Media Ethics

1

Introduction

In general, two types of communication channels can be distinguished: informal channels such as discussions between colleagues, and formal or archival channels. To communicate science to a larger audience systematically, across both distance and time, formal channels are indispensable. The predominant formal means of communication in science is the scientific journal article. In our research we focus on communication via this channel.

The emergence and evolution of the scientific journal, and of the process of scientific communication by means of journals, have been prompted by the needs of scientists and by the possibilities offered by the publication media. A significant factor in the shaping of scientific journals is the continuing endeavour to protect the scientists from being 'inundated' by the information flow. The amount of information communicated via journals has been growing considerably since the emergence of the scientific journal. Roughly speaking, the number of titles doubles every 10-15 years and, at the same time, more articles are published in each journal and the articles get longer. Scientists have long been struggling to manage this increasing information flow and to find the relevant drops of information without drowning. Nowadays, scientists believe they are only reading 40% of the relevant literature. Faraday reported the same problem already in 1826:

It is certainly impossible for any person who wishes to devote a portion of his time to chemical experiment, to read all the books and papers that are published in connection with his pursuit; their number is immense, and the labour of winnowing out the few experimental and theoretical truths which in many of them are embarrassed by a very large proportion of uninteresting matter, of imagination, and error, is such, that most persons who try the experiment are quickly induced to make their selection in their reading, and thus inadvertently, at times, pass by what is really good.

To manage the information flow, the scientific community has for centuries been adjusting their communication channels.

The first scientific journals were established in the second half of the seventeenth century. Until then small groups of scholars communicated with each other via private correspondence. Taking Great Britain as an example, we see that the subsiding of social unrest allowed for a more systematic organisation of the scientific effort. As a result the Royal Society was formed in 1662. In the beginning, Henry Oldenburg, the secretary of the society who corresponded extensively, read relevant letters aloud at the meetings of the society. However, the correspondence soon started to overburden him. He tackled this problem by printing and distributing the most important letters; thus, the journal Philosophical Transactions: Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies and Labours of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World was established. This development was possible because of the `inventio sine qua non' of the printing press.

By 1789, the Neues medicinisches Wochenblatt für Aerzte complained: ``This is truly the decade of the journal, and one should seek to limit their number rather than to increase them, since there can also be too many periodicals''. At that time, the sciences started to differentiate and, in fact, the problem was that there were too many general science journals but not enough specialised journals to allow the reader to filter the information flow. Thus, in response to this problem, many specialised journals were founded in the nineteenth century. The trend of specialisation, and the related trend of professionalisation, have restricted the number of journals that a scientist must consult in order to stay informed of the developments in his domain. These trends also have restricted the readership of specialist journals: nowadays only scientists in a very specific branch of a domain can understand the articles published in such journals.

In the beginning of the nineteenth century the information flow via specialised journals, in particular journals published by specialised learned societies, was increasing. The information flow, however, was far from smooth: there was an unacceptable publication delay. One of the causes for the delay was the habit of reading submitted papers in the annual society meeting before they could be published in the journal. Further delay was caused, in particular in smaller learned societies, by the fact that it took a long time to collect sufficient articles to warrant the publication of a journal issue. Distribution was hampered by the high costs of postage and it was so limited that a large part of the potential readership could not be reached. The situation improved when the publishing efforts of the learned societies became as professional as the scientific effort of the members. This professionalisation of the publishing effort was boosted after the Second World War by the sudden growth of the number of journals published by commercial publishers.

In response to the growth of the number of journals, secondary literature was established at an early stage: 'abstract journals' assisting the scientist in managing the primary literature. At first, abstracts were only published separately in abstract journals, but later abstracts were also included in the article itself. A present-day example of secondary literature is Current Contents, published by the Institute for Scientific Information (ISI), which contains bibliographic information about primary journals in a particular domain.

With the professionalisation of science, the nature of the scientific experiments changed. The content and format of scientific articles changed accordingly. In [Bazerman, 1988, p.66,68], experimental reports published in the Philosophical transaction between 1665 and 1800 are compared:

Thus, the article had started to play a role in the scientific debate. Consequently, methodological issues gained in importance, and the results of the experiments were reported with increasing attention to precise and quantitative detail. At the same time this professionalisation was reflected in the formalisation of the discourse in the article. This led to the prototypical sections in scientific articles: Introduction, Methods, Results, Discussion and Conclusions.

These changes not only involved the content of the scientific discourse of the article, but also the bibliographic aspects of the article. Since the first scientific articles simply reported loosely connected experiments, they contained few references if any. In the second half of the nineteenth century, however, most articles do refer to previous work, which may be a sign of the increasing integration of scientific effort. However, many readers had difficulties in locating the cited work using the incomplete references that were given at that time. The situation improved with the standardisation of the references in particular and of the bibliographic information in general. Since the Second World War, the problem of the information overload has become acute. The information flow has increased so dramatically that it is sometimes referred to as an `information explosion'. For the individual scientist it has become difficult to keep up even with the secondary literature, let alone the primary literature. The scientist not only has to cope with the current journals, but also with the accumulated archives. As an indication of the scale, the Institution of Electrical Engineers scans over 4000 scientific and technical journals and some 2000 conference publications for the bibliographic INSPEC database. At the end of 1997, the Database contained nearly 6 million bibliographic records and is growing at the rate of 330,000 records a year [IEE, 1999].

The main cause of the information explosion is the rapid growth in the number of scientists since the Second World War. Another factor is the mechanism of funding research on the basis of the number of publications [Coles, 1993, p.12]:

The case study interviewees agreed that, although publications are necessary to establish the worth of a scientist, the importance placed on publications by assessment régimes fuels the volume of published science. The pressure to publish was seen to lead to 'salami slicing', multi-authored papers, repetitious publishing and the continuance of some journals of dubious quality.

The communication system has not been able to keep up with this information explosion. Consequently, "in some disciplines it is occasionally easier to repeat an experiment than it is to determine that the experiment has already been done.'' [Garvey, 1979, p.8]. Thus, although a massive amount of information is available, it does not flow to the scientists who need the information.

The emergence of electronic media can help to tackle this problem, as the new technology can greatly facilitate the storage, retrieval, and dissemination of scientific information. However, simply increasing the amount of available information using this technology will only aggravate the information overload. It follows therefore, that the communication system and the information that is to be communicated must be well-organised, taking into account the possibilities offered by the technology.

The Emergence of the Electronic Media

Nowadays, the computer has become pervasive in scientific communication. It has played an important supportive part in the communication process since scientific texts have been written using word processors, rather than typewriters, so that they are immediately available in digital form. In that form, they can be stored electronically and either consulted on the screen or printed on paper. With the advent of networking technology, the electronic media have started to play a leading part in communication processes: the electronic transmission of messages.

Although electronic communication channels also include carriers like CD-ROMs, the most popular channel is the Internet and its various services. The Internet is a network of electronically linked computer networks. Its development started with the ARPAnet: a network established in 1969 by the US Department of Defence to connect the military with their contractors and with the universities doing military-related research. Using this network, files could be transferred and computers could be accessed remotely. Electronic mail quickly became the most popular application. Other networks were added. TCP/IP software (developed in the seventies and adopted in the early eighties) provided computers in different networks with a common language, so the loose collection of dozens of networks was welded into a real `internet'.

The World Wide Web (WWW) was initiated in 1990 at the Centre Européen de Recherches Nucléaires (CERN), as a new service on the emerging Internet. Tim Berners-Lee, the `inventor' of the WWW, describes it as a ``distributed heterogeneous collaborative multimedia information system'' [Berners-Lee, 1991]: all information, from any source, can be accessed in a consistent and simple way. The main feature of the Web is that it is a hypertext system. It was after the introduction of the graphical interface Mosaic in 1993, that the Internet became a `household appliance'. To give an indication of the scale of the Internet, the online population in June 1999 is estimated to be about 200 million people and the number of hosts more than 43 million.

The Internet can assist scientists in the communication process at different levels. Electronic mail is used for informal discussions, instead of the telephone. Electronic mail services also take the place of traditional mail for a rapid exchange of data and manuscripts, for example between authors, between authors and editors and between editors and referees. The computer files can be distributed via the Internet and stored in on-line electronic databases, from which they can be retrieved again via the Internet. In this way, both scientific articles and practical messages can be made public. For example, The Internet Pilot To Physics [TIPTOP, 1999] is a unified physics resource, which includes an index of physics resources around the world, bulletin boards and notification services concerning practical issues, such as conference deadlines and job openings, and a forum for informal communication.

In the recent years, we have seen an explosive growth of the use of the Internet for the publication of electronic scientific articles. In [Hitchcock, 1995], which is titled `A survey of STM on-line electronic journals 1990-1995: the calm before the storm', 83 online journals in the domain of science, technology and medicine (STM) were examined. Since then, the storm has broken: the major science publishers have created electronic versions of all, or most of, their journals and made these available on the World Wide Web. According to [Butler, 1999, p.195] ``A journal without a web version is now rare, and probably endangered.'' To give an indication of the scale of the electronic endeavour, the distributor and agent Swets & Zeitlinger provided in June 1999 access to 9624 electronic journals in the domain of science technology and medicine.

The first electronic journals were close copies of their printed ancestors. Printed articles were scanned and made available as bitmap files after the publication of the original articles. In this approach to electronic publishing, the new technology was merely used for `long-distance photocopying'. Many publishers of electronic journals even stated explicitly that their electronic journal had to look as closely as possible like a printed journal. This seems characteristic of the application of a new technology: in a similar way, the first automobiles mimicked coaches to be horse-drawn. But the coach-like appearance of automobiles was gradually replaced by a form more appropriate to the new technology, when the advantages of an aerodynamic design were taken into account. So, the question now is: how to `streamline' electronic journals to make them more suitable vehicles for the `information highway'?

Since the beginning of the nineties, various electronic publishing initiatives have been taken. Different possibilities offered by the new technology were used to improve particular aspects of scientific communication, such as the distribution of articles, the presentation of information in the articles, and the organisation of feedback.

One of the first important initiatives for electronic publishing in physics was concerned with `preprints' (or `e-prints', as the electronic versions are called) rather than regular articles. Preprints are part of the `grey literature', i.e. in the grey area between informal and formal communication. The Los Alamos e-print archives provide a fully automated electronic archiving and distribution of preprints. For current awareness, the reader can browse a daily list of e-prints submitted in his area of interest (on the World Wide Web or sent by e-mail). In practice, the reader prints an e-print on paper in order to read it. Thus, the Internet is used for the dissemination of the same document that used to be disseminated via traditional preprint mailing lists.

This e-print service has proven so efficient that in certain domains it has supplanted traditional scientific journals as a channel for communication between scientists. Thus, this communication channel for grey literature is becoming more formal. The main difference is that the e-prints have not been certified by means of peer review. To fill that gap, a peer reviewed electronic journal has been established in collaboration with the e-print archives: the Journal of High Energy Physics [JHEP, 1999]. In the publication of this journal, as much as possible of the administrative work involved in the refereeing and editing process, in addition to the archiving and distribution, is automated or mediated by software robots.

Another initiative that bridges the gap between informal and formal literature using the Internet has been taken by Steven Harnad [Harnad, 1991]: Psycoloquy is a refereed electronic journal, in the domain of psychology and some related disciplines, established in 1989 on the basis of an electronic bulletin board [Psycoloquy, 1999]. In this journal, articles are published along with peer commentary, all contributions being refereed by an editor. The purpose of this journal is to provide scholars with an international forum of colleagues, to whom ideas in the formative stage of their research may be submitted and from whom rapid feedback obtained. Once the research has been completed the outcome can be published elsewhere.

With respect to purely formal communication, most electronic journals currently available on the World Wide Web were launched as electronic versions of existing printed journals. The electronic versions of articles published in such journals have some additional features, although often these are limited to the implementation of references in hyperlinks, at least within the article and preferably also to the publications cited in the article. However, in some electronic journals it is possible to include items that cannot be printed. For example, the publisher of the electronic journal (with an additional paper version) New Astronomy [New Astronomy, 1999] emphasises the possibility of including large data sets and multimedia files (e.g. animations). An important feature of this journal, and of other journals in the domains of astronomy and astrophysics, is its link with major scientific data centres (the cited data being too extensive for efficient publication in print).

In some electronic journals, particular aspects of electronic publishing technology are used to add features to the communication process, rather than just to the article itself. For example, it is possible to search the full text of all issues of the electronic version of The Astrophysical Journal [APJ, 1999]. The Institute of Physics offers personalised services, such as alerting services, to assist the reader in managing the information flow in its journals [IOP, 1999].

In short, some aspects of the communication process are facilitated by the new media. In addition, compared with print articles, electronic articles have some additional features. However, the organisation of the information in present-day electronic journals does not differ fundamentally from the way the information is organised in the print version.

The Project 'Communication in Physics'

In the physics community, different programmes have been initiated to deal with the issue of scientific communication in the context of the emerging technology. In 1989, the American Physical Society (APS) formed a `Task Force on Electronic Information Systems' to review the state of affairs and develop a plan for the physics information system, because:

[it] is clear that the world of physics is on the verge of a revolution, a revolution that is driven by technology, but whose true nature will be determined by the response of the world scientific community. The revolution will change what and how physicists read, how they become aware of what they read, and even what `read' means. [APS, 1991]

The task force has defined a long term goal: a world scientific information system. In this system, the world's formal and less formal literature would be available on-line in an interactive environment. Individual documents, rather than entire journals, would be the fundamental entities. In 1993, the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics (IUPAP) also formed a task force to ``investigate how the means presently available, and new means expected to become available soon, can be integrated into a first version of a system of communications, to provide fully electronic submission, publishing, large scale storage, fast retrieval and selection.'' [IUPAP, 1993].

Here in The Netherlands, the research programme `Communication in Physics' was launched in 1994 by the Foundation Physica, an organisation promoting the advancement of physics in The Netherlands. The foundation was moved to initiate this programme as a result of a meeting at which both the increasing dissatisfaction with the flow of scientific information was voiced and the emergence of the new technologies of computer networks and electronic publishing were signalled [De Waard, 1993]. This thesis reports on research performed in the context of this programme.

The starting point of the programme is the following: rather than being dragged along by the technological developments, the physics community should determine how it prefers the scientific communication process to function. Subsequently, the specific technology can be developed to implement this vision. Therefore, the first goal of the research programme is to gain insight into the nature of scientific information itself and of the management of this information. The second goal is to develop new models for the representation of scientific information and for scientific communication that can be implemented using the particular features of the new technology.

In order to increase our understanding of scientific information and the communication system, different aspects have to be considered: technical, social and financial aspects, as well as more `conceptual' aspects. With respect to the technical aspects, for example, presentation, storage and automatic indexing techniques have to be developed. With respect to the social and financial aspects, issues like intellectual property and research policy and motives of scientists must be addressed. Many of these issues are the subject of current research and reported in journals like the Journal of Electronic Publishing, the Journal of Documentation and the Journal of the American Society for Information Science.

In the literature, however, the organisation of the scientific article itself is not considered systematically. Usually the authors aim to solve communication problems by developing sophisticated new techniques to deal with the article as it is. For instance, we agree with Liddy that there is a problem with the retrieval of information [Liddy, 1991, p.78]:

Current retrieval systems allow users to require only that the concepts they are interested in occur somewhere within the free-text representation. It is not possible for the user to specify what roles the concepts of interest should play in the retrieved documents or to specify the relationships that should hold between the concepts.

However, we approach this problem from a different angle. Liddy proposes.

[a] system that can detect the structure of abstracts and is capable of providing this type of detailed representation [that] could improve the retrieval process by allowing the user to specify in advance the particular role they require each searched concept to play.

Contrary to Liddy, who aims to improve information retrieval by improving the retrieval system, we propose a fundamental restructuring of the article itself, so that the same retrieval system can work more effectively and efficiently. Thus, we take a step back and focus on a fundamental question concerning the scientific article: what is the basic `streamlined' shape that allows for substantial improvement of scientific communication in the context of the new technology of electronic information transfer? Our basic idea is that, in an electronic environment, scientific information may be communicated more effectively and efficiently if it is presented as a network of articles with a modular structure, rather than as a set of linear, essay-type articles. An article with a modular structure consist of a coherent collection of explicitly linked modules, representing a coherent network of related conceptual information units within the larger network of published information. This structure allows the user to take into account the role that concepts of interest should play within a document, as well as the relations between specified concepts.

Outline

Here we will discuss about the general problem of how to structure the presentation of scientific information in electronic articles. Given the idea of modularity, we focus on the following questions: (1) Is it possible to develop a systematic model for a modular structure for electronic scientific articles? (2) Does the modular structure indeed allow for more effective and efficient scientific communication?

The adequacy of the structure of such a presentation depends on the needs of the scientists involved in this type of communication. Therefore, we first analyse in chapter 2 the characteristics of scientific communication via articles in order to formulate an `interactants profile'. This profile summarises the characteristics and the needs of the prototypical readers and authors of scientific articles, and it yields communication criteria for the presentation of scientific information.

The definitions pertaining to the idea of a modular structure are given in chapter 3. In chapter 4, the idea of a modular structure is realised in a modular model for articles on experimental sciences: a model for the creation and evaluation of modular articles. In the modular model, the basic notions are complemented with a typology for the different types of modules and one for the different types of structured links that can be created using the model.

In order to make the modular model applicable to the creation and evaluation of concrete modular articles, the typologies have to be specified for the scientific domain at hand. In addition, specific rules for the composition are necessary, in order to determine which modules and links are required, and which are allowed, in a particular modular article in this domain. In appendix A, we provide such a specification in terms of guidelines for authors of modular articles in the field of experimental molecular dynamics.

The general modular model for experimental science and its specification for experimental molecular dynamics are developed in conjunction with an empirical analysis of a corpus of published, linear articles. The bibliography of this corpus is given in appendix B. This analysis involved modularising articles from the corpus, i.e. reconstructing linear articles in modular form, rather than writing new modular articles, in order to ground our work in the existing scientific practice. We firstly aimed to determine whether it is indeed possible to write articles with a modular structure that satisfies both the abstract definitions and the concrete guidelines. Secondly, we compared the modularised versions with the original articles in the light of the communication criteria, to see if the modular structure can indeed meet the requirements specified in the interactants profile, better than the structure of the original articles. Thus, we tested if the model allows for more effective and efficient scientific communication via electronic articles.

A Model of the Process of Communication via Scientific Articles

In this thesis, we concentrate on the structure of scientific articles. For that purpose, we have to distinguish in our analysis between the organisation of the information and the actual phrasing used to present the information in the article. In addition, we have to separate the organisation of the article from the organisation of the communication process, which for instance involves the question of how peer review is organised. In this endeavour, we also have to separate between, on the one hand, conceptual issues pertaining to the organisation of the information and the communication process, and, on the other hand, the technical issues of the implementation of the article and the communication system. These different aspects are taken into account in the model of the process of scientific communication via articles that we give in this section.

Here, we first clarify how we use the terms `information' and `communication' in this thesis, because in the literature these terms are used in different ways. By communication we mean the transfer of information from a human sender to a human receiver, for the purpose of increasing the receiver's knowledge, enabling him to carry out tasks, or influencing his attitudes and behaviour. If the receiver also acts as a sender, the one-way transfer of information becomes a two-way exchange of information between human interactants. Depending on the type of communication, the senders and receivers are the speaker and listener in oral communication, or the writer and reader in the case of written communication.

By information we mean a conceptual representation of aspects of a `universe' for the purpose of communication. Because information is a conceptual representation, it cannot be directly communicated to others: it first has to be represented in a message that can be encoded and transmitted. Thus, communication entails at least three `representation levels':

• Conceptual Level: Information: Information is a conceptual representation of particular aspects of the universe.
• Symbolic Level: Message: The message is a symbolic representation of the conceptual representation of an aspect of the universe. It can be formulated textually, in mathematical or chemical formulae, in pictures, or in any other `language'.
• Technical Level: Signal: The message is encoded (in different stages) in a physical or electronic signal that can be transmitted.

