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EDITING IS NOT JUST ABOUT CROSSING “t”s OR DOTTING “i”s. ==

EDITING IS NOT JUST ABOUT CROSSING “t”s OR DOTTING “i”s.

By Emmanuel Kwabla Wodewole edited by BAJM4group three.........

Editing is all about arranging, revising, and preparing a written, audio, or video material for final production, usually by a party (called an editor) other than the creator of the material. The objectives of editing include (1) detection and removal of factual, grammatical, and typographical errors, (2) clarification of obscure passages, (3) elimination of parts not suitable for the targeted audience, and (4) proper sequencing to achieve a smooth, unbroken flow of narrative.

Kauffmann (2006) says “Editor’s job is to breathe life into a film or video (newspaper) or to find and expose its heart and soul.” Kauffmann continues to say “a great editor is like a great chef. He puts together ingredients in a way that finds the viewer’s (reader’s) imagination, stokes the thoughts process and stirs the passions. In achieving this objective an editor has a myriad of activities to undertake to make newspaper a master piece. The first activity of the editor is to check correct spelling of names of persons and places grammar which includes subject-verb agreement, syntax, use of wrong words clumsy structure wordiness or verbosity clichés flowery language euphemisms

These are of paramount importance to any editor since any slip has dire consequences on the newspaper. Not only will it distort the information but also mislead. For instance, in attributing a story to Mr Kwame Mensah, and Mr Kwame Mansah is written. An editor is duty bound to notice the substitution of “e” with “a” in the surname. Similarly, a bad faulty grammar does not only distort the message but it also takes the reader’s attention from the message as he focuses more on the error rather than the message. Let’s look at this violation of rules of infinitive: “The president told his ministers to followed the laid down rules.” This can be very disruptive to the readers and embarrassing to the newspaper.

According to Elizabeth Lyons, "Some of the most effective editing involves tightening . . .. Shorten a work and it becomes better" (Nonfiction Book Proposals Anybody Can Write, 2000).

Likewise, it is the concern of the editor to check the accuracy of facts. The editor must as a matter of duty verify the “Who?” “What?” “Where?” “When?” “Why? and “How?” aspect of the news. Not only does he prevent possible defamation, but also a backlash which will put his credibility on line. Assuming a success story of Winneba is credited to Senya Beraku while a bad story of the latter is credited to the former. The backlash from the “victim” town could be anybody’s guess. In addition, before any “explosive” story goes out, the editor must satisfy himself that names of persons and places mentioned are factual to avoid a charge of defamation.

Again, space is of essence in newspaper world, hence it is the duty of the editor to make sure every story fits in a space allotted for it. This may sometimes call for cutting lengthy stories or providing fillers to short stories. In doing all these, the editor keeps his readers in mind not distort the story in any way. Gerald Bronmer says “in editing process, I delete what I do not want to use, move what remains around if necessary and add elements that I feel will make my visual statement as clear and understandable as possible”

Besides, sometimes stories arrive from different parts of the country on the same event. E.g. Celebration of National Farmers Day. As a result of inadequate space, the editor makes sure he combines these different pieces into a composite one. Similarly, sometimes reporters mix up facts and if left unattended, it will have the reader worse off. Editors have to rewrite these stories in orderly manner as Samuel Johnson says “What is written without efforts is in general read without pleasure”

Furthermore, headlines are first attraction to any news item in the newspaper and it can either turn on or turn off a potential reader and it is the prime duty of editor to coin appropriate and attractive headlines from the lead. Again, it is the duty of editor to work with page designers to plan as to how the newspaper’s layout will look and how photographers and text materials are interwoven for the newspaper to have desired impact on the eye.

TYPES OF EDITING
"There are two types of editing: the ongoing edit and the draft edit. Most of us edit as we write and write as we edit, and it's impossible to slice cleanly between the two. You're writing, you change a word in a sentence, write three sentences more, then back up a clause to change that semicolon to a dash; or you edit a sentence and a new idea suddenly spins out from a word change, so you write a new paragraph where until that moment nothing else was needed. That is the ongoing edit. . ..

"For the draft edit, you stop writing, gather a number of pages together, read them, make notes on what works and doesn't, then rewrite. It is only in the draft edit that you gain a sense of the whole and view your work as a detached professional. It is the draft edit that makes us uneasy, and that arguably matters most." (Susan Bell, The Artful Edit: On the Practice of Editing Yourself. W.W. Norton, 2007)

Additionally, according to The Missouri Group (1988) editor is charged with enforcing deadlines so that newspaper comes out on time. Since news strives on timeliness it is imperative deadlines issues are taken seriously so that news does not become stale before it is released. I will conclude this article by saying editor’s duty is to polish wording of stories. On the use of language in general, simplicity is the key word for editors. Lor Chesterfield says “Every paragraph should be so clear and unambiguous, that the dullest fellow in the world may not be able to mistake it, nor obliged to read it twice in order to understand it.” Therefore, judging from above discussion, it will be myopic thinking on the part anybody to say editing is just about crossing “T”s or dotting “I”s. Yes, editor does that but that is only one duty among the lot.