Jessica M. becomes first student to catch on Flint Journal runners’ blog, moves into first place in extra credit contest

Today, Jessica M. noted a usage error in my blog entry today, marking the first time someone from class caught an error on the Web site (She also moves into first place in the extra credit race).

So, what was incorrect? I wrote, "There are a couple of negative to consider …." It should have been — and is now — "negatives." Watching for errors such as that one is key in copy editing. I wrote my blog late this morning, and I had only about 25 minutes to self-edit. This is yet another example of the reality is that everybody can use a copy editor.

Jordan C. latest to earn point in extra credit contest

Jordan C. caught the most errors — 15 — in today's in-class editing exercise, snagging him a point in our extra credit contest. Today's session included some good discussion on the types of mistakes editors should seek, ranging from consistency in titles to potentially libelous quotes.

Link posted for in-class discussion today

Hello everyone,

Today, we'll start class by discussing an Associated Press story that was posted recently on MLive.com about President Barack Obama's first few days in office. You'll have a moment to read it in class, but I posted the link here to provide easy access.

Jessica M. finds mistake on Flint Journal Web site, earns extra credit point

Jessica M. found two unnecessary words in a Flint Journal story about a man who police say was shot while attempting to buy marijuana. Jessica M. found the words — "were made" — floating at the end of the story, an apparent typographical error. Here's what it looked like:

Man shot while attempting to buy marijuana, Flint police say

By David Harris | The Flint Journal
Sunday January 25, 2009, 4:45 PM

FLINT, Michigan -- A Flint man was shot at least once about 9:30 p.m. Saturday on Canniff Street, near Fleming Road.

The man is in fair and stable condition at an area hospital, according to Flint police.

Police said the man was trying to buy marijuana at a Canniff Street home when he was held at gunpoint by four males and robbed.

Shots were fired, and the victim was hit. He was unable to walk on his own, and a friend took him to Flint Fire Station No. 6, 716 W. Pierson Road.

The man was then taken to the hospital. No other information was available today.
were made.

Note, the words "were made" are no longer in the story because they have since been removed thanks to Mora.

When submitting the catch, she said she wasn't sure if points would be awarded for my mistakes or for anything that can be found. As of Thursday, it was only my mistakes, but I'm going reward her initiative in pointing out this error. Whether we formally expand the contest to the entire Flint Journal Web site will be addressed in class tomorrow.

Austin B., Michael S. win first points in extra credit contest

Austin B. and Michael S. scored the highest in Thursday's in-class exercise, becoming the first students to garner points in the contest for extra credit. Bailey had the best score in the cell phone story. Michael S. was No. 1 in the story about the mayor.

In addition to the errors I inserted into these stories, several students found other mistakes, which added to their scores, but they also inserted new ones, which subtracted points. Remember, when making changes, the goal is to "do no harm." Here were a few of the mistakes:

• In the mayor's story, some changed "ten percent" to "10%." It's "10 percent," according to Associated Press style.
• In the mayor's story, some changed "work force" to "workforce." While "workforce" is in the dictionary we use, "work force" is AP style.
• In the mayor's story, some removed capitalization from "City Council" and "City Hall." They keep their capitalization under AP style when they refer to a specific body or place.
• In the cell phone story, some changed "whom" to "who." This is a tricky rule to learn, but in this story "whom" is correct because it's tied to the object of the sentence, not the subject. Who and whom are pronouns. For a good online explanation, click here.

There also were some good catches. They included:

• Not capitalizing "obscenity" in the headline of the mayor's story.
• Raising questions about grammar in quotes in the mayor's story. While these are fixed on a case-by-case basis, a good copy editor will flag each and weigh whether to add parentheses to aid in understanding for the reader.
• Breaking up the quote, "Why talk about it? Just do it," in the mayor's story.
• Removing the word "itself" from before "election day" in the cell phone story.
• Questioning the use of contractions in both stories. AP style advises to minimize their use, except in more informal contexts and quotes.