In a universe, separate entities can be distinguished, as well as relations between these entities. The same 'granularity' can be seen at the conceptual level: the information about these entities forms related information units. For example, information about the results of a particular type of measurement on different specimens can be divided into different information units. The complete set of rules for the performance of a particular task also form an information unit. We need such a notion of a `quantity of information' to be able to develop an adequate structure for the representation of scientific information. If information can be considered as a network of units, we should structure a scientific article (in which the scientific information is represented) as a network of modules, each representing a unit. The question as to what can constitute an information unit, however, can only be answered in the context that determines what is similar information about similar subjects.

The notion of information we use allows us to follow an information unit through the communication process, from the sender to different types of receivers. In this process, the amount and the nature of information conveyed is considered fixed, regardless of the question as to whether a particular receiver already is aware of the information or whether the signal is intact when it reaches him.

Our notion of communication is based on sending and receiving. In this respect, it fits with most models for communication, according to the International Encyclopaedia of Communications [Barnouw et al., 1989]:

Most communication models employ a small number of basic concepts: a sender; a process of encoding into signals or symbols; a message; a channel; a receiver; a relationship; a process of decoding; a range of things to which the messages refer (`referents'); and an actual or probable effect, intended or not. Some models incorporate a feedback link from receiver to sender.
The communication models of this type are based on the mathematical theory of communication developed in [Shannon and Weaver, 1949]: a sender encodes a message in a signal that is transmitted through a channel and then decoded by a receiver. Shannon and Weaver developed their model to describe telephone conversation from an engineer's point of view. They were not concerned with either the meaning of the message or the reason for its transmission. Unlike Shannon and Weaver, we do take these aspects into account. For that purpose, we add steps to their model of the communication process. We describe the meaning of the message as the information represented in it. The reason for transmission is then taken into account in the goals of the sender and the receiver and thereby in their criteria for the adequacy of the communication.

We visualise communication between senders (authors in particular) and receivers (readers) as follows: packages containing information are transmitted to a receiver via a communication conduit (e.g. a telephone line, or a regular mail service). The communication, however, involves more than the transmission of packages through the conduit. Analytically, we distinguish four main stages. In the first stage, the sender creates the information package. Then, a connection has to be established with the receiver and the package has to be transmitted. This involves two stages: in the second stage, the dissemination, the package is made available to the receiver, and in the third main stage the receiver acquires it. The fourth stage is the assimilation, in which the receiver unwraps the package, consumes the information. For the process of communication via scientific publications, these four main stages can be further refined into an idealised sequence of seventeen different activities. We emphasise that this is an analytical model of the communication process; in practice, the activities may be performed in a different order or simultaneously, or they may be repeated, guided by feedback, until the result is satisfactory. In the following, we examine the model in more detail.

Stage I: Creating

• We start with the scientist generating and gathering raw scientific information in some research activity, by forming a conceptual representation of some aspects of the universe at issue.
• This information is organised and characterised at the conceptual level, based on an evaluation of the raw material in the context of the research programme. In this step, the 'raw output' is both moulded and filtered. Some information is discarded as uncertain, irrelevant, superfluous or unimportant.
• Then, the author actually writes the article, i.e. he creates a symbolic representation of the information. The author decides which `language' or symbolic means he will use to communicate the different types of information: natural language (and which one), mathematical or chemical formulae, pictures, tables, animations, et cetera. Then, he chooses the structure of the document, the exact wording, the appearance of the non-verbal presentation, and the precise terms (e.g. key words) by which the information is characterised.
• In order to allow for transmission, the document is encoded in an analog signal (e.g. by printing it on paper) or a digital signal (a computer file) that can be transmitted.

Stage II: Disseminating

• The first activity in this stage is the collection of encoded documents for publication. The editor of a particular journal can actively solicit them, or the author can submit them directly. The encoded document can be made public and archived immediately, in a `preprint' archive [Ginsparg, 1996]. In communication via articles published in a journal, however, more value is added first.
• For scientific quality control, the correctness of the information and the clarity of the presentation are judged in some form of peer review. In principle, quality control does not have to take place before publication. Comments and `quality labels' could be added to the article after publication. Different forms of peer review are proposed, for example, in [Harnad, 1991]. If this control takes place before publication, feedback can lead to an improvement of the article to be the published article. The editor of the journal may further enhance the quality.
• Indexing also adds value to the document. The document can be characterised using controlled index terms chosen from a thesaurus, for example, or using free terms. The next activities are not concerned with the scientific content of the article but with other added value. Usually, these mainly technical, administrative and financial tasks are performed by publishers and librarians.
• Value can be added to the technical aspects of the presentation of the document and its encoding in a signal. The presentation can be professionalised and the document can be encoded (in different steps) in several types of signals. The technical aspects of editing and presentation involve, for example, visual design, typesetting, printing and format conversion.
• The publication, in the literal sense of making the information public, then allows the audience to become aware of the existence of the information. At this stage, the (encoded) article can be distributed directly to the intended readership. However, it is usually transmitted to a (physical or digital) library, from which the receiver can retrieve it immediately after publication or later.
• Thus, value is added by archiving the article for future reference.

Stage III: Acquiring

• Supposing that the article created and disseminated in the previous stages contains information that is of interest to a prospective receiver, that receiver first has to acquire the signal in which the entire article, or the relevant part of it, is encoded.
• In this stage, the first activity involves locating relevant information, which implies a selection process. Relevant information can be found in two ways: by scanning or browsing, and by searching. When browsing, the receiver navigates through (selected) sources, trying to encounter interesting information he was previously unaware of. Using this method, the browsing scientist locates information by recognising it as relevant. The searcher specifies in advance the characteristics of (potentially) relevant information. For both searching and browsing, both the contents of articles and the `meta-information', i.e. the information about the articles, can be used.
• After locating the relevant information, the prospective receiver has to retrieve the 'signal' (e.g. the computer file).

Stage IV: Assimilating

• Once the receiver has retrieved the signal, he first decodes it, to obtain the document (i.e. the article, or the relevant part of an article) it contains.
• Then he reads the document, reconstructing the information underlying it. Comprehensive reading involves following the discourse linearly from the beginning to the end. In their field of interest, however, scientists often read selectively: they usually neither study the article as a whole, nor in the prescribed order [Dillon et al., 1989].
• The receiver 'absorbs' the information (by fitting it into his own conceptual representation of the universe), and  evaluates it.
• If it is satisfactory, he incorporates the information in his own research. This can involve increasing his personal knowledge, as well as a concrete utilisation of specific information. Generating new scientific information, the scientist now exchanges his role of receiver for that of sender, which brings us back to (1).

Scientific Articles

In this section, we specify the means of communication: published documents, in particular scientific articles. By a document we mean a symbolic representation of a quantity of information that can be stored and retrieved separately (when it has been encoded in some medium). Communication via published documents has two distinguishing features that may compromise its effectiveness and efficiency: it is strongly indirect and heterogeneous.

In strongly indirect communication, there is no immediate feedback. In addition, the interactants are not connected to each other by a direct communication channel. This means that the transmission of a message from the sender to a receiver is nontrivial. The message is put into some `information pool', from which the receiver has to retrieve it, and the sender cannot be sure that the prospective receivers have indeed done so.

Communication by means of published documents is not only strongly indirect, but also heterogeneous: the audience consists of (potential) receivers with different needs. The needs of a receiver depend on the goals that he pursues at that particular moment and on his background, which determines what the receiver understands, accepts and finds interesting.

Narrowing down the type of documents, we concentrate on scientific articles. In a broad sense of the word, a scientific article is any document in which information on a particular subject obtained from scientific research is presented. We focus on scientific articles in a more narrow sense of the word: by a scientific article we mean a refereed full, original account of a research activity published in a scientific journal, that constitutes a coherent unit for the purpose of communication to peers. In other words, the article forms a self-contained publication unit, in the sense that it provides what the target audience is supposed to consider a full account of a finished `piece of research'.

By a scientific journal we mean a documentbase in which certified documents of a particular type, on a specified subject in science, aimed at a specific target audience are published, and in which some form of peer review is implemented. A documentbase is a structured collection of documents of a particular genre, which can be accessed by more than one person and/or used for more than one purpose. Thus, a journal is defined by its functions of certification and registration of articles, of (allowing for) archiving and of making the audience aware of it. In our broad definition of the word 'journal', we do not specify the medium. The journal may be published by any suitable means. The most obvious media in this context are the electronic medium and the paper medium. We do not specify the journal's schedule either. A journal traditionally is a periodical, but 'continuous journals' can also be envisaged: articles can be published as a continuous stream instead of being gathered into periodically appearing issues.

The kinds of documents that can be published in a journal include scientific articles according to our narrow definition, rapid communications, comments and reviews. The requirements or guidelines for articles that are to be published in some particular journal are usually specified by the editorial board. The aims and scope of a journal are often explicitly stated. The subject may for example be chemical physics and the intended audience chemical physicists or all broadly interested physicists. The target audience of the journal, and more particularly of the article, is restricted to a specified range of fellow experts or at least fellow scientists. Nevertheless, it is still rather heterogeneous, as not every member of the target audience has exactly the same needs.

Requirements for Scientific Articles

In this section, we consider the specific requirements that the information, the representation of the information in scientific articles, and the `information system' for the transmission of those articles have to meet in order to allow for effective and efficient communication.

Rational Communication

Rational communication is a goal-oriented interactional activity, which has three aspects. Firstly, the messages of the interactants are means to achieve some end and responsive to the requirements of the situation. Secondly, rational interactants take into account the goals and plans of the other interactants. And thirdly, rational interactants actually take up the other's purposes working towards an accepted common goal, so that their interaction truly is a joint activity [Van Eemeren et al., 1993, p.6]. Scientific communication, in particular, is rational communication in which the interactants are scientists and the primary common goal of the interaction is the advancement of science.

An influential theory that articulates standards of rationality for the usage of ordinary language is `speech act theory'. According to [Searle, 1969], speech acts are performed successfully if they satisfy specific `felicity conditions' for rational communication. The felicity conditions imply an abstract model of presumptions and expectations, shared by all language users, of what rational communication involves. The best known example of such a model is Grice's Co-operative Principle, to which the participants of a conversation are assumed to adhere [Grice, 1975, p.45]:

Make your conversational contribution such as is required, at the stage at which it occurs, by the accepted purpose or direction of the talk exchange in which you are engaged.

Although the Co-operative Principle is formulated for conversation, Grice explicitly states that this principle also applies to other types of rational interaction. The maxims that Grice derived from this Co-operative Principle have been reformulated by Van Eemeren and Grootendorst, in terms of five rules of communication based on Searle's felicity conditions. These rules read as follows [Van Eemeren and Grootendorst, 1988, p.501]:

1. Perform no incomprehensible speech acts.
2. Perform no insincere speech acts.
3. Perform no unnecessary speech acts.
4. Perform no pointless speech acts.
5. Perform no new speech acts that are not an appropriate sequel or reaction to preceding speech acts.

Grice's Co-operative Principle and the ensuing maxims and rules represent the basic expectations of participants in a conversation: speakers generally act according to them and listeners may base their interpretation of an utterance on the fact that they expect the speaker to adhere to them. In discourse analysis, adherence to the maxims is often taken as a starting point and the Co-operative Principle is used as a tool for the reconstruction of discourse. The maxims, and the rules for communication derived from them, can also be interpreted as norms for a rational, effective exchange of information. As such, they can be made explicit into the following-intenrtwined-basic requirements for rational communication and then used to provide senders with guidelines: quantity, clarity, quality and relevance.

In order to determine if a particular message satisfies these requirements, the requirements have to be further specified, by determining the goals of the sender and receivers, and thereby the `communicative purpose' of the message. Therefore, the 'genre' and domain of the message have to be specified. A (rather general) working definition of the concept `genre' is given in [Swales, 1990, p.58]:

A genre comprises a class of communicative events, the members of which share some set of communicative purposes. These purposes are recognised by the expert members of the parent discourse community, and thereby constitute the rationale for the genre. This rationale shapes the schematic structure of the discourse and influences and constrains choice of content and style. Communicative purpose is both a privileged criterion and one that operates to keep the score of a genre as here conceived narrowly focused on comparable rhetorical action. In addition to purpose, exemplars of a genre exhibit various patterns of similarity in terms of structure, style content and intended audience.

In this thesis, we focus on the genre of experimental scientific articles, and we concentrate on the domain of experimental molecular dynamics in particular.

As communication via articles is strongly indirect, the author has to pay particular attention in advance to the fulfilment of the receiver's potential requirements. These requirements are particularly important in scientific communication, because scientific research is a co-operative effort. Incorporating existing scientific information into new work is constructive only if the information has a high quality and if it is relevant to the new situation. It is feasible only if it is presented sufficiently clearly to allow the scientist to understand and evaluate it, and it is practical only if the information is presented in an appropriate quantity.

Quantity: The message is required to represent all information that is necessary for the achievement of the sender's and the receiver's goals, and no unnecessary or pointless information. In other words, the sender has to provide precisely the appropriate amount of information. This requirement is derived from the communication rules to perform no unnecessary and no pointless speech acts.

The existence of a research programme (an accepted model or pattern) in science has a direct impact on the quantity requirement of scientific communication. The sender is required to provide the receiver with all necessary information. This implies that he not only has to give a full account of his latest findings, but that he also has to make all relevant background information available. In the context of a shared programme, that background has already been established. Once the background has been properly presented, it does not have to be repeated in each publication.

The consequence of the heterogeneity of communication via articles is that it is difficult to fulfil the quantity requirement for all potential receivers.

Clarity: The message has to be clear, orderly and brief, avoiding obscurity and ambiguity, so that the receiver can understand and critically test it. This requirement is based on the communication rule to perform no incomprehensible speech acts. This implies that the restrictions of the information and all relevant dependency relations between information units must be made explicit. It also implies that the problem-solution pattern of the research has to be taken into account in the presentation.

As all scientists are in principle supposed to study the same 'real universe' systematically, regardless of place and time, they must be able to communicate with each other, regardless of place and time. Furthermore, In experimental science, relevant information is related to the 'real world', so that scientists require the possibility to claim their priority:

[Scientists believe] that there is just one real world waiting to be explored. Since several scientists may be working along similar lines at the same time, this means that the first to give public notification of a discovery pre-empts the work of the others. Consequently, the communication system must be able to establish clearly who has priority for each step forward. [Meadows, 1998, p.49]

Therefore, the organisation, presentation and implementation of scientific information has to be compatible with the practices of scientists in other places and times. Consequently, there are handbooks about writing scientific publications (such as [Day, 1979]), and there is a prototypical format of (some types of) scientific publications.

Quality: The message is required to be correct or to have adequate grounds for belief. The sender is supposed to be honest and to be reasoned, and he can be held accountable for the message. This requirement is based on the communication rule against insincere speech acts.

Absolute correctness can be guaranteed only in cases where rigorous proofs are possible. Therefore, the requirement of quality is specified to the requirement that the information has to be correct given the current state of affairs in science, i.e. that it has to be based on adequate grounds for belief. This implies that the information has to be controllable.

Consequently, scientific communication has to meet particular clarity and completeness requirements. To control a scientific claim, the receiver requires a full and clear description of the procedures and methods that have been used. In particular, the receiver has to be made aware of the restrictions of these methods, and the consequent restrictions of the validity of the findings.

Furthermore, if information depends on other information, that dependency relation has to be explicit. In particular, it is necessary to specify the sources of previous results used in this work.

When the dependency relations are made explicit, it is possible to trace the consequences of adjustments or refutations of particular information to the validity of other information. If, for example, an assumption used in a method turns out to be unwarranted, all findings based on that method are suspect.

Relevance: The message has to be relevant given the goals of the interactants at each stage of the interaction. In other words, the sender has to provide the appropriate type of information.

The requirement for relevance follows from the rule to perform no speech act that is not appropriate at that point in the sequence of speech acts.

A Profile of the Interactants in Scientific Communication via Articles

Scientific information via articles is a particular type of goal-oriented communication. Therefore, we have to specify who are the interactants, what are the goals that the interactants try to achieve, and what requirements the communication system and the article must fulfil in order to allow the interactants to achieve these goals.

The interactants are scientists who play various roles, as senders and receivers, in the communication process. In this discussion, the emphasis lies on the receiver's requirements, because the authors also concentrate on the prospective receivers (they must tailor their article to the receivers' needs) and the requirements of the senders concerned with the added value coincide with receiver requirements.

Senders

In pure science, researchers both publish and read articles, alternating the roles of sender and receiver. Authors are scientists who create scientific information and represent it in scientific articles, in the first main stage of the communication process. We assume that these scientists not only have research skills, but also have sufficient presentation skills, such as writing skills. They may be assisted by referees and editors.

We concentrate on what we assume to be the author's primary goal: the advancement of science. This goal has two aspects: firstly, the author aims to add to the body of scientific knowledge, offering present and future colleagues information that they can use in their own research. Secondly, the author wants to advance his own research by soliciting feedback from colleagues.

In order to achieve this primary goal, the author has to achieve three interactional goals in the article: he has to (1) inform the receiver of his work, (2) convince him of its reliability, and (3) convince him of its relevance.

Now, let us consider the requirements that must be fulfilled to allow the author to achieve his goals. The author's primary goal can be achieved only if the receiver's requirements for effective and efficient communication are met. Therefore, the author has to present the information in a clear and acceptable way when creating the document in the first stage. For that purpose, the standard format for articles has to be clear, so that the author understands how and where he has to represent the information. Furthermore, he needs appropriate tools and guidelines allowing him to present and encode, in a convenient way, all the information he considers relevant. This implies that the author should not be limited to textual or `printable' representations, or limited by restrictions with regard to the amount of information. It also implies that the author should not be obliged to do unnecessary work: if part of the information that the author wants to convey has already been presented, he has to be able to re-use that previous presentation. Since the representation of scientific information requires a profound understanding of the information itself, it is more efficient for the scientist to write the article himself then to explain everything to a non-scientist professional writer and delegate the representation of the information.

Senders Disseminating Documents: Editors, Referees and Indexers

In the second main stage of communication (disseminating the message), scientists can play the role of journal editor, referee and indexer. Editors who actively solicit articles for publication aim to elicit all relevant information available, steering the flow of the information. For that purpose, they have to be aware of existing knowledge and interesting developments in the field.

The referees responsible for the scientific quality control must be experts on the subject of the article. The goal of the referee is to ensure the scientific quality of the article, by either eliminating or ameliorating incorrect, incomplete or unclear articles.

The goal of indexing is to provide index terms that characterise the information represented in the document in such a way that the receivers are enabled to locate the document if it is relevant to their information needs. These index terms can be provided by the author, by a professional indexer, or by an automatic indexing computer programme. If the author is responsible for the characterisation of the article, it can be seen as part of the creation of the article. If a professional indexer has to find adequate index terms, he has to read and understand the article. Thus, the requirements of the scientists adding value to an article that they have not written themselves correspond to requirements of the receivers. Therefore, we shall consider the requirements of these types of senders in conjunction with the requirements of the receivers.

Receivers

The intended receivers (or `target audience') of scientific articles are peers, i.e. scientists who have approximately the same background as the author. Nevertheless, as we already stated in section 2.1.3, scientific communication via articles is heterogeneous: not all members of the target audience are equally familiar with the subject. The receivers' `degree of familiarity' ranges from the least-informed to the most-informed receiver. The most informed receiver is the expert. The question as to who is the least informed receiver, i.e. what is the minimum of knowledge on a specified subject that the receivers are presumed to have, depends on the domain and the level of specialism of the article. The `degree of familiarity' with the subject affects the receivers' goals and their requirements for effective and efficient communication.

Receivers Acquiring Documents: Searchers and Browsers

The receiver can have different specific goals in the stage of information acquisition: (1) to find specific information, (2) to look for new ideas, and (3) to keep informed. To achieve these goals, the scientist engages in different activities.

To locate the desired type of information in activity (11), the receiver needs the means to differentiate between information sources, with respect to their nature and quality. Therefore, articles are required to be certified, as an outcome of the quality control (6).

