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Charles Apple: The Visual Side of Journalism

 

‘Copy editing’ archive

Number of comments in parentheses

May 21: The University of Texas needs to hook a copy editor

Saturday, the fine folks at the University of Texas in Austin held their annual commencement ceremonies. There was one little problem with the program they handed out at the gate, however. And you copy editor-types spotted it already, I’m sure: Yep. One of the most common typos. You have to look at that word extra-carefully, folks. Especially when it’s in [...]

May 20: Why the Weather Channel needs a copy editor

The Weather Channel needs a copy editor to look over the headlines on its online stories. The word they were looking for there, obviously, is “churns.” A faculty member at the University of North Carolina spotted this today and it’s been making the rounds. Thanks to UNC professor Andy Bechtel for passing it along to me. — You know who [...]

May 18: You need a dirty mind to be a photo editor

An anonymous reader writes: Hey, Charles. I’m a long-time reader, first-time submitter. This is from a special graduation section in [Thursday's] Coon Rapids Enterprise, a weekly in tiny Coon Rapids, Iowa. It’s part of a full-page photo montage. I’m not sure what cheer this is, but it seems to have had quite an effect. Oh, yeah. That’s a humdinger. Um, [...]

May 18: Why sports ticket counterfeiters need copy editors

This picture from a recent Craigslist post was making the rounds last night. If nothing else, it proves why you need to be careful when buying sports or concert tickets on Craigslist or eBay. Or via any other third party, for that matter. The guys at the Jocular blog summed it up pretty well: First, the New Jersey Nets are [...]

May 17: Why Editor & Publisher needs a copy editor (5)

I run into this all the time: When your blog is hosted by a society for copy editors and you’re pointing out an error that a copy editor might have caught, you might make typos and other errors yourself. As you know, I do this often. It’s embarrassing. It’s why I need a copy editor. Editor & Publisher — which, [...]

May 17: Kerning is important

Just ask Charlie Furbush of the Seattle Mariners. That screencap was posted Wednesday by Paul Lukas of ESPN and the famous Uni Watch blog. — You know who else needs a copy editor? Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in particular. And Harrisburg’s Fox43 TV news. And Local 15 News in Mobile, Ala. And WBAL-TV in Baltimore. And Fox2Now in [...]

May 15: Seen one sports franchise, seen ‘em all. Right? (1)

They use a ball. Or a puck. Whatever. That’s appears to be the viewpoint from KNBC, the NBC affiliate in Los Angeles. In a story about the three local teams in the playoffs, Channel 4 used a Sacramento Kings logo in place of a L.A. Kings logo. That’s the wrong team, the wrong city and even the wrong sport. Sacramento’s [...]

May 13: Why Applebee’s needs a copy editor

And it’s a double score for Applebee’s restaurants! Two — count ‘em, two — misused apostrophes in one advertising headline! I can’t recall who sent me this back on Friday. But I’m grateful just the same. — You know who else needs a copy editor? Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in particular. And Harrisburg’s Fox43 TV news. And Local [...]

May 11: Another “this HAS to be intentional” headline

But seriously: How on Earth could anyone write a headline like this unintentionally? Just amazing. This headline was posted Thursday afternoon and reportedly stood like that for a while until it was finally, mercifully, changed to something more benign. It was originally pointed out by James Taranto of the Wall Street Journal and then written about last night by Mediaite. [...]

May 10: Someone’s mastery over homonyms has peaked, that’s for sure (1)

The front page of Wednesday’s Daily News of Anchorage, Alaska, was plenty solid, thanks to a great lead photo. Just was just one little problem with it: The kicker atop that photo. The word the Daily News wanted, of course, was peek. My anonymous tipster tells us: I hate to point these things out (please don’t credit me) because I [...]

May 9: Why elementary schools need a copy editor

This is Sunrise-McMillian Elementary School in Fort Worth, Texas. They have a bit of a problem. Eight years ago, the school added “McMillian” to its name to honor the school’s first teacher, who eventually became principal of the place. Recently, however, a relative of that teacher pointed out they’ve been spelling her name wrong all these years. See the “i” [...]

May 8: Curtail pop culture references? Illogical, Captain.

Today, Phil Blanchard of Testy Copy Editors ranted at the Reynolds Center’s BusinessJournalism.org against pop-culture references in news stories. Specifically, against Star Trek references in business stories. Dammit, Phil. I’m a designer, not a copy editor. As always, Phil has a point. I don’t necessarily think it’s my beloved Star Trek he’s ranting about; rather, it’s about using pop culture [...]

May 7: Why MSNBC needs a smack on the side of the head. And a copy editor.

Hey, wait! That’s no Colombian prostitute! That’s Nicolas Sarkozy, the outgoing president of France! Yeah, with this label mishap earlier today, I think MSNBC blew it. Um, so to speak. Here’s Mediaite‘s take in this today. Here’s how the Huffington Post reported it. — You know who else needs a copy editor? Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in particular. [...]

May 6: What reeks, my friend, are your spelling skills

Daniel P. Ray of creditcards.com sends along a tip about the headline on this story on the Fox Business web site. The story was posted Thursday with the bad headline and it still appears that way. Daniel tells us: “Reek havoc”? Their spelling stinks. It certainly does. It’s a fair guess that a copy editor never saw this. — You [...]

May 4: Everything should be copy-edited. Even ‘art heds.’ ESPECIALLY ‘art heds.’

That was the lesson learned today, I’d presume, by my friends at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. A rather unfortunate thing happened with the cute reflection-in-the-water gimmick someone attempted on today’s features front. As you can see. Yes, it does look almost like it says “shit yourself.” Obviously unintentional. But still: You have to watch out for things like this. Jim Romenesko [...]

May 3: Taking story jumps to the next level, perhaps?

Readers tell us they hate jumps. However, that’s one thing we’ve never really learned how to do: Design an attractive, inviting front page, yet not jump stories. Looks like the folks at the News Journal of Wilmington, Del., have taken jumping to a new level, however. Check out the story across the top of Wednesday’s edition. Don’t see it? That’s [...]

May 2: I hate bubble charts. I hate ‘em, I hate ‘em, I hate ‘em… (3)

Earlier today, I wrote a glowing review of three front-page infographics, including this gorgeous one in the Forum of Fargo, N.D. What I said about that chart: As a rule, I don’t like bubble charts. Almost always, anything a bubble chart can do, a bar chart can do better. Including showing the difference in numerical values. But [artist's name here] [...]

May 2: Way too many copy editors are unemployoed

Hey, Times-News of Erie, Pa.: There are lots of copy editors out there who are currently “unemployoed.” Just in case, y’know, you’d like to hire one of them… Yesterday’s front-page image — such that it is — is from the Newseum. Of course. — You know who else needs a copy editor? Local TV news operations. Chicago’s WMAQ-TV in particular. [...]

April 29: R.I.P. Peggy Whisler, San Antonio Express-News (1)

Vianna Davila of the San Antonio Express-News reports today: Her name never appeared beside the stories she edited, but Peggy Whisler had an important hand in all of them. As a copy editor for the San Antonio Express-News, Whisler was the last defense against errors getting into the daily newspaper. She wrote headlines. She trimmed lengthy copy. She ensured all [...]

April 25: If you don’t have a copy editor, you’re pressing your Luck

Or, perhaps, going back to press your Luck. You’re looking at either the next hot, new sports collectible. Or the next sad joke. This card, I mean. Not necessarily the player. Yes, Leaf trading card company has put out the very first football card of who will most likely be the No. 1 pick in Thursday’s NFL Draft, Andrew Luck. [...]

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