
hence, an omission of this will be detrimental to the image of such newspaper or magazine
house. Be that as it may there are certain stages involved in copy flow before the
final output is achieved.
These stages are:
Ø
Planning
stage
Ø
Commissioning
and Briefing stage
Ø
Copy
editing
Ø
Design stage
Ø
Art proof
stage
Ø
Copy-fitting
stage
Ø
Dispatch
stage
1. PLANNING STAGE:
This is the first stage of the copy flow process. At this stage there is need
for an organized meeting involving different desk editors who are expected to
bring/provide ideas that will help your newspaper or magazine achieve its aim;
which is publishing a new issue of magazine or newspaper for the reading
pleasure of your audience. Publishing information will be made available at
this stage. These rituals include; pagination, the likely advertising volume
and editorial allocation, offer pages and competitions. The meeting will
generate thoughts on how the proposed issue is to be planned and structured. It
is also expected that at end of this meeting there will be an approximate
running order for pages which are not fixed as regulars.
2. COMMISIONING AND BRIEFING STAGE: In this stage some personnel are commissioned to work. Their
primary assignment is to find suitable writers, photographers, illustrators and
picture libraries. Precise instructions are also given out at this stage to act
as guidelines in the discharge of their duties. It is better to let
commissioned staff operate on their initiative by having set down rules and
regulations guiding the discharge of duties. More importantly all parties must
be well aware of “copy in” dates which will have been set by the chief sub-editor or
production editor as the case may be.
3. COPY EDITING STAGE: The copy editing stage sets in motion as soon as commissioned
materials begin to arrive. At this stage, good housekeeping becomes essential.
It is a good idea to photocopy all original type scripts and safely put them away for future purposes but unfortunately, typescripts are fast becoming a dying phenomenon. The first copy
editing stage in which sub-editors check for facts, sentence constructions, illegalities,
grammar and spelling errors, etc. in conformation with the publication’s house style.
Traditionally,
sub-editors have had some involvement in more rewarding tasks such as rewriting
and the writing of headlines and captions. Increasingly these tasks have moved
up in hierarchy, leaving sub-editors to become more involved in copy fitting.
It is imperative to state that two essential stages are subsumed under this stage.
These stages are; the Design stage &
make-up stage.
4. ART PROOF STAGE: The scripts or copies generated by artwork are sent from one editor to the next.
The proof will then be returned to the artwork for corrections where necessary.
5. COPY-FITTING STAGE: The chief-sub editor will examine the first proof design generated by
the art department. If there are corrections it is sent back to the sub-editor
to rewrite where necessary and add finishing touches such as captions, stand
firsts, pull-out quotes and credits where necessary. Once the changes are effected
the page is signed off by the chief sub-editor and the art director before it is
sent to the “repro house” or “colour house”.
6. DISPATCH STAGE:
This stage involves the dissemination of the finished product i.e. newspaper or
magazine to its final consumers (reading audience).
A SUMMARIZED ANALYSIS OF THE COPY FLOW
PROCESS IN A NEWSPAPER ORGANISATION.
-
A CASE
STUDY OF NATIONAL MIRROR NEWSPAPER.
To effectively explain the concept of
copy flow, the in house principles of the National Mirror will be used as an
illustration.
The copy flow process begins with a
reporter writing a story having been assigned to it by a beat, line or desk
editor.
Thus, the desk editor assigns a
reporter to a particular assignment. The reporter in turn is expected to gather
information and subsequently write a story which is typed and sent in a soft copy
to the desk editor. He does the first duty of personally editing his work by
making it devoid of blunders or redundancies and the likes before further
sending it to his Desk/Line Editor through
the organization’s inter-networking general server or via e-mail. The desk
editor on receiving the story does the work of the copy editor by reading
through to make possible corrections on the submitted work. When he is
satisfied with the first amendment procedure, he sends it to the Graphics Artiste or Page Planner in the
production/graphics room who synchronizes the texts with the provided pictures,
graphics or images that have been selected to accompany the texts.
The graphics artiste plans the pages,
inserts the appropriate texts and images he has been supplied with and then
prints out the first dummy page on an A4 paper. Thereafter, the copy editor
receives the dummy, re-reads it thoroughly again taking cognizance of every
detail in it including the pictures and captions, makes corrections if need be
and then sends it back to the graphics artiste to make rectifications on the
corrections made. But if otherwise, the dummy is sent straight to the Production Editor who also does a
proper scrutiny of the work and make sure proper finesse is put to the copy.
When satisfied, he endorses it and then sends it to the News Editor. Advertisements, Cartoons, Advertorials and other types
of copies also go through the fine-tuning/ proof reading desk of the production
editor.
On receiving the copy, the news
editor goes through the entire copy in order to make sure that the contents
have been accurately arranged and that the copies have not abridged the
professional, ethical and legal conducts guiding the organization. It is also
the duty of the news editor to select stories for the cover page of the
publication based on his personal discretion of story judgments and the
magnitude of the stories. If all the terms were duly abided by, the news editor
approves of the copies and gives an order for the final commencement of production.
The Editor and the Deputy Editor
only assist in doing a final perusal and appraisal of the copies before
production but they are seldom saddled with much responsibilities of having to
proof-read for pin-point blunders as the Copy, Production and News Editor’s do.
THE PRODUCTION DEPARTMENT.
This department is saddled with the
production process i.e. taking the edited materials (text, photographs,
cartoons, pictures etc.) from the artwork (designing/graphics) stage to the printing and
finishing of a newspaper or magazine as the case may. The production department
works jointly with the editorial department by ensuring that corrected
materials are taken to the next stage of production which is page planning.
The production department is
responsible for producing the final copies of the Newspaper it takes care of
the page planning by first, making a dummy which is a prototype of how the
pages of the proposed publication would look like. Pagination is also achieved
at the dummy stage. The department is headed by the production editor and it
handles the following functions.
I.
Typesetting of all materials for the newspaper.
II.
Responsible for the artistic finishing of the
newspaper layout.
III.
Ensuring the production of the newspaper before
deadline.
In Addition, This department is made
up of the following personnel.
Ø
Graphic Artists, Typists
Ø
Page Planners
Ø
Colour Separators, etc.
In conclusion, it will not be
incorrect to state that the copy flow are series of activities starting from
when the reporter writes the story till when the newspaper or magazine is
finished.
Thus, the copy flow process in a
synergy of pre-press & press activities. The pre-press stage involves the
writing, editing, proof reading & revising stage, up till the Computer to Plate (CTP) stage. While the press stage involves the bringing to life
the imprints already made on plates.
REFERENCES;
- An Interview with the Production Editor, National Mirror Newspaper, Mr. Olapade Olapoju.
- Esimokha, Godwin (2011).
Newspaper & Magazine Editing, Production and Marketing. Ile-Ife, Osun
State; Waltodany visual concepts.
-Hodgson, F.W (1998). New Sub-Editing-Apple Mac, Quark Express and After (Third Edition). Oxford; Focal Press.
-Morrish, John (2001). Magazine Editing. London and New York; Routledge.
- Ndidi, Ike (2005). Dictionary
of Mass Communication. Owerri, Nigeria; El ’Demak Ltd.
-The Missouri Group-Brian S. Brooks et al (1992). News Reporting and Writing (Fourth Edition). New York; St. Martins Press.
- Ufuophu-Biri, Emmanuel
(2006). The Art of News Reporting. Ibadan; Ibadan University press.