Browsing: To see what is available, the scientist browses. In other words, he performs a semi-directed or an undirected search, skimming articles or tables of contents of journals, or wandering through larger repositories of information (e.g. the shelves in the library or an electronic documentbase). The browser's goal is to encounter interesting information. Informed browsers mostly monitor the information system to keep informed [Ellis et al., 1993]. Scientists who are less familiar with the subject rather look for new ideas, in what is called in [Chang, 1993] 'serendipity browsing'.

Especially for the less-informed browser, both the article itself and the larger depository of documents (e.g. the library) are required to be structured clearly and relevantly. This implies that the structure needs to be compatible with what the receiver expect and that it has to be made explicit. Therefore, both the documents and the connections between them must be characterised properly, so that the browser can decide quickly whether a particular document is worth inspecting or not. Making the structure explicit in a `road map' would greatly assist the browser.

In order to obtain a clear structure, it has to be properly conceived on the conceptual level in (2) and properly realised in the writing activity (3). The archives have to be clearly structured in (10).

The informed browser mainly tries to keep abreast of the latest developments in his field. Therefore, he wants to be alerted when potentially relevant information is published (9). The time delay in the publication process has to be minimised, in order to ensure the actuality of the information. For the sake of efficiency, the informed browser wants to see immediately what is the novel information (as opposed to the background information) that warranted the publication of the article.

Searching: In order to find specific information, the scientist performs a directed search. For example, he can search for a number or a definition, for advice to help him solve a problem, for a review on a specific subject, or for the precise address of an author. The more informed the searcher is about the subject, the better he is able to perform such a search, either with or without the support of an information specialist assisting in the technical aspects of the manipulation of the information system.

The basic requirements for searching information are completeness and findability: if the particular information unit the receiver needs exists, (1) it has to be available, and (2) the receiver has to be able to locate it.

For completeness, all potentially relevant information has to be taken into account in the author's organisation of the information at the conceptual level (2). A fundamental problem concerning the completeness is that the author does not know what information could be relevant in other contexts, even if he strives for the completeness of what he thinks essential. Then, all potentially relevant information is required to be expressed in the article in (3) (the actual writing of the article) and subsequently encoded in (4). Relevant information can be lost for technical reasons in these activities.

Completeness also implies that all articles containing relevant information must be made available. They risk being lost altogether, when they are not included in some appropriate collection (in activity (5)). In the quality control (6), relevant information can get lost, if it is rejected along with incorrect information. Furthermore, the information should not stay in the 'publication pipeline' too long, but it has to be published (9) quickly. Once articles have been made available, the searcher requires that they remain available, i.e. that the articles are properly archived (10). Access to the archives and the security of the articles have to be guaranteed permanently.

Supposing that relevant information is available, the next step is to find it. For that purpose, a correct characterisation is indispensable. The information has to be adequately characterised, and that characterisation has to be represented at the symbolic level in a set of index terms, which then must be associated to the signal encoding the document.

The characterisation must be correct (i.e. the index terms must correspond to the information they describe), clear and relevant (i.e. they should describe the information in a way that fits the receivers' expectations and needs). It is also required to be complete (i.e. all information must be characterised), to reduce the risk of the receiver missing the target altogether. In terms of Information Retrieval, this point is mostly concerned with the `recall' of the search result. For the enhancement of the `precision' of the search result, the characterisation must also be sufficiently precise: it should be narrow (i.e. the combined index terms should not be more general, for example, than the information) and fine-grained, in the sense that the representation of each different type of information that the receiver may be looking for should carry its own index terms. The information that the searcher is trying to locate is not necessarily what is represented in an entire article. Therefore, the precision of the search not only implies that no irrelevant documents should be retrieved, but also that the retrieved documents that contain relevant information do not contain any irrelevant information, or that the representation of the relevant information is highlighted within the document. Therefore, smaller publication units than the article have to be explicitly labelled in the case that an article is composed of parts representing different types of information. In the next chapter, we shall see that in a modular article, each module carries a unique characterisation.
Retrieving: Then, the receiver wants to retrieve the article quickly, easily and cheaply in activity. Therefore, there should not be insurmountable technical or financial barriers blocking the archives.Receivers assimilating the information contained in documents: comprehensive and selective readers, and users

• Decoding: For the transmission (and in particular storage) of the document, the symbolic representation of the information may have been translated into some computer language. In that case, the receiver has to decode the signal in order to obtain the article itself. For example, if information represented in terms of a picture has been transmitted as a computer file in a picture format, it has to be translated back to the pictorial language that the (human) receiver can interpret. For this purpose, the receiver requires appropriate 'tools'. In cases of exotic or obsolete encoding formats such tools may be unavailable.
• Reading: The receiver aims to learn from the article and to use the information represented in it in his own research. When consulting a scientific article, he therefore has the following specific goals, which reflect the author's interactional goals: (1) to get informed, (2) to evaluate the reliability of the information, and (3) to evaluate the relevance of the information in the light of his own needs. For this purpose, the receiver can read the article comprehensively or selectively in activity of the communication process.

In the case of comprehensive reading, the receiver consults the article as a whole, following the discourse linearly from the beginning to the end. Traditionally, articles are written to be read in this way. According to [Bazerman, 1985], most comprehensive reading is for self-instruction in areas beyond the intimate knowledge of the receiver. Thus, the receiver studies the article as a tutorial [Dillon et al., 1989]. He has to be sufficiently informed to be able to read an article written for peers comprehensively without additional background information. The most informed receivers may read an article comprehensively, in order to judge its quality. However, they are not always interested in reading the entire article, being already familiar with most of its contents.

In the case of selective reading, the scientists do not consult the article as a whole. Instead, they extract only the specific parts they need. Bazerman has interviewed informed physicists, to analyse their reading strategies. He found that the majority of the interviewees read the larger part of the articles selectively [Bazerman, 1985, p.11]. Receivers do not consult the article sequentially either. Instead, they start with the interesting part and then jump to additional information. Rather than studying the article like a tutorial, the `selective receiver' consults the article more like a reference book. A special type of `selective reader' consults the meta-information of an article, rather than its scientific content. This role is played by non-scientists for administrative purposes, but also by scientists who want, for instance, to contact an author or to find a specific reference.

To allow the receiver to assimilate the information represented in an article, it has to be structured and expressed in a clear and readable way, so that the receiver can absorb (15) and evaluate (16) the information easily. In particular, the coherence of the information has to be expressed. In this context, the problem of incompleteness, already mentioned for the acquisition of information, also affects the receiver: explanations, extensive calculations and interesting proofs cannot be replaced by a statement like ``you can easily show that''. We assume that, for the sake of clarity, the distinction between old and new work has to be made explicit. We also assume that the receiver wants the main claim of the article to be highlighted and that the receiver wants to be able to asses the contents of the article and evaluate its potential interest quickly. Therefore, it also has to be clear how the article fits in its context.

For comprehensive reading, readability implies that the receiver is guided smoothly from the beginning of the article to the end, while in the structure the main issues are separated from side-issues. For the purpose of selective reading, the article has to be organised in small coherent units, so that the relevant specific information is not encumbered by the rest. For the selective consultation of the meta-information, these data in particular are required to be grouped and clearly structured. Thus, comprehensive readers and selective readers have conflicting requirements. If receivers must be able to read same article in two different ways, the article will have to be structured in a particularly clear and flexible way.

Furthermore, the article has to be produced (8), published (9) and stored (10) in such a way that its (physical or electronic) 'technical presentation' is either directly user-friendly, or easily re-formatted as such. The reader has to be able to transport and store the article for (re)use at a later time, to compare information and annotate the article.

• Incorporating: If the receiver judges the information to be sufficiently reliable and relevant, he can incorporate it in his own work. For instance, he can utilise it directly as input in a calculation, as a guideline for the fine-tuning of his own experimental set-up, or for comparison with his own results. This implies, from a technical point of view, that the information has to be presented and stored in a manipulable form.

The information can only be used wisely if it is complete, in particular with respect to its restrictions. The more familiar the scientist is with the subject, the more natural it is for him to use information from the article, without first reading the whole story. If the receiver does not accept the information, he can contribute to science by explicitly refuting that information.

In the context of scientific articles, this implies that the information has to be controllable. Therefore, the source of cited information must be made explicit and the acquisition of the cited material has to be easy, so that the information can easily be checked. Furthermore, the receiver requires assistance in judging the article, in particular if he is not sufficiently well-informed to recognise unreliable information as such, or if he wants to use the information directly. Therefore, certification plays a crucial role in this stage, informing the receiver about the reliability of the information.

Related to the requirement of scientific quality is that of the integrity of the information. In the archives, the article has to remain `intact'. However, the archives must be flexible enough to allow for the addition of new versions, comments and explicit corrections, to keep the information up to date and ensure that obsolete information can be recognised as such. The original version of a published article must not be changed.

Summarising, we have discussed the following requirements of the interactants in the process of scientific communication.  As a prerequisite, the communication system in general has to fulfil the following requirements, including dissemination requirements. It should:

• provide practical tools and guidelines that facilitate authoring;
• register publications, establishing their existence and securing the authors' intellectual ownership and priority;
• disseminate rapidly;
• durably store publications in such a way that receivers can easily locate and retrieve them;
• guarantee that the authenticity and integrity of publications are preserved;
• enable receivers to obtain publications in a (physical, digital) form that allows them to easily consult, annotate, transport and store the publications, and to manipulate their contents;
• provide practical tools and guidelines for navigation, and for searching, retrieving and consulting publications.

Concerning the article, the author has the following requirements

• 'Creation requirements': The prescribed format of the article has to
• spare the author unnecessary work;
• be clear.

The scientific article itself has to meet the following criteria to satisfy the receiver:
Acquisition requirements': The representation of the information has to be characterised completely, sufficiently precisely, correctly, clearly and relevantly

• 'Assimilation requirements': The represented information has to be:
• the appropriate quantity, i.e. sufficient and not excessive;
• clear, i.e. clearly structured and clearly formulated (or, generally speaking, clearly expressed in any language, e.g. natural language, formulae, graphics);
• high-quality, i.e. based on adequate grounds for belief, and therefore it has to be controllable and certified;
• relevant to the central problem of the article.

2

Electronic Publishing

In the previous section, we have specified the requirements for efficient and effective scientific communication independently of the publication medium. In this section, we discuss the intrinsic characteristics of the electronic publishing technology (compared with the paper based technology) in terms of the impact they may have on the fulfilment of the requirements on scientific communication.

Distribution

The electronic distribution of scientific articles is more efficient than the distribution of printed articles by the traditional distribution channels, as it is distributed more quickly and more directly. Information can be made available more quickly, when it is published on-line. Firstly, the distribution itself causes no delays. Secondly, articles or other publication units can be published as soon as they are ready, without waiting for the next issue of the journal. Thus, an electronic journal can lose its periodical character and the flow of information can become continuous.

The issue of speed and ease with which an article can be obtained has two sides. On the one hand, navigating within an on-line article, once it has been found, may be relatively slow due to network congestion. On the other hand, on-line publications from different sources are accessible directly from the scientists desktop, whereas a paper or off-line publication in most cases has to be separately consulted in or fetched from the library or some other central service. Thus, electronic publications can be obtained quickly and easily, provided that the infrastructure is sufficient and the user interface is adequate.

The author's requirement for high visibility is not fulfilled by most of the present day electronic journals. At this moment, paper journals have a more serious image, a much higher status and a far larger audience then electronic journals. This is not an intrinsic characteristic of the medium, but a description of the status quo. We assume that the prestige of the new media will increase when enough important scientists have published articles in scientifically adequate electronic journals.

Storage

As a storage medium, an electronic memory is much more efficient than paper. Therefore, it is possible to present in an electronic article large amounts of information that cannot reasonably be published in a printed article. In an electronic environment, it is also possible to store and present messages that cannot be printed at all. For example, in an electronic article, the symbolic representation of the information can be a sound or a movie, instead of a text or a picture. The choice of the medium does not have an impact on the requirements with respect to the writing itself, but the electronic media can enhance the clarity of the article, because the most appropriate type of representation can be chosen.

The impact of electronic storage on the requirement of completeness is mixed. On the one hand, an electronic article can present material that cannot be printed, including intrinsically unprintable animations and amounts of data that are too large to be printed in practice. On the other hand, information may be lost, because the electronic media are not as secure as the print medium (yet).

Complex Search Operations

An important advantage of electronic storage is that it allows for complex search operations, within a document as well as within an entire archive. The receiver can locate relevant articles by searching in bibliographic databases with abstracts (e.g. INSPEC), as well as in full text `document bases'. In order to allow the receiver to take advantage of this possibility, the representation of the information has to be characterised clearly and correctly.

Separating the Storage from the Presentation Format

Another advantage of electronic storage is that information can be stored independently of the presentation. Upon each retrieval of the information, it can be decided how it is to be presented-on screen or on paper, and which font, format and appearance are most suitable for a particular task. This feature is explicitly used in descriptive languages as Standard Generalized Markup Language (SGML) or Extensible Markup Language (XML), where the structure of the presentation is marked up in a functional way (labelling headers and sections) instead of a typographical description (in terms of fonts and sizes) [ISO, 1986].

In an electronic environment, the production of a truly physical product can be entirely eliminated, or replaced by a print job on a laser printer in the receivers office. In the user-survey reported in [Coles, 1993], all respondents indicated that they wanted print-on-paper versions of articles of interest; they preferred to restrict reading from the screen to article scanning. It must therefore be possible to obtain an adequate printed version of electronic articles. This requirement, however, is far more stringent for the comprehensive receiver than for the selective receiver, who does not read the entire article. At least using the current technology, paper is easier to handle than the computer for the reader. It is more pleasant to read from paper than from a computer screen. Also, a paper article is more portable and it can more easily be annotated. And viewing different documents (or parts of documents) simultaneously is more practical if they are spread out over a desk than if they are presented on the screen.

Flexibility

An electronic journal is more flexible than its paper equivalent. Information represented in an electronic article can be presented in such a way that the receiver can manipulate it. For example, experimental data can be presented in a machine-readable format, integrated with tools for calculation and plotting graphs. In an electronic article, not only the presentation is flexible, but the storage as well. Whereas a printed article is fixed, an electronic article can be changed. In printed articles, effective updating is impossible, because the only instruments are errata, addenda and follow-up articles pointing back. In an electronic environment, various additions can be attached to the original article, such as comments or links pointing forward to later work on the subject. Thus, the correctness and the clarity of articles can be enhanced in an efficient way.

This flexibility can also be used to adapt the system of peer review. The essence of the certification of the information as such does not depend on the technology but on the social and philosophical ideas about science. However, it can be implemented in different ways and at different times. Nowadays, selection takes place before publication and the acceptance in that particular journal forms the certification. On-line electronic publication allows for spontaneous peer review after the article has been published without previous selection. The comments, made by referees before and after publication, can be attached to the article, giving a specific certification with all necessary nuances, instead of a simple acceptance by some journal. The receiver himself can then filter the information flow, aided by the certification of the articles or the lack thereof. The higher the status of the referee, the more convinced the receiver will be of the scientific quality.

The flip side of flexibility is insecurity. So far, electronically stored documents are less secure than printed documents. Firstly, files can be changed without authorisation. It is important to protect the integrity of the original article, to avoid confusion, e.g. by 'watermarking' original copies. This problem does not occur if the information has been stored on a read-only carrier, such as a CD-ROM. Secondly, the electronic information stored on any carrier can become inaccessible if the carrier breaks down or becomes obsolete. Technical and organisational solutions must be found for these problems.

Non-linearity

The electronic media provide us with a distributed storage environment, which allows for a flexible consultation of publication units. On paper, a linear, essay-like one-dimensional presentation of the text is natural: the readers is supposed to begin at the top of the first page and follow the line of the article until the bottom of the final page. The electronic media allow for a non-linear, hypertext presentation. According to [Conklin, 1987, p.36]:

People [...] think in terms of ideas, facts and evidence. Hypertext, via the notion of nodes as individual expressions of ideas, provides a vehicle which respects this way of thinking and working.

If the structure of an article and of a larger repository of knowledge is non-linear, it can be organised and presented in such a way that the clarity is enhanced and navigation is facilitated. However, hypertext has a double-edged impact on the clarity of the representation of information. On the one hand, the representation can reflect the structure of the information more closely, and thereby more clearly, if the information is non-linear. On the other hand, the non-linear representation can lead to disorientation, and an increase of the `cognitive load', as the reader has to make an additional effort to know where he is and how to get to the desired location. Therefore, the requirement of clarity is even more crucial in a non-linear presentation than in a linear presentation.

Thus, hypertext can provide a tool for the presentation of information in scientific articles, provided that an adequate structure is devised for the organisation of the information. In this thesis, we develop a model for a systematic non-linear structure for scientific articles.

Communication Criteria for Electronic Articles

In the previous sections, we have discussed the needs of the scientists engaged as senders and receivers in scientific communication, as well as the characteristics of the electronic medium. In this section, we summarise the 'communication criteria' that the electronic scientific article itself, and in particular its structure, must fulfil to satisfy the interactants' needs.

Firstly, the representation of the information has to satisfy the following `retrieval requirement': the representation has to be characterised completely, sufficiently precisely, correctly, clearly and relevantly in order to allow the receiver to locate, by means of complex search operations, the information that satisfies his information needs.

Communication criteria for the characterisation:
Each publication unit has to be precisely and uniquely characterised so that it can be localised by (and so that the receivers are informed of) at least:

• its domain-oriented content (allowing the receivers to search for units on the desired subject);
• its genre (allowing them to search for and to filter units with the desired aims, e.g. tutorial, article) and publication status (allowing them to filter unpublished material from published material);
• its standard bibliographic data.
• The structure of the publication has to be predictable. This allows (1) the searcher who has located a publication unit using its characterisation (during the retrieval process) to find in this publication unit indeed the information that the characterisation led him to expect. This also allows (2) the receiver (during the reading process) to recognise the role of the unit in the discourse.
• The metadata of every unit must be made explicit and grouped in such a way that they can be used to locate the publication and that they can easily be consulted by the receiver during the reading process.

Secondly, once the receiver has obtained the message, that message has to fulfil the requirements of quantity, clarity, quality and relevance. Structuring the article adequately can contribute most to the fulfilment of the quantity and the clarity requirement. In particular, the representation of the information in an article has to satisfy the following 'reading requirements' in order to allow the receiver to assimilate it.

Quantity: The requirement of quantity implies sufficiency and no excessiveness: all information necessary to fulfil the receiver's information need has to be provided, but all unnecessary information must be avoided.

Communication Criteria for the Quantity:

• Each issue that will presumably be considered a separate subject by part of the target audience has to be dealt with in a separate unit.
• Each unit has to be self-contained, so that it can be located, retrieved, consulted, cited and used repeatedly as a separate entity
• Clarity: The representation of the information is required to be clearly structured.

Communication Criteria for the Clarity:

• The representation of research information should have a structure reflecting the process of the research itself (reconstructed as a problem-solving process, not as a depiction of the day-to-day proceedings).
• The representation has to contain explicit, precise connections between the related parts of the article and between (parts of) the article and related (parts of) articles, so that:
• the accounts of subsequent steps in the problem-solving process are connected (for content-oriented coherence: what depends on what);
• the steps in the line of reasoning are connected (for argumentative or rhetorical coherence);The structure of the article in particular, and of the collection of articles in general, must be made explicit in a clear overview.
• The representation of information in a publication unit (or in a coherent collection of units) has to form a 'readable' discourse.
• Receivers must be able to follow the main line without being bogged down in details or background information.
• All details and background information that are necessary for the members of the target audience to understand the discourse have to be made explicitly available. There is tension between the need for full detail and the need for a clear line of discourse mentioned above.
• The discourse has to contain summarising remarks that facilitate the receivers' understanding of large and complicated parts of the discourse.
• The same information should not be unnecessarily repeated in a coherent discourse.
• The repetition can be necessary 1) in summaries (following the previous criterion) or 2) to meet the criteria of self-containedness in order to meet the quantity requirement of receivers who do not follow the entire discourse. In the last case, there is tension between the need for repetition by selective receivers and the need for a smooth discourse by comprehensive receivers.
• A distinction has to be made between main points and side issues, and between new information and background information.
• Quality: The information is required to be based on adequate grounds for belief, i.e. to be correct given the current state of affairs in science. To guarantee this claim of quality, the information has to be:
• controllable by the receiver;
• Communication criterion: Details about all methods used in the research and about its outcome (in particular about their restrictions) must be made available to the receiver, to justify the reliability of the work.
• certified by an accepted authority (e.g. a referee, a PhD committee). In addition, the authenticity and the integrity must be guaranteed.