Jan. 22 preview

If you missed class today, you should prepare for a discussion about Chapters 3 and 4 of "The Art of Editing." There also will be an in-class exercise that's focused on editing skills.

In addition, the deadline to submit Assignment 2 for a regrade is 11:59 p.m. Thursday.

Class judges inauguarama coverage

Today, students battled deadline pressure, using class time to post a brief analysis about the coverage of President Barack Obama's inauguration on specific Web sites.

The sites ranged from The New York Times and the Chicago Tribune to the Drudge Report and MichaelMoore.com. They also edited each other for the first time and presented their findings.

Links established to News University, Dow Jones

As discussed in class today, I've now included links to News University, the site detailing Dow Jones Newspaper Fund college internships and a site that includes the Dow Jones editing tests.

News University offers a free course on improving style and grammar called "Cleaning Your Copy" that every student must complete. If you weren't in class today, please register on the site. The goal of this exercise is to offer additional help with common mistakes writers make. I'd like everyone to go slow and not feel rushed. With that in mind, no firm deadline to complete the exercises has been set, especially since another assignment is pending, but one will be established soon.

That said, a point in the contest for extra credit will be awarded to the first person to finish. Again, please don't rush, but I'm offering the incentive in hopes you will tackle these exercises sooner rather than later.

Assignment 2 on Blackboard

For those who missed class today, the second assignment, which focuses on first two chapters in "The Art of Editing," was distributed. It is now posted on Blackboard. Please note, the deadline is 11:59 p.m. Thursday. Also, we will hold a discussion on the reading in class on Thursday.

First big deadline expires

Kudos to all those who met the 3:59 p.m. deadline today. All blogs submitted can be found in "Our Blog List" on the right hand side of this page.

Yourdictionary.com is now our dictionary

As discussed in class today, buying "Webster's New World College Dictionary" (fourth edition) is no longer required because it is available free online at yourdictionary.com. A word of caution, as mentioned in class, I found it wasn't as user-friendly as having the actual book, especially if one is unsure of the spelling or looking up whether a word is hyphenated. The site does provide some advice on spelling searches:

“If you do not know the exact spelling of your word, you can use the ‘wild cards’ in your search. Use ? to replace a single letter in your word or * to replace more than one letter when you search. For example: penguin, peng*n or pen?in.”

I'm going to list the Web address in a new favorite links box on the right along with the online version of The Associated Press Stylebook, which isn't free.

And, remember, if you're planning on a career in editing, I still recommend buying the dead-tree version.

Our classroom now a newsroom

In this class we’re going to be working together sometimes producing content and sometimes editing content. Sometimes students will face deadline pressure, such as today's in-class exercise of taking the 2008 Dow Jones Editing Test. I want you to think of this room as your home base for the course. I want it to be your newsroom. So, thanks to my wonderful wife, Elaine, I have a sign for us that I'll put on the door while were in class to add a little character and ownership to this space.

Note, this online version doesn't include the Michigan State University-like green border that everyone so admired today. Also, to put to rest some conversation about who the intrepid reporter looks like (Some said he looks like Dr. Lewis), my wife said this evening she had me in mind.

Class documents now online

The syllabus and the first assignment are now on Blackboard. I'll post all the assignments and eventually grades, but the online discussion should be on our blogs.

At least one student blog is live

Aug. 4, 2009 update: Because I've written an article about this class for the Nieman Reports, I've only included the full names of students who have granted permission, so I've removed the link to blog of Michael S. from the blog list.

Michael S. posted to his blog today, and I've listed it in "Our Blog List." I'll list others as they are turned in.

Off with a click: A group of University of Michigan-Flint undergraduate students begin a journalism class in news editing

Photo/Christofer Machniak

About 15 University of Michigan-Flint students work on laptops Tuesday at the William S. White Building in Flint, Mich. They are participating in a news editing class in which they will create their own blog publications.