• Communication Criterion: The certification and authenticity must be expressed in metadata that must be made explicit and grouped for every publication unit in such a way that they can easily be consulted by receivers of the publication.
• Relevance: The information represented in the article is required to be relevant to the problem of the article.
• Communication Criterion: If the relevance of the information to the problem is not immediately clear, it has to be justified.

Thirdly, the publication format has to fulfil the following authoring requirements.

• From the authors' perspective, the quantity requirement means that they do not have to do more work than necessary.
• Communication criterion: Information has to be represented in a way that allows for multiple use of the presentation by means of reference to a previous publication.
• The requirement of clarity implies that the prescribed format has to be clear, so that the author understands how and where he should represent the information.
• Communication Criterion: The format has to be systematic, allowing the author to follow practical guidelines and to get used to it.

 3

Publishing

Introduction

Publishing is the process of production and dissemination of literature or information-the activity of making information available for public view. In some cases, authors may be their own publishers.

Traditionally, the term refers to the distribution of printed works such as books (the "book world") and newspapers. With the advent of digital information systems and the Internet, the scope of publishing has expanded to include electronic resources, such as the electronic versions of books and periodicals, as well as websites, blogs, and the like.

Publishing includes the stages of the development, acquisition, marketing, production-printing (and its electronic equivalents), and distribution of newspapers, magazines, books, literary works, musical works, software and other works dealing with information, including the electronic media.

Publication is also important as a legal concept:

• as the process of giving formal notice to the world of a significant intention, for example, to marry or enter bankruptcy;
• as the essential precondition of being able to claim defamation; that is, the alleged libel must have been published, and
• for copyright purposes, where there is a difference in the protection of published and unpublished works.

The Process of Publishing

Book and magazine publishers spend a lot of their time buying or commissioning copy. At a small press, it is possible to survive by relying entirely on commissioned material. But as activity increases, the need for works may outstrip the publisher's established circle of writers.

Writers often first submit a query letter or proposal. The majority of unsolicited submissions come from previously unpublished authors. When such manuscripts are unsolicited, they must go through the slush pile, in which acquisitions editors sift through to identify manuscripts of sufficient quality or revenue potential to be referred to the editorial staff. Established authors are often represented by a literary agent to market their work to publishers and negotiate contracts.

Acceptance and Negotiation

Once a work is accepted, commissioning editors negotiate the purchase of intellectual property rights and agree on royalty rates.

The authors of traditional printed materials sell exclusive territorial intellectual property rights that match the list of countries in which distribution is proposed (i.e. the rights match the legal systems under which copyright protections can be enforced). In the case of books, the publisher and writer must also agree on the intended formats of publication--mass-market paperback, "trade" paperback and hardback are the most common options.

The situation is slightly more complex if electronic formatting is to be used. Where distribution is to be by CD-ROM or other physical media, there is no reason to treat this form differently from a paper format, and a national copyright is an acceptable approach. But the possibility of Internet download without the ability to restrict physical distribution within national boundaries presents legal problems that are usually solved by selling language or translation rights rather than national rights. Thus, Internet access across the European Union is relatively open because of the laws forbidding discrimination based on nationality, but the fact of publication in, say, France, limits the target market to those who read French.

Having agreed on the scope of the publication and the formats, the parties in a book agreement must then agree royalty rates, the percentage of the gross retail price that will be paid to the author. This is difficult because the publisher must estimate the potential sales in each market and balance projected revenue against production costs.

Editorial Stage

Once the immediate commercial decisions are taken and the technical legal issues resolved, the author may be asked to improve the quality of the work through rewriting or smaller changes, and the staff will edit the work. Publishers may maintain a house style, and staff will copy edit to ensure that the work matches the style and grammatical requirements of each market. Editing may also involve structural changes and requests for more information. Some publishers employ fact checkers.

Prepress

When a final text is agreed upon, the next phase is design. This may include artwork being commissioned or confirmation of layout. In publishing, the word "art" also indicates photographs. This process prepares the work for printing through processes such as typesetting, dust jacket composition, specification of paper quality, binding method and casing, and proofreading.

The activities of typesetting, page layout, the production of negatives, plates from the negatives and, for hardbacks, the preparation of brasses for the spine legend and imprint are now all computerized. Prepress computerization evolved mainly in about the last twenty years of the 20th century. If the work is to be distributed electronically, the final files are saved as formats appropriate to the target operating systems of the hardware used for reading. These may include PDF files.

Publishing as a Business

The publisher usually controls the advertising and other marketing tasks, but may subcontract various aspects of the process described above. In smaller companies, editing, proofreading and layout might be done by freelancers.

Dedicated in-house salespeople are rapidly being replaced by specialized companies who handle sales to bookshops, wholesalers and chain stores for a fee. This trend is accelerating as retail book chains and supermarkets have centralized their buying.

If the entire process up to the stage of printing is handled by an outside company or individuals, and then sold to the publishing company, it is known as book packaging. This is a common strategy between smaller publishers in different territorial markets where the company that first buys the intellectual property rights then sells a package to other publishers and gains an immediate return on capital invested. Indeed, the first publisher will often print sufficient copies for all markets and thereby get the maximum quantity efficiency on the print run for all.

Some businesses maximize their profit margins through vertical integration; book publishing is not one of them. Although newspaper and magazine companies still often own printing presses and binderies, book publishers rarely do. Similarly, the trade usually sells the finished products through a distributor who stores and distributes the publisher's wares for a percentage fee or sells on a sale or return basis.

The advent of the Internet has therefore posed an interesting question that challenges publishers, distributors and retailers. In 2005, Amazon.com announced its purchase of Booksurge and self sane publishing, a major print on demand operation. This is probably intended as a preliminary move towards establishing an Amazon imprint. One of the largest bookseller chains, Barnes & Noble, already runs its own successful imprint with both new titles and classics-hardback editions of out-of-print former best sellers. Similarly, Ingram Industries, parent company of Ingram Book Group (a leading US book wholesaler), now includes its own print-on-demand division called Lightning Source. Among publishers, Simon & Schuster recently announced that it will start selling its backlist titles directly to consumers through its website.

Book clubs are almost entirely direct-to-retail, and niche publishers pursue a mixed strategy to sell through all available outlets-their output is insignificant to the major booksellers, so lost revenue poses no threat to the traditional symbiotic relationships between the four activities of printing, publishing, distribution and retail.

Academic Publishing

The development of the printing press represented a revolution for communicating the latest hypotheses and research results to the academic community and supplemented what a scholar could do personally. But this improvement in the efficiency of communication created a challenge for libraries which have had to accommodate the weight and volume of literature.

To understand the scale of the problem it can be pointed that approximately two centuries ago the number of scientific papers published annually was doubling every fifteen years. Today, the number of published papers doubles about every ten years. Modern academics can now run electronic journals and distribute academic materials without the need for publishers. Not surprisingly, publishers perceive this emancipation as a serious threat to their business. In reality, the interests of scholars and publishers have long been in conflict.

Today, publishing academic journals and textbooks is a large part of an international industry. The shares of the major publishing companies are listed on national stock exchanges and management policies must satisfy the dividend expectations of international shareholders. Critics claim that these standardized accounting and profit-oriented policies have come to the fore and now constrain more altruistic leanings. In contrast to the commercial model, there is non-profit publishing, where the publishing organization is either organised specifically for the purpose of publishing, such as a university press, or is one of the functions of an organisation such as a medical charity, founded to achieve specific practical goals. An alternative approach to the corporate model is open access, the online distribution of individual articles and academic journals without charge to readers and libraries.

Tie-in Publishing

Technically, radio, television, cinemas, VCDs and DVDs, music systems, games, computer hardware and mobile telephony publish information to their audiences. Indeed, the marketing of a major film often includes a novelization, a graphic novel or comic version, the soundtrack album, a game, model, toys and endless promotional publications.

Some of the major publishers have entire divisions devoted to a single franchise, e.g. Ballantine Del Rey Lucasbooks has the exclusive rights to Star Wars in the United States; Random House UK (Bertelsmann)/Century LucasBooks holds the same rights in the United Kingdom. The game industry self-publishes through BL Publishing/Black Library (Warhammer) and Wizards of the Coast (Dragonlance, Forgotten Realms, etc). The BBC has its own publishing division which does very well with long-running series such as Doctor Who. These multimedia works are cross-marketed aggressively and sales frequently outperform the average stand-alone published work, making them a focus of corporate interest.

Independent Publishing Alternatives

Writers in a specialized field or with a narrower appeal have found smaller alternatives to the mass market in the form of small presses and self-publishing. More recently, these options include print on demand and ebook format. These publishing alternatives provide an avenue for authors who believe that mainstream publishing will not meet their needs or who are in a position to make more money from direct sales than they could from bookstore sales, such as popular speakers who sell books after speeches.

Desktop Publishing

Desktop publishing (also known as DTP) combines a personal computer and page layout software to create publication documents on a computer for either large scale publishing or small scale local economical multifunction peripheral output and distribution. Users create page layouts with text, graphics, photos and other visual elements using software such as QuarkXPress, Adobe InDesign, the free Scribus, Microsoft Publisher, Apple Pages and (to some extent) any graphics software or word processor that combines editable text with images. For small jobs a few copies of a publication might be printed on a local printer. For larger jobs a computer file can be sent to a vendor for high-volume printing.

The term "desktop publishing" is commonly used to describe page layout skills. However, the skills and software are not limited to paper and books. The same skills and software are often used to create graphics for point of sale displays, promotional items, trade show exhibits, retail package designs, and outdoor signs.

Desktop publishing began in 1985 with the introduction of PageMaker software from Aldus and the LaserWriter printer from Apple Computer for the Apple Macintosh computer. The ability to create WYSIWYG page layouts on screen and then print pages at crisp 300 dpi resolution was revolutionary for both the typesetting industry as well as the personal computer industry. The term "desktop publishing" is attributed to Aldus Corporation founder Paul Brainerd, who sought a marketing catch-phrase to describe the small size and relative affordability of this suite of products in contrast to the expensive commercial phototypesetting equipment of the day.

Often considered a primary skill, increased accessibility to more user-friendly DTP software has made DTP a secondary skill to art direction, graphic design, multimedia development, marketing communications, administrative careers and advanced high school literacy in thriving economies. DTP skill levels range from what may be learned in a few hours (e.g. learning how to put clip art in a word processor) to what requires a college education and years of experience (e.g. advertising agency positions.) The discipline of DTP skills range from technical skills such as prepress production and programming to creative skills such as communication design and graphic image development.

By the standards of today, early desktop publishing was a primitive affair. Users of the PageMaker-LaserWriter-Macintosh 512K system endured frequent software crashes, the Mac's tiny 512 x 342 1-bit black and white screen, the inability to control letter spacing, kerning (the addition or removal of space between individual characters in a piece of typeset text to improve its appearance or alter its fit) and other typographic features, and discrepancies between the screen display and printed output. However, for that moment in time, it was received with considerable acclaim.

Behind-the-scenes technologies developed by Adobe Systems set the foundation for professional desktop publishing applications. The LaserWriter and LaserWriter Plus printers included high quality, scalable Adobe fonts built into their ROM memory. The LaserWriter's additional PostScript capability allowed publication designers to proof files on a local printer then print the same file at DTP service bureaus using optical resolution 600+ ppi PostScript-printers such as those from Linotronic. Later, the Macintosh II was released which was much more suitable for desktop publishing because of its larger, colour screen.

In 1986, the GEM-based Ventura Publisher was introduced for MS-DOS computers. While PageMaker's pasteboard metaphor closely simulated the process of creating layouts manually, Ventura Publisher automated the layout process through its use of tags/style sheets and automatically generated indices and other body matter. This made it suitable for manuals and other long-format documents. Desktop publishing moved into the home market in 1986 with Professional Page for the Amiga, Publishing Partner for the Atari ST, GST's Timeworks Publisher on the PC and Atari ST, Calamus for the Atari TT030, and even Home Publisher, Newsroom, and GEO Publish for 8-bit computers like the Apple II and Commodore 64.

During these early years, desktop publishing acquired a bad reputation from untrained users who created poorly-organized ransom note effect layouts-criticisms that would be levied again against early web publishers a decade later. However, some were able to realize truly professional results. For example,.info (magazine) became the very first desktop-published, full-colour, newsstand magazine in the last quarter of 1986, using a combination of Commodore Amiga computers, Professional Page desktop publishing software, and an Agfagraphics typesetter.

Comparisons with Word Processing

While desktop publishing software still provides extensive features necessary for print publishing, modern word processors now have publishing capabilities beyond those of many older DTP applications, blurring the line between word processing and desktop publishing.

In the early days of graphical user interfaces, DTP software was in a class of its own when compared to the fairly spartan word processing applications of the time. Programs such as WordPerfect and WordStar were still mainly text-based and offered little in the way of page layout, other than perhaps margins and line spacing. On the other hand, word processing software was necessary for features like indexing and spell checking, features that are today taken for granted.

As computers and operating systems have become more powerful, vendors have sought to provide users with a single application platform that can meet all needs. Software such as Open Office.org Writer and Microsoft Word offers advanced layouts and linking between documents, and DTP applications have added in common word processor features.

Comparisons with other Electronic Layout

In modern usage, DTP is not generally said to include tools such as TeX or troff, though both can easily be used on a modern desktop system and are standard with many Unix-like operating systems and readily available for other systems. The key difference between electronic typesetting software and DTP software is that DTP software is generally interactive and WYSIWYG in design, while older electronic typesetting software tends to operate in batch mode, requiring the user to enter the processing program's markup language manually without a direct visualization of the finished product. The older style of typesetting software occupies a substantial but shrinking niche in technical writing and textbook publication; however, since much software in this genre is freely available, it can be more cost-effective than the professionally-oriented DTP systems.

There is some overlap between desktop publishing and what is known as Hypermedia publishing (i.e. Web design, Kiosk, CD-ROM). Many graphical HTML editors such as Microsoft FrontPage and Dreamweaver use a layout engine similar to a DTP program. However, some Web designers still prefer to write HTML without the assistance of a WYSIWIG editor and resort to such software, if at all, solely for complex layout that cannot easily be rendered in hand-written HTML code.

Electronic Publishing

Electronic publishing includes the digital publication of ebooks and electronic articles, and the development of digital libraries and catalogues. Electronic publishing has become common in scientific publishing where it has been argued that peer-reviewed paper scientific journals are in the process of being replaced by electronic publishing. Although network distribution is nowadays strongly associated with electronic publishing, there are many non network electronic publications such as Encyclopedias on CD and DVD, as well as technical and reference publications relied on by mobile users and others without reliable and high speed access to a network.

There is usually a delay of several months after an article is written before it is published in a paper journal and this makes journals not an ideal format for disseminating the latest research. In some fields such as astronomy and some parts of physics, the role of the journal at disseminating the latest research has largely been replaced by preprint databases such as arXiv.org. However, scientific journals still provide an important role in quality control, archiving papers, and establishing scientific credit. In general, the electronic material uploaded to preprint database are still intended for eventual publication in a peer-reviewed journal.

There is an article titled "Online or Invisible?" (see link at end of article) which provides statistical evidence that electronic publishing provides wider dissemination. A number of journals have, while retaining their peer review process, established electronic versions or even moved entirely to electronic publication.

Electronic publishing is increasingly popular in works of fiction as well as with scientific articles. Electronic publishers are able to provide quick gratification for late-night readers, books that customers might not be able to find in standard book retailers (erotica is especially popular in eBook format), and books by new authors that would be unlikely to be profitable for traditional publishers.

Hyponyms are:

   • Online publishing

   • ePublishing

   • Web Publishing

While the term "Electronic Publishing" is primarily used today to refer to the current offerings of online and web-based publishers, the term has a history of being used to describe the development of new forms of production, distribution, and user interaction in regards to computer-based production of text and other interactive media. A good example of this use of the term can be found in the work of Walter Bender and his Electronic Publishing Research Group at the MIT Media Lab.

Editing

Editing is the process of preparing language, images, or sound for presentation through correction, condensation, organization, and other modifications. A person who edits is called an editor. A peer editor is usually referred to students editing each others work and giving tips for improvement.

Etymology

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, editor comes from the Latin phrase 'e ditus' which means "to put forward". The editor ludorum in Ancient Rome was the person who put on the games. The verb to edit is a back formation from editor.

Print Media

There are various levels of editorial positions in publishing. Typically one finds junior editorial assistants reporting to the senior level editorial managers and directors, who themselves report to senior executive editors responsible for project development to final releases. Human editors in the print publishing industry include people who are responsible for:

• Newspapers and wire services; see below.
• Organizing anthologies and other compilations.
• Organizing and publishing a magazine. The top editor may be called editor-in-chief. Those who get the magazine into the hands of readers and subscribers, even, have editorial titles and are called circulation editors. Frequent and esteemed contributors to a magazine may acquire the title editor at-large.
• Producing a definitive edition of a classic author's works-a scholarly editor.
• Organizing and managing contributions to a multi-author book-symposium editor or volume editor.
• Finding marketable ideas and presenting them to appropriate authors-a sponsoring editor.
• Obtaining copy or recruiting authors-such as the acquisitions editor or commissioning editor for a publishing house.
• Improving an author's writing so that they indeed say what they want to say, in an effective manner-a substantive editor. Depending on the writer's skill, this editing can sometimes turn into ghost writing. Substantive editing is seldom a title. Many types of editors do this type of work, either in-house at a publisher or on an independent basis.
• Correcting spelling, grammar, and matters of house style-a copyeditor. But copy editors at newspapers usually also have greater and higher responsibilities, which may include the design of pages and the selection of news stories for inclusion. At UK newspapers, the term is "sub-editor."
• Choosing the layout of the publication and communicating with the printer-a production editor. This and similar jobs are also called "layout editor," "design editor," "news designer," or-more so in the past-"makeup editor."
• The smaller the publication, the more these roles run together. In particular, the substantive editor and copy editor often overlap: Fact-checking and rewriting can be the responsibility of either.

Executive Editor

The top editor sometimes has the title executive editor or editor-in-chief (the former is replacing the latter in the language). This person is generally responsible for the content of the publication. The exception is that newspapers that are large enough usually have a separate editor for the editorials and opinion pages in order to have a complete separation of its news reporting and its editorial content.

The executive editor sets the publication standards for performance, as well as for motivating and developing the staff. The executive editor is also responsible for developing and maintaining the publication budget.

In concert with the publisher and the operating committee, the executive editor is responsible for strategic and operational planning.

Newspapers

Editors at newspapers supervise journalists and improve their work. Newspaper editing encompasses a variety of titles and functions. These include:

• Copyeditors
• Department editors
• Managing editors and assistant or deputy managing editors (the managing editor is often second in line after the top editor)
• News editors, who oversee the news desks
• Photo or picture editors
• Section editors and their assistants, such as for business, features, and sports
• Editorial Page Editor who oversees the coverage on the editorial page. This includes chairing the Editorial Board and assigning editorial writing responsibilities. The editorial page editor may also oversee the op-ed page or those duties are assigned to a separate op-ed editor.
• Top editors, who may be called editor in chief or executive editor
• Readers' editors, sometimes known as the ombudsman, who arbitrate complaints
• Wire editors, who choose and edit articles from various international wire services, and are usually part of the copy desk
• Administrative editors (who actually don't edit but perform duties such as recruiting and directing training)

The term city editor is used differently in North America, where it refers to the editor responsible for the news coverage of a newspaper's local circulation area (also sometimes called metro editor), and in the United Kingdom, where (normally with a capital C) it refers to the editor responsible for coverage of business in the City of London and, by extension, coverage of business and finance in general.
Scholarly Books and Journals

Editors of scholarly books and journals are of three types, each with particular responsibilities: the acquisitions editor (or commissioning editor in Britain), who contracts with the author to produce the copy, the project editor or production editor, who sees the copy through its stages from manuscript through bound book and usually assumes most of the budget and schedule responsibilities, and the copyeditor or manuscript editor, who performs the tasks of readying the copy for conversion into printed form.

The primary difference between copy editing scholarly books and journals and other sorts of copy editing lies in applying the standards of the publisher to the copy. Most scholarly publishers have a preferred style guide, usually a combination of Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary and either the The Chicago Manual of Style, the MLA Style Manual, or the APA Publication Manual. Since scholars often have strong preferences, very often a publisher will adopt different styles for different fields. For instance, psychologists prefer the APA style, while linguists might prefer the MLA style. These guidelines offer sound advice on making cited sources complete and correct and making the presentation scholarly.

Technical Editing

Technical editing involves reviewing text written on a technical topic, and identifying errors related to the use of language in general or adherence to a specific style guide.

This activity ensures that documentation is of good quality. In large companies, experienced writers are dedicated to the technical editing function; in organizations that cannot afford dedicated editors, experienced writers typically peer-edit text produced by their relatively less experienced colleagues.

It helps if the technical editor is familiar with the subject being edited, but that is not always essential. The "technical" knowledge that an editor gains over time while working on a particular product or technology does give the editor an edge over another who has just started editing content related to that product or technology. In the long run, however, the skills that really matter are attention to detail, the ability to sustain focus while working through lengthy pieces of text on complex topics, tact in dealing with writers, and excellent communication skills.

Copy Editing

Copy editing (also copyediting), is the editorial work that an editor does to make formatting changes and improvements to a manuscript; copy (as a noun) refers to written or typewritten text for typesetting, printing, and publication. The editor effecting this is a copy editor; an organization's highest-ranking copy editor, or the supervising editor of a group of copy editors, is the copy chief.

There is no universal form for the job and job title; in magazine and book publishing, it often is one word (copyediting). The newspaper business spells it either as two words (copy editing) or hyphenates it (copy-editing); the hyphenated form is British. Similarly, the term copy editor may be spelled either as a one word-, or a two word-, or as a hyphenated compound term.

Generally, in British newspaper and magazine publishing (but not book publishing), the job is called sub-editing or revise editing (The Times).

Overview

The copy editor's job is summarized in the Five Cs: to make the copy clear, correct, concise, comprehensible, and consistent. Typically, copy editing involves correcting spelling, terminology, punctuation, grammatical, and semantic errors; ensuring that the typescript adheres to the publisher's house style; and adding standardized headers, footers, headlines, etc. These stylistic elements must be addressed and determined before the typesetter can prepare a final proof copy.

The copy editor is expected to ensure that the text flows, that it is sensible, fair, and accurate, and that it will provoke no legal problems for the publisher. Newspaper copy editors are sometimes responsible for choosing which news service wire copy the newspaper will use, and for rewriting it per house style. Often, the copy editor is the only person, other than the author, to read an entire text before its publication. Newspaper editors often regard copy editors as the newspaper's last line of accurate defense.

A copy editor may abridge text, by "cutting" and "trimming" it, to reduce the length of a novel or an article, either to fit broadcast or publishing limits or to improve its meaning. This may involve omitting parts of the text, but sometimes it is necessary to rewrite uncut parts to bridge the missing details and plot; some abridgements are only slightly shorter than the originals, but others may be much abridged, particularly when a literary classic is abridged for the children's market.

Changes in the Profession

Traditionally, the copy editor would read a printed or written manuscript, manually marking it with editor's correction marks. Currently, the manuscript is usually read on a computer display and corrections entered directly; increasingly, the copy editor marks up the text using XML or another code and also prepares the text for online publication and printing.

The diffusion of desktop publishing means that many copy editors do design and layout work that once was province of design production crews in print publications. As a result, the skills needed for editing copy have shifted; technical knowledge sometimes is considered as important as writing ability, particularly in journalism, rather than in book publishing.

Traits, Skills and Training

Besides excellent command of the language, copy editors need broad general knowledge of the world in spotting factual errors, good critical-thinking skill (to recognize inconsistencies), diplomacy for dealing with writers, and a thick skin for when editorial diplomacy fails. Also, they must establish priorities balancing striving for perfection within deadlines. Many copy editors have a college degree, often in journalism, English, or communications. Copy editing often is taught as a college journalism course, though its name varies; news design and pagination also are taught.

In the United States, The Dow Jones Newspaper Fund sponsors internships that include two weeks of training. Also, the American Press Institute, the Poynter Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and conferences of the American Copy Editors Society offer mid-career training for newspaper copy editors and news editors (news copy desk supervisors).

Most U.S. newspapers and publishers give copy-editing job candidates an editing test or a try-out. These vary widely and often include general items such as acronyms, current events, simple mathematics, and punctuation, and skills such as Associated Press style, headline writing, infographics editing, and journalism ethics.

In the U.K., training is through university publishing courses such as the one at Oxford Brookes University, alongside privately-run seminars, and correspondence courses of the Society for Editors and Proofreaders, and commercial centers.

Proofreading

Proofreading traditionally means reading a proof copy of a text in order to detect and correct any errors. Modern proofreading often requires reading copy at earlier stages as well.

Proofreading in Printing and Publishing

A proof copy is a version of a manuscript that has been typeset after copyediting. Proof typescripts often contain typographical errors introduced by mistyping (hence the word typo to refer to misplaced or incorrect characters). Traditionally, a proofreader checks the typeset copy and marks any errors using standard proof correction marks (such as those specified in style manuals, by house style, or, more broadly, by the international standard ISO 5776, or, for English, the British Standard BS-5261:2). The proof is then returned to the typesetter for correction, and in many cases the production of a second proof copy (often known as a revise). The term proofreading is sometimes used incorrectly to refer to copy-editing. This is a separate activity, although there is some overlap between the two. Proofreading consists of reviewing any text, either hard copy (on paper) or electronic copy (on a computer) and checking for typos and formatting errors. This may be done either against an original document or "blind" (without checking against any other source). Many modern proofreaders are also required to take on some light copy-editing duties, such as checking for grammar and consistency issues.

Proofreading in Biology

The term proofreading is used to refer to the error-correcting processes involved in DNA replication. In bacteria, all three DNA polymerases (I, II, and III) have the ability to proofread, using 3'->5' exonuclease activity. In eukaryotes only the polymerases that deal with the elongation (?, d and e) have proofreading ability (3'->5' exonuclease activity).

Controlled Natural Language

Controlled Natural Languages are subsets of natural languages whose grammars and dictionaries have been restricted in order to reduce or eliminate both ambiguity and complexity. Both grammars and dictionaries typically follow either the positive list principle (use only the constructions/words in the list) or the negative list principle (do not use the constructions/words in the list). The purpose behind the development and implementation of a controlled natural language typically is to aid non-native speakers of a natural language in understanding it, or to ease computer processing of a natural language.

Steps in Editing (Proofreading) Your Papers

Identify Typical Errors

Review graded or scored comments on your old papers, and list errors which were marked frequently. Be as specific as possible in gathering your list (for example, problems with introductory commas).

Make a Hierarchy

Determine which of the errors on your list occurred most often and/or cost you the most in points or letter grades. Rank order the items on your list so that the most serious errors are on the top.

Learn Concepts

Make sure that you understand why you made the errors on your list. Do a couple of practice exercises, and talk to a Writing Lab tutor. Using your hierarchy, write rules and sample sentences in your notebook or in the back of your dictionary.

Develop Strategies

Ask a Writing Lab tutor for specific, "quick" strategies you can use to locate these errors in your papers. Refer, if needed, to the OWL handouts listed above. Write each strategy, step by step, next to its corresponding rule in your notebook or dictionary. Include any relevant key words or phrases.

Write

Write your paper as you normally would, concentrating mainly on your ideas, not on rules or strategies.

Apply your Strategies

When you finish writing, take a break, and then apply the strategies one at a time, using the rules and sample sentences as reminders if you get stuck.

Remember that you are looking for specific errors, not reading the paper. Go completely through the paper looking for only one kind of error at a time. You will be able to focus your concentration and energy better that way.

Please Note: Editing is not a substitute for, but a supplement to, reading for meaning. For best results, use both methods.

Proofreading Strategies

No matter how many times you read through a "finished" paper, you're likely to miss many of your most frequent errors. This handout will help you proofread more effectively...

   • by giving you some useful general strategies for proofreading well

   • by giving you strategies which personalize proofreading so you can identify errors you typically make (You don't need to check for everything. It's more efficient to know your typical problem areas and make several passes through the paper for them.)

   • by giving you specific strategies for finding and correcting those errors.

General Strategies

Begin by taking a break. Allow yourself some time between writing and proofing. Even a five-minute break is productive because it will help get some distance from what you have written. The goal is to return with a fresh eye and mind.

The following strategies will help you s l o w d o w n as you read through a paper and will therefore help you catch mistakes that you might otherwise overlook. As you use these strategies, remember to work slowly. If you read at a normal speed, you won't give your eyes sufficient time to spot errors.

Read Aloud

Reading a paper aloud encourages you to read every little word.

Read with a "Cover"

Sliding a blank sheet of paper down the page as you read encourages you to make a detailed, line-by-line review of the paper.

Role-play

Playing the role of the reader encourages you to see the paper as your audience might.

Strategies which Personalize Proofreading

In addition to using the general strategies already listed, you'll need to personalize the proofreading process.

You won't be able to check for everything (and you don't have to), so you should find out what your typical problem areas are and look for each type of error individually. Here's how: Find out what errors you typically make. Review instructors' comments about your writing and/or review your paper(s) with a Writing Lab tutor.

Learn how to fix those errors. Talk with your instructor and/or with a Writing Lab tutor. The instructor and the tutor can help you understand why you make the errors you do so that you can learn to avoid them.

Use specific strategies. Use the strategies detailed on the following pages to find and correct your particular errors in organization and paragraphing, usage and sentence structure, and spelling and punctuation.

To locate and correct errors in your papers, find the strategies on the following pages which correspond to your typical problem areas and follow the step-by-step instructions provided for you. Each strategy is designed to focus your attention on only one particular error, so to be most effective, use only one strategy at a time. (Ask a Writing Lab tutor about any terms you don't understand and/or refer to Lab handouts.)

Organization and Paragraphing

Thesis/Focus/Main Point

    Find your paper's thesis statement. Copy it on another sheet of paper. If your thesis is not directly stated, write down a possible thesis.
    Locate the central idea of each paragraph and try to reduce that idea to a word or phrase. If you cannot decide on one phrase, list two or three options.
    List the paragraph ideas. List these in order under your thesis.
    Decide whether your paragraphs clearly relate to your thesis. If not, either rewrite your thesis to incorporate the unrelated ideas or eliminate the unrelated paragraphs.

Paragraph Clarity

    Locate the central idea of each paragraph. Reduce that idea to a word or phrase.
    Look at each paragraph randomly. Consider only the information in that paragraph.
    Ask yourself whether you offer enough details in the paragraph to support that word or idea.
    Decide whether all of your details are relevant.
    Ask yourself whether all of the information is related enough to be in the same paragraph. Should you create another paragraph or move some of the details to another paragraph?

Overall Coherence

   1.      See whether you have clear transitions between paragraphs. If not, clarify existing transitions, add new ones, and/or rearrange your paragraphs to make transitions clearer.

Usage and Sentence Structure

Subject/Verb Agreement

   1.      Find the main verb in each sentence.

   2.      Match the verb to its subject.

   3.      Make sure that the subject and verb agree in number.

Pronoun Reference/Agreement

   1.      Skim your paper, stopping at each pronoun. Look especially at it, this, they, their, and them.

   2.      Search for the noun that the pronoun replaces. If you can't find any noun, insert one beforehand or change the pronoun to a noun. If you can find a noun, be sure it agrees in number and person with your pronoun.

Parallel Structure

                                                                                 1.      Skim your paper, stopping at key words that signal parallel structures.

                                                                                          Look especially for and, or, not only...but also, either... or, neither...nor, both...and.

                                                                                 2.      Make sure that the items connected by these words (adjectives, nouns, phrases, etc.) are in the same grammatical form.

Spelling and Punctuation

Spelling

   1.      Examine each word in the paper individually.

      Move from the end of each line back to the beginning. Pointing with a pencil helps you really see each word.

   2.      If necessary, check a dictionary to see that each word is spelled correctly.

Compound Sentence Commas

   1.      Skim for the conjunctions and, but, for, or, nor, so and yet.

   2.      See whether there is a complete sentence on each side of the conjunction.

If so, place a comma before the conjunction.

Introductory Commas

   1.      Skim your paper, looking only at the first two or three words of each sentence.

   2.      Stop if one of these words is a dependent marker, a transition word, a participle, or a preposition.

   3.      Listen for a possible break point before the main clause.

   4.      Place a comma at the end of the introductory phrase or clause (which is before the independent clause).

Comma Splices

   1.      Skim the paper, stopping at every comma.

   2.      See whether there is a complete sentence on each side of the comma. If so, add a coordinating conjunction after the comma or replace the comma with a semicolon.

Fragments

   1.      Look at each sentence to see whether it contains an independent clause.

   2.      Pay special attention to sentences that begin with dependent marker words (such as because) or phrases such as for example or such as.

   3.      See if the sentence might be just a piece of the previous sentence that mistakenly got separated by a period.

Run-On Sentences

   1.      Review each sentence to see whether it contains more than one independent clause. Start with the last sentence of your paper, and work your way back to the beginning, sentence by sentence.

   2.      Break the sentence into two sentences if necessary.

Apostrophes

   1.      Skim your paper, stopping only at those words which end in "s."

   2.      See whether or not each "s" word needs an apostrophe. If an apostrophe is needed, you will be able to invert the word order and say "of" or "of the":

                                                                                  •      Mary's hat

                                                                                  •      the hat of Mary

Left-Out Words

   1.      Read the paper aloud, pointing to every word as you read. Don't let your eye move ahead until you spot each word.

   2.      Also, make sure that you haven't doubled any words.

Proofreading Your Work

It is always difficult to find errors in one's own work. The words and sentences appear correct on rereading because if the writer had known better, he or she would not have made the errors in the first place. But a careful rereading of a paper aloud before it is turned in helps considerably.

Perhaps a checklist of common errors will serve as a guide for you. Keep this list and a grammar book with you as you read your paper over, checking every sentence for these items.

Run-on Sentences and Sentence Fragments

Check each sentence to make sure it has a subject, a verb, and a complete thought.

Have you run two sentences together incorrectly without a period, conjunction or semicolon separating them?

Punctuation

Have you ended every sentence with a period, question mark, or exclamation point?

Are your thoughts within sentences broken up correctly by commas for easier understanding?

Have you broken up series with commas?

Have you used a period after abbreviations?

If you are in doubt about the proper punctuation of a sentence, have you asked or looked at our handouts on punctuation.

A or An?

Brought to you by the Purdue University Online Writing Lab

"A" goes before all words that begin with consonants.

   •           a cat •  a dog

   • a purple onion   •    a buffalo

   • a big apple

with one exception: Use an before unsounded h.

   • an honourable peace

   • an honest error

"An" goes before all words that begin with vowels:

   •                   an apricot     •    an egg

   •                   an Indian      •    an orbit

   •                   an uprising

With Two Exceptions: When U makes the same sound as the Y in you, or O makes the same sound as W in won, then a is used.

   •                   a union    •    a united front

   •                   a unicorn      •    a used napkin

   •                   a U.S. ship    •    a one-legged man

Note: The choice of article is actually based upon the phonetic (sound) quality of the first letter in a word, not on the orthographic (written) representation of the letter. If the first letter makes a vowel-type sound, you use "an"; if the first letter would makes a consonant-type sound, you use "a." So, if you consider the rule from a phonetic perspective, there aren't any exceptions. Since the 'h' hasn't any phonetic representation, no audible sound, in the first exception, the sound that follows the article is a vowel; consequently, 'an' is used. In the second exception, the word-initial 'y' sound (unicorn) is actually a glide [j] phonetically, which has consonantal properties; consequently, it is treated as a consonant, requiring 'a'.

Avoiding Common Errors

Bad or Badly?

When you want to describe how you feel, you should use an adjective (Why? Feel is a sense verb;see rule #3 above). So you'd say, "I feel bad." Saying you feel badly would be like saying you play football badly. It would mean that you are unable to feel, as though your hands were partially numb.

Good or Well?

Good is an adjective, so you do not do good or live good, but you do well and live well. Remember, though, that an adjective follows sense-verbs and be-verbs, so you also feel good, look good, smell good, are good, have been good, etc. (Refer to rule #3 above for more information about sense verbs and verbs of appearance.)

Confusion can occur because well can function either as an adverb or an adjective. When well is used as an adjective, it means "not sick" or "in good health." For this specific sense of well, it's OK to say you feel well or are well--for example, after recovering from an illness. When not used in this health-related sense, however, well functions as an adverb; for example, "I did well on my exam."

Double-negatives

Scarcely and hardly are already negative adverbs. To add another negative term is redundant, because in English only one negative is ever used at a time

They found scarcely any animals on the island. (not scarcely no...)

Hardly anyone came to the party. (not hardly no one...)

Adjectives with Countable and Uncountable Nouns

Some/Any:

Both modify countable and uncountable nouns.

There is some water on the floor.

There are some Mexicans here.

Do you have any food?

Do you have any apples?

Much/Many:

MUCH modifies only uncountable nouns.

They have much money in the bank.

MANY modifies only countable nouns.

Many Americans travel to Europe.

A lot of/lots of:

These are informal substitutes for MUCH and MANY. They are used with uncountable nouns when they mean MUCH and with countable nouns when they mean MANY.

They have lots of money in the bank.

A lot of Americans travel to Europe.

Little/Few:

LITTLE modifies only uncountable nouns.

He had little food in the house.

FEW modifies only countable nouns.

There are a few doctors in town.

A little bit of:

This phrase is informal and always precedes an uncountable noun.

There is a little bit of pepper in the soup.

Enough:

ENOUGH modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

There is enough money to buy a car.

I have enough books to read.

Plenty of:

This phrase modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

They have plenty of money in the bank.

There are plenty of millionaires in Switzerland.

No:

NO modifies both countable and uncountable nouns.

There is no time to finish now.

There are no squirrels in the park.

Independent and Dependent Clauses (Definitions)

When you want to use commas and semicolons in sentences and when you are concerned about whether a sentence is or is not a fragment, a good way to start is to be able to recognize dependent and independent clauses. The definitions offered here will help you with this.

This handout will:

   • define independent and dependent clauses

   • explain proper ways to punctuate sentences that use them

   • note some common errors to avoid

Definitions

Independent Clause (IC): An independent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb and expresses a complete thought. An independent clause is a sentence.

Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz.(IC)

Dependent Clause (DC): A dependent clause is a group of words that contains a subject and verb but does not express a complete thought. A dependent clause cannot be a sentence. Often a dependent clause is marked by a dependent marker word.

Example: When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz... (DC)

(What happened when he studied? The thought is incomplete.)

Dependent Marker Word (DM): A dependent marker word is a word added to the beginning of an independent clause that makes it into a dependent clause.

Example: When Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, it was very noisy. (DM)

Some common dependent markers are: after, although, as, as if, because, before, even if, even though, if, in order to, since, though, unless, until, whatever, when, whenever, whether, and while.

Connecting Dependent and Independent Clauses: There are two types of words that can be used as connectors at the beginning of an independent clause: coordinating conjunctions and independent marker words.

Coordinating Conjunction (CC): The seven coordinating conjunctions used as connecting words at the beginning of an independent clause are and, but, for, or, nor, so, and yet. When the second independent clause in a sentence begins with a coordinating conjunction, a comma is needed before the coordinating conjunction:

Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz, but it was hard to concentrate because of the noise. (CC)

Independent Marker Word (IM): An independent marker word is a connecting word used at the beginning of an independent clause. These words can always begin a sentence that can stand alone. When the second independent clause in a sentence has an independent marker word, a semicolon is needed before the independent marker word.

Example: Jim studied in the Sweet Shop for his chemistry quiz; however, it was hard to concentrate because of the noise. (IM). Some common independent markers are: also, consequently, furthermore, however, moreover, nevertheless, and therefore.

Proper Punctuation Methods: This table gives some examples of ways to combine independent and dependent clauses and shows how to punctuate them properly.

C. IC.          I went to the store. I didn't buy any bread.

IC; IC.         I went to the store; I didn't buy any bread.

IC, CC IC.   I went to the store, but I didn't buy any bread.

IC; IM, IC.  I went to the store; however, I didn't buy any bread.

DC, IC.       When I went to the store, I didn't buy any bread.

IC DC.        I didn't buy any bread when I went to the store.

Some Common Errors to Avoid

Comma Splices: A comma splice is the use of a comma between two independent clauses. You can usually fix the error by changing the comma to a period and therefore making the two clauses into two separate sentences, by changing the comma to a semicolon, or by making one clause dependent by inserting a dependent marker word in front of it.

Incorrect: I like this class, it is very interesting.

Correct: I like this class. It is very interesting.

(or) I like this class; it is very interesting.

(or) I like this class, and it is very interesting.

(or) I like this class because it is very interesting.

(or) Because it is very interesting, I like this class.

Fused Sentences: Fused sentences happen when there are two independent clauses not separated by any form of punctuation. This error is also known as a run-on sentence. The error can sometimes be corrected by adding a period, semicolon, or colon to separate the two sentences.

Incorrect: My professor is intelligent I've learned a lot from her.

Correct: My professor is intelligent. I've learned a lot from  her.

(or) My professor is intelligent; I've learned a lot from her.

(or) My professor is intelligent, and I've learned a lot from her.

(or) My professor is intelligent; moreover, I've learned a lot from her.

Sentence Fragments: Sentence fragments happen by treating a dependent clause or other incomplete thought as a complete sentence. You can usually fix this error by combining it with another sentence to make a complete thought or by removing the dependent marker.

Incorrect: Because I forgot the exam was today.

Correct: Because I forgot the exam was today, I didn't study.

(or) I forgot the exam was today.

Parallel Structure

Parallel structure means using the same pattern of words to show that two or more ideas have the same level of importance. This can happen at the word, phrase, or clause level. The usual way to join parallel structures is with the use of coordinating conjunctions such as "and" or "or."

1. Words and Phrases

With the-ing form (gerund) of words:

Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and bicycling.

With Infinitive Phrases:

Parallel: Mary likes to hike, to swim, and to ride a bicycle.

OR

Mary likes to hike, swim, and ride a bicycle.

(Note: You can use "to" before all the verbs in a sentence or only before the first one.)

Do not mix forms.

Example 1

Not Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and to ride a bicycle.

Parallel: Mary likes hiking, swimming, and riding a bicycle.

Example 2

Not Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and in a detailed manner.

Parallel: The production manager was asked to write his report quickly, accurately, and thoroughly.

Example 3

Not Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and his motivation was low.

Parallel: The teacher said that he was a poor student because he waited until the last minute to study for the exam, completed his lab problems in a careless manner, and lacked motivation.

2. Clauses

A parallel structure that begins with clauses must keep on with clauses. Changing to another pattern or changing the voice of the verb (from active to passive or vice versa) will break the parallelism.

Example 1

Not Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and to do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, that they should not eat too much, and that they should do some warm-up exercises before the game. --or--

Parallel: The coach told the players that they should get a lot of sleep, not eat too much, and do some warm-up exercises before the game.

Example 2

Not Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that questions would be asked by prospective buyers. (passive)

Parallel: The salesman expected that he would present his product at the meeting, that there would be time for him to show his slide presentation, and that prospective buyers would ask him questions.

3. Lists after a Colon

Be sure to keep all the elements in a list in the same form.

Example 1

Not Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and looking up irregular verbs.

Parallel: The dictionary can be used for these purposes: to find word meanings, pronunciations, correct spellings, and irregular verbs. Proofreading Strategies to try:

   • Skim your paper, pausing at the words "and" and "or." Check on each side of these words to see whether the items joined are parallel. If not, make them parallel.

   • If you have several items in a list, put them in a column to see if they are parallel.

   • Listen to the sound of the items in a list or the items being compared. Do you hear the same kinds of
sounds? For example, is there a series of "-ing" words beginning each item? Or do your hear a rhythm being repeated? If something is breaking that rhythm or repetition of sound, check to see if it needs to be made parallel.

Run-ons-Comma Splices-Fused Sentences

The above are all names given to compound sentences that are not punctuated correctly. The best way to avoid such errors is to punctuate compound sentences correctly by using one or the other of these rules.

1. Join the two independent clauses with one of the coordinating conjunctions (and, but, for, or, nor, so, yet), and use a comma before the connecting word.

________________________, and _________________________.

(He enjoys walking through the country, and he often goes backpacking on his vacations.)

2. When you do not have a connecting word (or when you use a connecting word other than and, but, for, or nor, so, or yet between the two independent clauses) use a semicolon (;).

__________________________;_____________________________.

(He often watched TV when there were only reruns; she preferred to read instead.) or

_________________________; however,____________________.

(He often watched TV when there were only reruns; however, she preferred to read instead.)

So, run-ons and fused sentences are terms describing two independent clauses which are joined together with no connecting word or punctuation to separate the clauses.

Incorrect: They weren't dangerous criminals they were detectives in disguise.

Correct: They weren't dangerous criminals; they were detectives in disguise.

Incorrect: I didn't know which job I wanted I was too confused to decide.

Correct: I didn't know which job I wanted, so I was too confused to decide.

Sentence Fragments

Fragments are incomplete sentences. Usually, fragments are pieces of sentences that have become disconnected from the main clause. One of the easiest ways to correct them is to remove the period between the fragment and the main clause. Other kinds of punctuation may be needed for the newly combined sentence. Below are some examples with the fragments shown in red. Punctuation and/or words added to make corrections are highlighted in blue. Notice that the fragment is frequently a dependent clause or long phrase that follows the main clause.



You may have noticed that newspaper and magazine journalists often use a dependent clause as a separate sentence when it follows clearly from the preceding main clause, as in the last example above. This is a conventional journalistic practice, often used for emphasis. For academic writing and other more formal writing situations, however, you should avoid such journalistic fragment sentences.

Some fragments are not clearly pieces of sentences that have been left unattached to the main clause; they are written as main clauses but lack a subject or main verb.



These last three examples of fragments with no subjects are also known as mixed constructions, that is, sentences constructed out of mixed parts.

They start one way (often with a long prepositional phrase) but end with a regular predicate. Usually the object of the preposition (often a gerund, as in the last two examples) is intended as the subject of the sentence, so removing the preposition at the beginning is usually the easiest way to edit such errors.

While active voice helps to create clear and direct sentences, sometimes writers find that using an indirect expression is rhetorically effective in a given situation, so they choose passive voice. Also, as mentioned above, writers in the sciences conventionally use passive voice more often than writers in other discourses.

Passive voice makes sense when the agent performing the action is obvious, unimportant, or unknown or when a writer wishes to postpone mentioning the agent until the last part of the sentence or to avoid mentioning the agent at all. The passive voice is effective in such circumstances because it highlights the action and what is acted upon rather than the agent performing the action.

Changing Active to Passive

If you want to change an active-voice sentence to passive voice, consider carefully who or what is performing the action expressed in the verb, and then make that agent the object of a "by the..." phrase.

Make what is acted upon the subject of the sentence, and change the verb to a form of be + past participle. Including an explicit "by the..." phrase is optional.

Don't trust the grammar-checking programs in word-processing software. Many grammar checkers flag all passive constructions, but you may want to keep some that are flagged. Trust your judgement, or ask another human being for their opinion about which sentence sounds best.

Irregular Verbs

Present                         Past                                   Past Participle

be                                    was, were                       been

become                        became                            become

begin                              began                               begun

blow                               blew                                  blown

break                             broke                                broken

bring                               brought                            brought

build                               built                                   built

burst                              burst                                 burst

buy                                 bought                             bought

catch                              caught                              caught

choose                          chose                                chosen

come                              came                                 come

cut                                   cut                                      cut

deal                                dealt                                  dealt

do                                    did                                      done

drink                               drank                                drunk

drive                               drove                                driven

eat                                  ate                                     eaten

fall                                   fell                                      fallen

feed                               fed                                     fed

feel                                 felt                                     felt

fight                                fought                              fought

find                                 found                                found

fly                                    flew                                   flown

forbid                             forbade                            forbidden

forget                            forgot                               forgotten

forgive                           forgave                            forgiven

freeze                            froze                                 frozen

get                                  got                                     gotten

give                                 gave                                  given

go                                    went                                 gone

grow                               grew                                  grown

have                               had                                    had

hear                                heard                                heard

hide                                hid                                      hidden

hold                                held                                   held

hurt                                hurt                                   hurt

keep                               kept                                   kept

know                              knew                                 known

lay                                   laid                                     laid

lead                                led                                      led

leave                              left                                     left

let                                    let                                       let

lie                                    lay                                      lain

lose                                 lost                                     lost

make                              made                                made

meet                              met                                    met

pay                                  paid                                   paid

quit                                 quit                                    quit

read                                read                                   read

ride                                 rode                                  ridden

ring                                 rang                                   rung

rise                                  rose                                   risen

run                                  ran                                     run

say                                  said                                    said

see                                  saw                                    seen

seek                               sought                              sought

sell                                  sold                                    sold

send                               sent                                   sent

shake                             shook                                shaken

shine                              shone                               shone

sing                                 sang                                   sung

sit                                    sat                                      sat

sleep                              slept                                  slept

speak                             spoke                                spoken

spend                            spent                                spent

spring                             sprang                              sprung

stand                              stood                                stood

steal                               stole                                  stolen

swim                              swam                                swum

swing                             swung                               swung

take                                took                                   taken

teach                              taught                               taught

tear                                 tore                                   torn

tell                                   told                                    told

think                               thought                            thought

throw                             threw                                thrown

understand                 understood                    understood

wake                              woke (waked)               woken (waked)

wear                               wore                                 worn

win                                  won                                   won

write                              wrote                                written

LIE versus LAY



After laying down his weapon, the soldier lay down to sleep.

Will you lay out my clothes while I lie down to rest?

SIT versus SET



Let's set the table before we sit down to rest.

RISE versus RAISE



The boy raised the flag just before the sun rose.

Sequence of Tenses

Strictly speaking, in English, only two tenses are marked in the verb alone, present (as in "he sings") and past (as in "he sang"). Other English language tenses, as many as thirty of them, are marked by other words called auxiliaries. Understanding the six basic tenses allows one to recreate much of the reality of time in his writing. The six are

Simple Present: They walk

Present Perfect: They have walked

Simple Past: They walked

Past Perfect: They had walked

Future: They will walk

Future Perfect: They will have walked

Problems in sequencing tenses usually occur with the perfect tenses, all of which are formed by adding an auxiliary or auxiliaries to the past participle, the third principal part.

ring, rang, rung

walk, walked, walked

The most common auxiliaries are forms of "be," "can," "do," "may," "must," "ought," "shall," "will," "has," "have," "had," and they are the forms we shall use in this most basic discussion.

Present Perfect

The present perfect consists of a past participle (the third principal part) with "has" or "have." It designates action which began in the past but which continues into the present or the effect of which still continues.

   1.      Betty taught for ten years. (simple past)

   2.      Betty has taught for ten years. (present perfect)

The implication in (1) is that Betty has retired; in (2), that she is still teaching.

   1.      John did his homework. He can go to the movies.

   2.      If John has done his homework, he can go to the movies.

Infinitives, too, have perfect tense forms when combined with "have," and sometimes problems arise when infinitives are used with verbs such as "hope," "plan," "expect," and "intend," all of which usually point to the future (I wanted to go to the movie. Janet meant to see the doctor.)

The perfect tense sets up a sequence by marking the action which began and usually was completed before the action in the main verb.

   1.      I am happy to have participated in this campaign!

   2.      John had hoped to have won the trophy.

Thus the action of the main verb points back in time; the action of the perfect infinitive has been completed.

The past perfect tense designates action in the past just as simple past does, but the action of the past perfect is action completed in the past before another action.

   1.      John raised vegetables and later sold them. (past)

   2.      John sold vegetables that he had raised. (past perfect)

The vegetables were raised before they were sold.

   1.      Renee washed the car when George arrived (simple past)

   2.      Renee had washed the car when George arrived. (past perfect)

In (1), she waited until George arrived and then washed the car. In (2), she had already finished washing the car by the time he arrived.

In sentences expressing condition and result, the past perfect tense is used in the part that states the condition.

   1.      If I had done my exercises, I would have passed the test.

   2.      I think George would have been elected if he hadn't sounded so pompous.

Notice: There can be only one "would have" action group in a sentence.

Future Perfect Tense

The future perfect tense designates action that will have been completed at a specified time in the future.

   1.      Saturday I will finish my housework. (simple future)

   2.      By Saturday noon, I will have finished my housework. (future perfect)

Review

   1.      Judy saved thirty dollars. (past)

   2.      Judy will save thirty dollars. (future)

   3.      Judy has saved thirty dollars. (present perfect)

   4.      Judy had saved thirty dollars by the end of last month. (past perfect)

   5.      Judy will have saved thirty dollars by the end of this month. (future perfect)

Controlling Shifts in a Paragraph or Essay: General guideline: Establish a primary tense for the main discourse, and use occasional shifts to other tenses to indicate changes in time frame.

Hints:

   • Rely on past tense to narrate events and to refer to an author or an author's ideas as historical entities (biographical information about a historical figure or narration of developments in an author's ideas over time).

   • Use present tense to state facts, to refer to perpetual or habitual actions, and to discuss your own ideas or those expressed by an author in a particular work. Also use present tense to describe action in a literary work, movie, or other fictional narrative. Occasionally, for dramatic effect, you may wish to narrate an event in present tense as though it were happening now. If you do, use present tense consistently throughout the narrative, making shifts only where appropriate.

   • Future action may be expressed in a variety of ways, including the use of will, shall, is going to, are about to, tomorrow and other adverbs of time, and a wide range of contextual cues.

Using Other Tenses in Conjunction with Simple Tenses: It is not always easy (or especially helpful) to try to distinguish perfect and/or progressive tenses from simple ones in isolation, for example, the difference between simple past progressive ("She was eating an apple") and present perfect progressive ("She has been eating an apple"). Distinguishing these sentences in isolation is possible, but the differences between them make clear sense only in the context of other sentences since the time-distinctions suggested by different tenses are relative to the time frame implied by the verb tenses in surrounding sentences or clauses.

Example 1: Simple past narration with perfect and progressive elements

On the day in question...

By the time Tom noticed the doorbell, it had already rung three times. As usual, he had been listening to loud music on his stereo. He turned the stereo down and stood up to answer the door. An old man was standing on the steps. The man began to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example, the progressive verbs had been listening and was standing suggest action underway at the time some other action took place. The stereo-listening was underway when the doorbell rang. The standing on the steps was underway when the door was opened. The past perfect progressive verb had been listening suggests action that began in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that was still underway as another action began.

If the primary narration is in the present tense, then the present progressive or present perfect progressive is used to indicate action that is or has been underway as some other action begins. This narrative style might be used to describe a scene from a novel, movie, or play, since action in fictional narratives is conventionally treated as always present. For example, we refer to the scene in Hamlet in which the prince first speaks (present) to the ghost of his dead father or the final scene in Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing, which takes place (present) the day after Mookie has smashed (present perfect) the pizzeria window. If the example narrative above were a scene in a play, movie, or novel, it might appear as follows.

Example 2: Simple present narration with perfect and progressive elements

In this scene...

By the time Tom notices the doorbell, it has already rung three times. As usual, he has been listening to loud music on his stereo. He turns the stereo down and stands up to answer the door. An old man is standing on the steps. The man begins to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example as in the first one, the progressive verbs has been listening and is standing indicate action underway as some other action takes place. The present perfect progressive verb has been listening suggests action that began in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that is still underway as another action begins. The remaining tense relationships parallel those in the first example.

In all of these cases, the progressive or-ing part of the verb merely indicates ongoing action, that is, action underway as another action occurs. The general comments about tense relationships apply to simple and perfect tenses, regardless of whether there is a progressive element involved.

It is possible to imagine a narrative based on a future time frame as well, for example, the predictions of a psychic or futurist. If the example narrative above were spoken by a psychic, it might appear as follows.

Example 3: Simple future narration with perfect and progressive elements

Sometime in the future...

By the time Tom notices the doorbell, it will have already rung three times. As usual, he will have been listening to loud music on his stereo. He will turn the stereo down and will stand up to answer the door. An old man will be standing on the steps. The man will begin to speak slowly, asking for directions.

In this example as in the first two, the progressive verbs will have been listening and will be standing indicate ongoing action. The future perfect progressive verb will have been listening suggests action that will begin in the time frame prior to the main narrative time frame and that will still be underway when another action begins. The verb notices here is in present-tense form, but the rest of the sentence and the full context of the narrative cue us to understand that it refers to future time. The remaining tense relationships parallel those in the first two examples.

General Guidelines for use of Perfect Tenses

In general the use of perfect tenses is determined by their relationship to the tense of the primary narration. If the primary narration is in simple past, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in past perfect. If the primary narration is in simple present, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in present perfect. If the primary narration is in simple future, then action initiated before the time frame of the primary narration is described in future perfect.

Past primary narration corresponds to Past Perfect (had + past participle) for earlier time frames

Present primary narration corresponds to Present Perfect (has or have + past participle) for earlier time frames

Future primary narration corresponds to Future Perfect (will have + past participle) for earlier time frames

The present perfect is also used to narrate action that began in real life in the past but is not completed, that is, may continue or may be repeated in the present or future. For example: "I have run in four marathons" (implication: "so far... I may run in others"). This usage is distinct from the simple past, which is used for action that was completed in the past without possible continuation or repetition in the present or future. For example: "Before injuring my leg, I ran in four marathons" (implication: "My injury prevents me from running in any more marathons").

Time-orienting words and phrases like before, after, by the time, and others--when used to relate two or more actions in time--can be good indicators of the need for a perfect-tense verb in a sentence.

By the time the Senator finished (past) his speech, the audience had lost (past perfect) interest.

By the time the Senator finishes (present: habitual action) his speech, the audience has lost (present perfect) interest.

By the time the Senator finishes (present: suggesting future time) his speech, the audience will have lost (future perfect) interest.

After everyone had finished (past perfect) the main course, we offered (past) our guests dessert.

After everyone has finished (present perfect) the main course, we offer (present: habitual action) our guests dessert.

After everyone has finished (present perfect) the main course, we will offer (future: specific one-time action) our guests dessert.

Long before the sun rose (past), the birds had arrived (past perfect) at the feeder.

Long before the sun rises (present: habitual action), the birds have arrived (present perfect) at the feeder.

Long before the sun rises (present: suggesting future time), the birds will have arrived (future perfect) at the feeder.

Sample Paragraphs: The main tense in this first sample is past. Tense shifts are inappropriate and are indicated in bold.

The gravel crunched and spattered beneath the wheels of the bus as it swung into the station. Outside the window, shadowy figures peered at the bus through the darkness. Somewhere in the crowd, two, maybe three, people were waiting for me: a woman, her son, and possibly her husband. I could not prevent my imagination from churning out a picture of them, the town, and the place I will soon call home. Hesitating a moment, I rise from my seat, these images flashing through my mind. (adapted from a narrative)

Inappropriate shifts from past to present, such as those that appear in the above paragraph, are sometimes hard to resist. The writer becomes drawn into the narrative and begins to relive the event as an ongoing experience. The inconsistency should be avoided, however. In the sample, will should be would, and rise should be rose. The main tense in this second sample is present. Tense shifts--all appropriate--are indicated in bold. A dragonfly rests on a branch overhanging a small stream this July morning. It is newly emerged from brown nymphal skin. As a nymph, it crept over the rocks of the stream bottom, feeding first on protozoa and mites, then, as it grew larger, on the young of other aquatic insects. Now an adult, it will feed on flying insects and eventually will mate. The mature dragonfly is completely transformed from the drab creature that once blended with underwater sticks and leaves. Its head, thorax, and abdomen glitter; its wings are iridescent in the sunlight. (adapted from an article in the magazine Wilderness)

This writer uses the present tense to describe the appearance of a dragonfly on a particular July morning. However, both past and future tenses are called for when she refers to its previous actions and to its predictable activity in the future.

Two-Part (Phrasal) Verbs (Idioms)

Many verbs in English are followed by an adverb or a preposition (also called a particle), and these two-part verbs, also called phrasal verbs, are different from verbs with helpers. The particle that follows the verb changes the meaning of the phrasal verb in idiomatic ways:



Some particles can be separated from the verb so that a noun and pronoun can be inserted, and some particles can't be separated from the verb. In addition, some phrases are intransitive, meaning they cannot take a direct object.



Unfortunately, there is usually no indicator whether an idiomatic phrase is separable, inseparable, or intransitive. In most cases the phrases must simply be memorized. Below is a partial list of each kind of phrase.

Separable

add up-add

back up-cause to move backwards; support; blow up; cause to explode; destroy by explosives

break down-analyze; list the parts of separately

break into-go into a house or room forcibly; suddenly; begin; bring about-cause to happen

bring off-accomplish

bring on-cause

bring out-publish; emphasize

bring over-bring

bring to-revive

bring up-raise; care for from childhood

brush out-brush the inside of

burn down-destroy by burning

burn up-consume by fire

buy out-by the other person's share of a business

buy up-buy the whole supply of

call off-cancel; order away

call up-telephone; summon for military service

calm down-become calm

carry on-continue

carry out-fulfill; complete; accomplish; perform

carry over-carry; continue at another time or place

cheer up-cause to become cheerful

chew up-chew thoroughly

chop up-chop into small pieces

clean off-clean the surface of

clean out-clean the inside of

clean up-clarify; tidy

clear out-clear the surface of

clear up-clear the inside of

close down-close permanently

close up-close temporarily

count in-include

count out-exclude

count up-calculate; count; add to a total

cross out-eliminate

cut off-interrupt; sever; amputate

cut out-eliminate; delete

cut down-reduce in quantity

draw up-write; compose (a document)

dress up-put clothes on; adorn

dust out-dust the inside of

eat up-eat completely

figure out-interpret; understand

figure up-compute

fill in-complete (a printed form)

fill out-complete (a printed form)

fill up-fill completely (a container)

find out-discover

fix up-repair; arrange in a suitable manner

get across-cause to be understood

give back-return

give out-distribute; announce

give up-surrender something

hand down-deliver; pronounce formally; leave as an inheritance

hand over-yield control of

hang up-suspend

have on-be dressed in

have over-entertain someone informally at one's home

hold off-delay; restrain

hold up-delay; rob; threaten with a weapon

keep up-continue; keep the same pace

leave out-omit

let down-disappoint

let out-release from confinement; make larger (in sewing)

light up-light; illuminate thoroughly

live down-live in such a way as to cause something to be forgotten

make over-remake

move over-move to the side

pass out-distribute

pass up-not take advantage of (as an opportunity)

pass on-transmit

pay back-repay

pay off-discharge a debt completely; give someone his final  pay

pick up-come to meet an escort; lift with hands or fingers; learn casually;

initiate an association publicly

play down-minimize

play up-emphasize

point out-indicate

pull down-pull in a downward direction; raze

push across-cause to be understood or accepted

put off-postpone

put on-dress in; deceive or fool

put up-preserve (food); receive as an overnight guest

quiet down-be quiet

ring up-the telephone

rinse off-rinse the surface of

rinse out-rinse the inside of

rule out-eliminate

run down-trace; disparage; hit with a vehicle

run off-cause to depart; reproduce mechanically

save up-accumulate

see through-complete; in spite of difficulties

see off-accompany someone to the beginning of a trip

send back-send to a place where formerly located

send over-send to where someone is

set up-arrange

show off-exhibit ostentatiously

shut off-cause to cease functioning

slow up-cause to move more slowly

spell out-enumerate; state in detail

stand up-fail to keep an appointment with

sweep out-sweep the inside of

take back-return; retract a statement

take down-remove from a high position; write from dictation

take in-understood; fool; deceive; make smaller (in sewing)

take over-take; assume command of

tear down-destroy

tear up-tear into small pieces

tell off-scold; reprimand

think over-consider

think through-consider from beginning to end

think up-create; invent

throw away-discard

throw over-reject

tie up-tie securely or tight

tire out-cause to be exhausted

touch up-repair

try on-put on a garment to verify the fit

try out-test

turn down-refuse; lower the volume

turn out-produce; force into exile, extinguish (a light)

wash off-wash the surface of

wash out-wash the inside of

wear out-use until no longer usable; tire greatly

wind up-finish, tighten the spring of a watch or machine

wipe off-wipe the surface of

wipe out-wipe the inside of; decimate

work out-solve

write down-record

write out-write down every detail; spell out

write up-compose; prepare (a document)

Inseparable

back out of-desert; fail to keep a promise

bear down on-lean on; browbeat

bear on-have to do with

bear up under-endure

break in on-interrupt

break into-interrupt

call for-come to get; require

care for-like; guard; supervise; maintain

carry on with-continue

catch up with-cover the distance between oneself and

check up on-examine; verify

come across-find accidentally

come along with-accompany; make progress

come by-find accidentally

come down with-become ill with

come out with-utter; produce

come up with-utter; produce

count on-rely on

cut in on-interrupt

disagree with-cause illness or discomfort to

do away with-abolish

do without-deprive oneself of

drop in at/on-visit casually without planning

drop out of-leave; quit

face up to-acknowledge

fall behind in-lag; not progress at required pace

fall back on-use for emergency purpose

fall out with-quarrel with

fill in for-substitute for

get ahead of-surpass; beat

get around-evade; avoid

get away with-do without being caught or punished

get by with-manage with a minimum of effort

get down to-become serious about; consider

get in-enter (a vehicle)

get off-descend from; leave

get on-enter (a vehicle); mount

get on with-proceed with

get through with-terminate, finish

go back on-desert; fail to keep (a promise)

go for-like a great deal

go in for-be interested in; participate in

go on with-continue

go over-review

go with-harmonize with; look pleasing together

go without-abstain from

hang around-remain idly in the vicinity of

hear from-receive a communication from

hear of-learn about (sometimes accidentally)

hit on-discover accidentally

hold on to-grasp tightly

hold out against-resist

keep at-persevere at

keep to-persist in; continue

keep up with-maintain the pace of

lie down on-evade; fail to do

live on-support or sustain oneself by means of

live up to-maintain the standard demanded of

look after-take care of

look back on-remember nostalgically

look down on-feel superior to

look forward to-anticipate

look up to-respect; admire

make up for-compensate for

pass on-transmit

pick on-tease; bully

play up to-flatter for personal advantage

put up with-tolerate

read up on-search out information on

run against-compete against in an election

run away with-leave; escape from

run for-campaign for

see about-consider; arrange

see to-arrange; supervise

settle on-decide on; choose

stand for-represent; permit

stand up for-support; demand

stand up to-resist

stick to-persist

stick up for-support; defend

take after-resemble

talk back to-answer impolitely

talk over-discuss

tell on-report misbehaviour to authority

touch on-mention briefly

turn into-become

wait on-serve

wait up for-not go to bed while waiting for

watch out for-be careful for

Intransitive

back down-retreat from a position in an argument

back out-desert; fail to keep a promise

back up-move backwards

bear up-endure

blow in-drop in to visit unexpectedly

blow over-pass without doing harm

blow up-explode; lose one's temper

call up-telephone

calm down-become calm

carry on-continue as before; misbehave

catch on-understand

catch up-cover the distance between oneself and a moving goal

check up-investigate

check out-leave; pay one's bill

cheer up-become cheerful

clear out-leave

clear up-become clear

close down-close permanently

close up-close temporarily

came about-happen

come along-accompany; make progress

come back-return

come by-visit someone in his home

come out-appear; make a social debut

come over-come to someone's house, to where someone is

come through-succeed

come to-regain consciousness

cut in-interrupt

die away-fade; diminish

die down-fade; diminish

die off/out-disappear; become extinct

dress up-don fancy or unusual clothes

drive back-return by car

drop in-visit someone casually without planning

drop out-abandon some organized activity; leave; quit

drop over-visit someone casually

fall behind-not progress at required pace

fall off-decrease; lose weight

fall through-fail; not be accomplished

fill in-substitute

find out-learn

fly back-return by air

fly over-fly to where someone is

get ahead-make progress

get along-have a friendly relationship

get around-circulate; move about

get away-escape

get by-manage; either just barely or with a minimum of effort

get in-enter

get off-descend from leave

get on-enter (a vehicle); mount (a horse, etc.)

get on/along-progress; be compatible

get up-rise

get through-finish

give out-become exhausted

give up-surrender; fail to finish

go back-return

go off-explode

go on-happen; continue

go out-stop burning; leave one's residence

go over-go; succeed

grow up-mature

hang around-remain idly; dawdle

hang up-replace a telephone receive on its hook

hold on-grasp tightly; persevere; wait while telephoning

hold out-continue to resist; persevere; persist

keep on-continue

keep up-maintain the required pace or standard; continue

let up-diminish in intensity

lie down-recline

look on-be a spectator

make out-progress; succeed

make up-become reconciled

move over-move to the side

pan out-turn out well; be successful

pass out-become unconscious

pass on-die

pick up-grow; increase

pull in-arrive

pull out-deport

pull through-survive (barely)

ride over-ride to where someone is

run away-escape; leave; leave quickly without permission

run down-slowly lose power so as to stop functioning

run off-depart running; drain

sell out-sell the ownership or responsibility

settle up-pay one's bills or debts

show off-boast by words or actions

show up-arrive; appear unexpectedly

shut up-stop talking

slow up-reduce speed

stand by-wait; be prepared to assist

stand up-stand; rise from sitting; last; endure

stay over-remain at someone's house overnight or longer

step aside-move to one side

take off-leave the ground

take over-assume command

talk back-answer impolitely

throw up-vomit

turn around-turn so that one is facing another direction

turn in-go to bed

turn out-succeed; come; appear, as at a public meeting

turn up-arrive; be found unexpectedly

wait up-remain awake in anticipation

wake up-awaken

walk back-return on foot to where one was

walk over-walk to where someone is

wash out-fade or disappear from washing

watch out-be careful

wear off-fade; disappear through use or time

wear out-become unusable through use; become used up

work out-be successful

 4

One-, Two-, and Three-Point Editing Techniques

Introduction

This chapter covers the various methods for editing your source footage into your timeline, so we should probably cover some other time-saving techniques. You do not have to always use all four editing marks to edit a shot into your timeline (the in and out points on the source side and the in and out points on the record side):

    One-point Editing: This usually is done during a rough-cutting session. If you are just trying to add clips to your timeline without setting in and out points, you can use the playback indicator as your single mark. Just place the playback indicator anywhere in your timeline and click one of the edit buttons (Insert or Overlay, depending on what else exists in your timeline). The playback indicator acts as the in point in your timeline and carries the full duration of the clip in your Source monitor down into the timeline (because there are no marks in the Source monitor).
    Two-point Editing: This technique is usually used to match up two points-one in the Source monitor and one in the timeline. Two points work well when you're trying to match up a starting point in the Source monitor and a starting point in the timeline (or in the Edit monitor). The rest of the duration, from the mark in point in the Source monitor until where the clip ends, is added to the timeline when you click the Insert or Overlay edit button.
    Three-point Editing: This is the most common method of editing that I have seen editors use. It is quick and convenient (faster than measuring where to put the fourth edit point) while still giving you the accuracy to determine the exact starting and ending frames for either the source clip or the timeline. Premiere automatically edits in the fourth point. Therefore, you can mark any combination of the source clip's in point or out point and the in point or out point in your timeline. With experience you'll learn which circumstances determine which marks to use.

Film Editing

Film editing is the connecting of one or more shots to form a sequence, and the subsequent connecting of sequences to form an entire movie. Film editing, by definition, is the only art that is unique to cinema and which defines and separates filmmaking from almost all other art forms (such as: photography, theater, dance, writing, and directing). The job of an editor isn't merely to mechanically put pieces of a film together, nor to just cut off the film slates, nor merely to edit dialogue scenes. Film editing is an art form which can either make or break a film. A film editor works with the layers of images, the story, the music, the rhythm, the pace, shapes the actors' performances, "re-directing" and often re-writing the film during the editing process, honing the infinite possibilities of the juxtaposition of small snippets of film into a creative, coherent, cohesive whole.

The Development of Film Editing Processes

Film editing evolved from the process of a film editor physically cutting and taping together pieces of film, using a splicer and threading the film on a machine with a viewer such as a Moviola, or "flatbed" machine such as a Kem or Steenbeck.

Before the widespread use of non-linear editing systems, the initial editing of all films was done with a positive copy of the film negative called a film workprint. Today, most films are edited digitally (on systems such as Avid or Final Cut Pro) and bypass the film positive workprint altogether. In the past, the use of a film positive (not the original negative) allowed the editor to do as much experimenting as he or she wished, without the risk of damaging the original.

When the film workprint had been cut to a satisfactory state, it was then used to make a negative cutting list. The negative cutter referred to this list while processing the negative, splitting the shots into rolls, which were then contact printed to produce the final film print. Today, production companies have the option of to bypass negative cutting altogether. With the advent of digital intermediate or "DI," the physical negative does not necessarily need to be physically cut and hot spliced together; rather the negative is optically scanned into computer(s) and a cut list is conformed by a DI editor.

Film Editor

A film editor is a person who practices film editing by assembling footage into a coherent film. Film editors often are responsible for pulling together all of the elements of story, dialogue, music, sound effects, visual effects, rhythm and pace of a film. In the making of a film, the editors usually play a dynamic and creative role.

Post-production

The Editor's Cut

There are several editing stages and the editor's cut is the first. An editor's cut (sometimes referred to as the "assembly edit" or "rough cut") is normally the first pass of what the final film will be when it reaches picture lock.

The film editor usually starts working while principal photography (shooting) starts. In the first stage of editing the film editor will usually work alone (save for his or her own team of assistant editors, associate or co-editors and/or visual effects and music editors). Likely, prior to cutting, the editor and director will have seen and/or discussed "dailies" (raw footage shot each day) as shooting progresses. Screening dailies gives the editor a ballpark idea of the director's intentions.

Because it is the first pass, the editor's cut might be somewhat longer than the final film. The editor continues to refine the cut while shooting continues, and often the entire editing process goes on for many months and sometimes more than a year, depending on the film.

The Director's Cut

When shooting is finished, the director can then turn his or her full attention to collaborating with the editor and further refining the cut of the film. This is the time that is set aside where the film editor's first cut is molded to fit the director's vision, and before the studio and/or producers are generally allowed to have input. Under DGA rules directors receive a minimum of ten weeks after completion of principal photography to prepare their first cut.

While collaborating on what is referred to as the "director's cut," the director and the editor go over the entire movie with a fine tooth comb; scenes and shots are re-ordered, removed, shortened and otherwise tweaked. Often it is discovered that there are plot holes, missing shots or even missing segments which might require that new scenes be filmed.

Because of this time working closely and collaborating-a period that is normally far longer, and far more intimately involved, than the entire production and filming-most directors and editors form a unique artistic bond.

The Producers vs. the Director

Often after the director has had his or her chance to oversee a cut, the subsequent cuts are supervised by one or more producers, who represent the production company and/or movie studio. At times, the final cut of films produced by the major studios is the one that most closely represents what the studio wants from the film and not necessarily what the director wants. Because of this, there have been several conflicts in the past between the director and the studio, sometimes leading to the use of the "Alan Smithee" credit signifying disownership or the aforementioned "director's cut" re-issues in subsequent years after the original theatrical releases.

Some directors are also the producers of their films, and, with the approval of the funding studio, have a much tighter grip on what makes the final cut than other directors. The most well-known example of a director who lorded over all aspects of his films, with little studio intervention, and worked completely outside of the Hollywood system is Stanley Kubrick. On the other hand, Orson Welles is an example of a director constantly dogged by studio supervision and many times had films taken away from him. Independent directors who work outside of the "studio system" are usually more free to have a final cut; thus independent films often take more risks and have more creative rewards than studio films.

Continuity

Often a film editor is blamed for improper continuity. For example, cutting from a shot where the beer glass is empty to one where it is full. Continuity is, in fact, very nearly last on a film editor's list of important things to maintain. Continuity is typically the business of the script supervisor and film director, who are together responsible for preserving continuity and preventing errors from take to take and shot to shot. Generally speaking, the editor utilizes the script supervisor's notes during post-production to log and keep track of the vast amounts of footage and takes that a director might shoot. However, to most editors what is more important than continuity is the editing of emotional and storytelling aspects of any given film-something that is much more abstract and harder to judge-which is why films often take much longer to edit than to shoot.

Methods of montage

In motion picture terminology, a montage (from the French for "putting together" or "assembly") is a film editing technique.

There are at least three senses of the term:

    In French film practice, "montage" has its literal French meaning and simply identifies a movie's editor.
    In Soviet film-making of the 1920s, "montage" was a method of juxtaposing shots to derive new meaning that did not exist in either shot alone.
    In classical Hollywood cinema, a "montage sequence" is a short segment in a film in which narrative information is presented in a condensed fashion. This is the most common meaning among laymen.

Soviet Montage

Lev Kuleshov was among the very first to theorize about the relatively young medium of the cinema in the 1920s. For him, the unique essence of the cinema-that which could be duplicated in no other medium-is editing. He argues that editing a film is like constructing a building. Brick-by-brick (shot-by-shot) the building (film) is erected. His often-cited Kuleshov Experiment established that montage can lead the viewer to reach certain conclusions about the action in a film. Montage works because viewers infer meaning based on context.

Although, strictly speaking, U.S. film director D.W. Griffith was not part of the montage school, he was one of the early proponents of the power of editing-mastering cross-cutting to show parallel action in different locations, and codifying film grammar in other ways as well. Griffith's work in the teens was highly regarded by Kuleshov and other Soviet filmmakers and greatly influenced their understanding of editing.

Sergei Eisenstein was briefly a student of Kuleshov's, but the two parted ways because they had different ideas of montage. Eisenstein regarded montage as a dialectical means of creating meaning. By contrasting unrelated shots he tried to provoke associations in the viewer, which were induced by shocks.

Montage Sequence

A montage sequence consists of a series of short shots that are edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning. In many cases, a song plays in the background to enhance the mood or reinforce the message being conveyed. Classic examples are the training montages in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky series of movies.

Editing Techniques

Stanley Kubrick noted that the editing process is the one phase of production that is truly unique to motion pictures. Every other aspect of filmmaking originated in a different medium than film (photography, art direction, writing, sound recording), but editing is the one process that is unique to film. In Alexender Walker's Stanley Kubrick Directs, Kubrick was quoted as saying, "I love editing. I think I like it more than any other phase of filmmaking. If I wanted to be frivolous, I might say that everything that precedes editing is merely a way of producing film to edit." In his book, On Film Editing, Edward Dmytryk stipulates seven "rules of cutting" that a good editor should follow:

   • "Rule 1. Never make a cut without a positive reason.

   • "Rule 2. When undecided about the exact frame to cut on, cut long rather than short" (Dmytryk, 23).

   • "Rule 3: Whenever possible cut 'in movement'" (Dmytryk, 27).

   • "Rule 4: The 'fresh' is preferable to the 'stale'" (Dmytryk, 37).

   • "Rule 5: All scenes should begin and end with continuing action" (Dmytryk, 38).

   • "Rule 6: Cut for proper values rather than proper 'matches'" (Dmytryk, 44).

   • "Rule 7: Substance first-then form" (Dmytryk, 145).

According to Walter Murch, when it comes to film editing, there are six main criteria for evaluating a cut or deciding where to cut. They are (in order of importance, most important first):

   • emotion-Does the cut reflect what the editor believes the audience should be feeling at that moment?

   • story-Does the cut advance the story?

   • rhythm-Does the cut occur "at a moment that is rhythmically interesting and 'right'" (Murch, 18)?

   • eye-trace-Does the cut pay respect to "the location and movement of the audience's focus of interest within the frame" (Murch, 18)?

   • two-dimensional place of the screen-Does the cut respect the 180 degree rule?

   • three-dimensional space of action-Is the cut true to the physical/spatial relationships within the diegesis?

Murch assigned notional percentage values to each of the criteria. Emotion, with 51%, outweighed the combined value of all the other criteria.

Flatbed Editor

A flatbed editor is a type of machine used for the editing of a motion picture film. The two most common brands, Steenbeck and K.-E.-M. (Keller-Elektro-Mechanik), were invented in Germany in the 1930's. There are also the Italian Prévost, the Dutch Oude Delft or Oldelft, and the French Atlas as well as Moritone flatbeds. To round it off, the U K has LEM, and America its Moviola flatbed issue.

All these machines have a rotating prism rather than the "Maltese Cross" or geneva drive intermittent mechanism used by the American Moviola editing machine. The rotating prism allows to move the film smoothly and continuously, reducing mechanical noise and damage to the film. It also makes high-speed operation feasible, and some machines can move the film at up to ten times standard speed. The trade-off for these advantages is a slight smearing of the image compared to the American Moviola.

The use of multiple sound tracks, up to three separate tracks, and multiple picture heads, up to three, is also a feature of the "table", which has a modular construction. Flatbeds also made it easy to view ten or even twenty minutes of film at a time. With the "armed" Moviola one could manage a thousand-foot eleven-minute 35mm reel, but with difficulty because it did not have high-speed operation.

European flatbeds came into more common use in the United States during the 1970's, although never completely replacing the Moviola.

By the mid-1990's, flatbeds were in turn becoming replaced by electronic non-linear systems such as Avid and Lightworks.

As of 2007, flatbed editors are still used in many film schools for their educational value. Feature films in the United States use electronic non-linear systems almost exclusively.

180 Degree Rule

The 180° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states that two characters (or other elements) in the same scene should always have the same left/right relationship to each other. If the camera passes over the imaginary axis connecting the two subjects, it is called crossing the line. The new shot, from the opposite side, is known as a reverse angle.

Examples

In the example of a dialogue, if Ted is on the left and Bob is on the right, then Ted should be facing right at all times, even when Bob is off the edge of the frame, and Bob should always be facing left. Shifting to the other side of the characters on a cut, so that Bob is now on the left side and Ted is on the right, will disorient the viewer, and break the flow of the scene.

In the example of an action scene, such as a car chase, if a vehicle leaves the right side of the frame in one shot, it should enter from the left side of the frame in the next shot. Leaving from the right and entering from the right will create a similar sense of disorientation as in the dialogue example.

An excellent example of sustained use of the 180 degree rule occurs throughout much of The Big Parade, a drama about World War One directed by King Vidor. In the sequences leading up to the battle scenes, the American forces (arriving from the west) are always shown marching from left to right across the screen, while the German troops (arriving from the east) are always shown marching from right to left. After the battle scenes, when the weary troops are staggering homeward, the Americans are always shown crossing the screen from right to left (moving west) and the Germans from left to right (moving east). The audience's viewpoint is therefore always from a consistent position, in this case southward of the action.

Problems Caused and Solutions

Avoiding crossing the line is a problem that those learning filmcraft can struggle with. In the above example with the car chase, a possible solution is to begin the second cut with the car driving into frame from the "wrong" side. Although this may be wrong in the geographic sense on set, it looks more natural to the viewer. Another possibility is to insert a "buffer shot" of the subject head-on (or from behind) to help the viewer understand the camera movement.

Style

In professional productions, the 180° rule is an essential element of a style of film editing called continuity editing. The rule is not always obeyed. Sometimes a filmmaker will purposely break the line of action in order to create disorientation. Stanley Kubrick was known to do this. The Wachowski Brothers and directors Tinto Brass, Yasujiro Ozu, Wong Kar-Wai and Jacques Tati sometimes ignored this rule also. The British TV presenters Ant & Dec extend this continuity to almost all their appearances, with Ant almost always on the left and Dec on the right.

Some filmmakers state that the fictional axis created by this rule can be used to plan the emotional strength of a scene. The closer you place the camera to the axis, the more emotionally involved the audience will be.

In the Japanese animated picture Paprika, two of the main characters discuss crossing the line and demonstrate the disorienting effect of actually performing the action.

Use in TV Sports

Sporting events that are covered with several cameras often use cameras on the other side of the line in order to obtain an optimal view of an incident that is blocked by the main shots. In order to prevent confusion, reverse angle shots are used sparingly and with some kind of graphic (e.g. "REVERSE ANGLE" on screen) to explain the change of viewpoint.

Continuity Editing

Continuity editing is the predominant style of film editing practiced by most Hollywood editors. The goal of continuity editing is to make the work of the editor as invisible as possible. The viewer should not notice the cuts, and shots should flow together naturally. Hence, the sequence of shots should appear to be continuous.

Common Conventions

Establishing Shot

In film and television, an establishing shot sets up, or "establishes", a scene's setting and/or its participants.

It might be a shot at the beginning of a scene indicating where the remainder of the scene takes place. For example, an exterior shot of a large building on a rainy night, followed by an interior shot of a couple talking, implies that the conversation is taking place inside that building. (Of course the conversation may in fact have been filmed on a studio set far from the actual location, because of budget, permits, time limitations, etc.)

For example, the TV show, Seinfeld, often uses a "Restaurant" establishing shot-an exterior shot of a restaurant that is followed by interior shots of the characters inside.

Or an establishing shot might just be a long shot of a room that shows all the characters from a particular scene. For example, a scene about a murder in a college lecture hall might begin with a shot that shows the entire room-including the lecturing professor and the students taking notes. Establishing shots are not required for every scene in a film or TV program. In fact, they were more common during the classical era of filmmaking than they are now. Contemporary filmmakers tend to skip the establishing shot in order to move the scene along more quickly. In addition, scenes in mysteries and the like often wish to obscure the setting and its participants and thus avoid clarifying them with an establishing shot.

An establishing shot may also establish a concept, rather than a location. For example, opening with a martial arts drill visually establishes the theme of martial arts.

Shot Reverse Shot

Shot reverse shot (or shot/countershot) is a film technique wherein one character is shown looking (often off-screen) at another character, and then the other character is shown looking "back" at the first character. Since the characters are shown facing in opposite directions, the viewer unconsciously assumes that they are looking at each other (the 180 degree rule). However, shot reverse shot is also often combined with creative geography to create the sense that two characters are facing each other, when in fact they may be being filmed in completely different locations or at completely different times.

These techniques are all features of the "classical" Hollywood style of continuity editing, which deemphasizes transitions between shots such that the audience perceives one continuous action that develops linearly, chronologically, and logically.

By comparison, an alternating sequence shows the systematic intertwining of actions or motifs occurring in a single diegetic space, and therefore involves cutting back and forth from one action or character to another, but does not necessarily imply that the subjects of the shots are interacting directly with one another

Eyeline Match

An eyeline match is a popular editing technique associated with the continuity editing system. It is based on the premise that the audience will want to see what the character on-screen is seeing. The eyeline match begins with a character looking at something off-screen, then there will then be a cut to the object or person that he is looking at. For example, a man is looking off-screen to his left, and then the film cuts to a television that he is watching.

30 Degree Rule

The 30° rule is a basic film editing guideline that states the camera must make at least 30° movements around the axis of movement while still respecting the 180° rule. These 30° of movement avoid the creation of a jump cut, or cutting at the same angle, making the subject appear to "jump" in the frame. Moving the camera at least 30° between shots seems to soften the effect of changing distance such as changing from a medium shot to a close-up.

Cutting on Action

Cutting on action or matching on action refers to a film editing technique where the editor cuts from one shot to another view that "matches" the first shot's action and energy. Although the two shots may have actually been shot hours apart from each other, cutting on action gives the impression of continuous time when watching the edited film. By having a subject begin an action in one shot and carry it through to completion in the next, the editor creates a visual bridge which distracts the viewer from noticing the cut or noticing any slight continuity error between the two shots. A variant of cutting on action is a cut in which the subject exits the frame in the first shot and then enters the frame in the subsequent shot. The entrance in the second shot must match the screen direction and motive rhythm of the exit in the first shot.

Some films, like Alain Resnais's Last Year at Marienbad play with this technique to connect scenes playing in different places together. For example, there is a shot of a large hall in which somebody turns her head, then the film cuts to the same person finishing the head turn, but standing in a completely different room. In this case, the edit creates an atmosphere where the spatial and temporal relationship between scenes become blurred.

Footage

In film and video, footage is the raw, unedited material as it has been recorded by the camera, which usually must be edited to create a motion picture, video clip, television show or similar completed work. More loosely, footage can also refer to all sequences used in film and video editing, such as special effects and archive material (for special cases of this, see stock footage and B roll). Since the term originates in film, footage is only used for recorded images, such as film stock, videotapes or digitized clips-on live television, the signals from the cameras are called sources instead.

The origin of the term "footage" is that 35mm film has traditionally been measured in feet and frames; the fact that film was measured by length in cutting rooms, and that there are exactly 16 4-perf frames in a foot of 35mm film which roughly represented 1 second of silent film, made footage a natural unit of measure for film. The term then became used figuratively to describe moving image material of any kind.

Television footage, especially news footage, is often traded between broadcasting organizations, but good footage usually commands a high price. The actual sum depends on duration, age, size of intended audience, duration of licensing and other factors. Amateur video footage of current events can also often fetch a high price on the market-scenes shot inside the World Trade Center during the September 11, 2001 attacks were reportedly sold for US$45,000. Sometimes film projects will also sell or trade footage, usually second unit material not used in the final cut. For example, the end of the non-director's cut version of Blade Runner used landscape views that were originally shot for The Shining before the script was modified after shooting had finished.

Found Footage

Found footage is a filmmaking term which describes a method of compiling films partly or entirely of footage which has not been created by the filmmaker, and changing its meaning by placing it in a new context. It should not be mistaken for documentary or compilation films. It is also not to be mistaken with stock footage. The term refers to the "found object" (objet trouvé) of art history.

Experimental Film

The American collage artist Joseph Cornell produced one of the earliest found films with his reassembly of East of Borneo, combined with pieces of other films, into a new work he titled Rose Hobart after the leading actress. His film is notable for its Surrealist form and influence on later filmmakers.

In contrast to Cornell's use, structural film or "Materialfilm" (German) often demands that the artist only uses material of preferably unknown origin, not very defined content, and poor physical condition. This material might be treated in any way the artist chooses, even completely untreated, as long as he ignores any meaning or content of the source material. Other notable users of this technique are Craig Baldwin in his films "Spectors of the Spectrum," Tribulation 99" and "O No Coronado." Bill Morrisson uses found footage lost and neglected in film archives in his 2002 work "Decasia." Another remarkable entry in the found footage cannon is Peter Delpeut's "Lyrical Nitrate."

Commercial Cinema

Another common use of found footage searches for material with recognisable content, which is edited into more or less narrative structures. Through means of editing, sound, voice-over, subtitles and/or inserts, the filmmaker tweaks the interpretation of the audience in a way that it accepts the new "truth" of the footage. Normally the source footage is of unknown origin, however, if footage with recognisable content (like historical or well-known commercial footage) is used the result can be made a parody or a political statement. A term which describes this genre is "mockumentary".

One of the first examples in mainstream cinema is Orson Welles' "F for Fake" (1974), which masterfully plays with truth and fiction and seems to be able to proof each of its statements. Another example of the use of found footage is in Woody Allen's first film, "What's Up Tiger Lily" in which Allen took a Japanese spy film by Senkichi Taniguchi, completely re-edited it and wrote a new soundtrack comprised of his own dialogue for comic effect.

A third meaning of found footage came up with the invention of TV formats which featured odd films and videos, mostly done by amateurs, combined with outtakes of film and video professionals, as well as stunts and accidents from sports shows.

Music Video and VJing

A certain style of music video makes extensive use of found footage, mostly found on TV, like news, documentaries, old (and odd) films etc. Prominent examples are videos of bands like Public Enemy and Coldcut. The latter also project video material during their stage show, which includes live mixing of video footage. Many artists already work in this new field of "VJing"", but not all of them work with found footage. Those who do extensively mine the internet for new material, dig through archives like the famous Prelinger archive, or trade material among artists

Axial Cut

An axial cut is a type of jump cut, where the camera suddenly moves closer to or further away from its subject, along an invisible line drawn straight between the camera and the subject. While a plain jump cut typically involves a temporal discontinuity (an apparent jump in time), an axial cut usually does not.

An axial cut can be made with the use of a zoom lens, or physically moving the camera with a crane or Camera dolly. The intervening footage (as the camera moves or zooms) is then removed while editing the film. Since footage is discarded, this technique works better for static shots. If action is required, several takes will be required to get the necessary footage.

Alternately, a multi-camera setup can be used, with the cameras showing the subject at different sizes. The footage from both cameras is then edited together to create the effect. As the cameras cannot occupy the same space, there will always be a slight deviation from the axis. Moving the cameras further away from the subject and using telephoto lenses can reduce the deviation.

B-roll

B-roll or B roll is unrelated talk during an interview.

This technique of using the cutaway is common to hide zooms in documentary films: the visuals may cut away to B roll footage of what the person is talking about while the A camera zooms in, then cut back after the zoom is complete. The cutaway to B roll footage can also be used to hide verbal or physical tics that the editor and/or director finds distracting: with the audio separate from the video, the filmmakers are free to excise "uh"s, sniffs, coughs, and so forth. Similarly, a contextually irrelevant part of a sentence or anecdote can be removed to construct a more effective, to-the-point delivery. This can also be used to change the meaning of the speaker to fit the view of the producer. In fiction film, the technique can be used to indicate simultaneous action or flashbacks, usually increasing tension or revealing information. "B roll" also refers to footage provided free of charge to broadcast news organizations as a means of gaining free publicity. For example, an auto maker might shoot a video of its assembly line, hoping that segments will be used in stories about the new model year. "B roll" sometimes makes its way into stock footage libraries.

B-Rolls in EDLs

In an Edit decision list (EDL), b-rolls have an entirely different meaning. Linear editing systems are unable to dissolve between clips on the same tape. Therefore, the EDL can mark such clips as "b-roll" to indicate that they should be dubbed onto another tape to make the dissolve possible,

Insert (Film)

In film, an insert is a shot of part of a scene as filmed from a different angle and/or focal length from the master shot. Inserts cover action already covered in the master shot, but emphasize a different aspect of that action due to the different framing. An insert is different from a cutaway in that the cutaway is of action not covered in the master shot.

There are more exact terms to use when the new, inserted shot is another view of actors: close-up, head shot, knee shot, two shot. So the term "insert" is often confined to views of objects--and body parts, other than the head. Thus: CLOSE-UP of the gunfighter, INSERT of his hand quivering above the holster, TWO SHOT of his friends watching anxiously, INSERT of the clock ticking.

Often inserts of this sort are done separately from the main action, by a second-unit director using stand-ins.

Inserts and cutaways can both be vexatious for directors, as care must be taken to preserve continuity by keeping the objects in the same relative position as in the main take, and having the lighting the same.

The 1975 movie Inserts directed by John Byrum about a pornographic film production, which starred Richard Dreyfuss and was originally released with an X rating, took its name from the double meaning that "insert" both refers to this film technique (often used in pornographic filmmaking) and to sexual intercourse.

Cutaway (Film)

In film, a cutaway is the interruption of a continuously-filmed action by inserting a view of something else. It is usually followed by a cutback to the first shot, but not always.

Generally, cutaways are divided into two types: related and unrelated. Related cutaway is a shot which is juxtaposing in between the shots without disturbing the meaning of the scene and it enhance the mood of the scene but unrelated cutaway used in where the continuity breaks between the shots generally editors should avoid the unrelated cutaways in film it will disturb the audience. Probably its most common uses in dramatic films are to adjust the pace of the main action, to conceal the deletion of some unwanted part of the main shot, or to allow the joining of parts of two versions of that shot. For example, a scene may be improved by cutting a few frames out of an actor's pause; a brief view of some listener can help conceal the break. Or the actor may fumble some of his lines in a group shot; rather than discarding a good version of the shot, the director may just have the actor repeat the lines "in one" and cut to that solitary view when necessary--some actors have fumbled their lines deliberately to get that treatment. These are journeyman techniques. Cutaways can also be used for reasons of art.

One example of a cutaway being used deliberately to break continuity, for comic effect, appears in Shoot the Piano Player (Tirez sur le pianiste), by François Truffaut: the pianist and his female companion are being followed; she opens her compact and uses it to show him the two gangsters behind them, impossibly large in the reflection. On television, The Simpsons and Family Guy both used cutaways widely to introduce brief gags before returning to the episode's main storyline. The Simpsons writers cut back on cutaways around the time the technique was adopted by Family Guy.

Cross Cutting is a Series of Cutaways and Cutbacks

In news and documentary work, the cutaway is used much as it would be in fiction. On location, there is usually just one camera to film an interview, and it's usually trained on the interviewee. Often there is only one microphone. After the interview, the interviewer will usually repeat his questions while he himself is being filmed, with pauses as he pretends to listen to the answers. (The comedy Micki and Maude shows this process quite accurately.) These shots can be used as cutaways. They may be necessary just to ensure that the audience can hear the questions correctly.

Keying (Graphics)

In graphics and visual effects, keying is an informal term for compositing two full frame images together, by discriminating the visual information into values of colour and light.

Chroma Key

A chroma key is the removal of a colour from one image to reveal another "behind" it.

Luma Key

A luma key similarly replaces colour from an image which falls into a particular range of brightness. This technique is less controllable, but can be used on graphic elements. It is particularly useful for realistic fire keying, and was also used for on-screen text, such as programme titles and credits, before the advent of digital compositing.

Difference Key

A difference key uses a background plate of the scene that the foreground object is being keyed out of and the software then assesses the source video and any pixels that don't match the grid are obviously meant to be keyed out.

For example, if your subject is standing in front of a wall, a photo taken from the camera of the same wall, is used. This must be taken from the same camera angle, focus & distance. The software then compares the video to be keyed with the original photo and generates a mask based upon that difference, hence the name explain well.

Matte Key

A matte key uses three images: the two images that will be composited, and a black-and-white third image (called "mask") that dictates the blending of the two, with white revealing one image, black the other, and grey revealing a blend of the two together.

Generally, the "bottom" image is called the beauty, the image that appears on top is the fill and the discriminating element (chroma, luma or matte) is called the key or matte.

Downstream Key

A downstream key (or DSK) is a method of Matte keying, so you use three image or video signals. You have the base signal, where the fill signal is keyed on to, using the key signal to control the opacity of the fill signal. This results in a new signal, that you can use as an input for another DSK. This technique is used in television production, where you show the station name in a corner (DSK 1), and need a name title for a guest (DSK 2), while showing subtitles for translation of his/her speech (DSK 3).

Kuleshov Effect

The Kuleshov Effect is a montage effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov in about 1918.

Kuleshov edited a short film in which shots of the face of Ivan Mozzhukhin (a Tsarist matinee idol) are alternated with various other shots (a plate of soup, a girl, an old woman's coffin). The film was shown to an audience who believed that the expression on Mozzhukhin's face was different each time he appeared, depending on whether he was "looking at" the plate of soup, the girl, or the coffin, showing an expression of hunger, desire or grief respectively. Actually the footage of Mozzhukhin was identical, and rather expressionless, every time it appeared. Vsevolod Pudovkin (who later claimed to have been the co-creator of the experiment) described in 1929 how the audience "raved about the acting.... the heavy pensiveness of his mood over the forgotten soup, were touched and moved by the deep sorrow with which he looked on the dead woman, and admired the light, happy smile with which he surveyed the girl at play. But we knew that in all three cases the face was exactly the same." [Pudovkin, "Naturshchik vmesto aktera", in Sobranie sochinenii, volume I, Moscow: 1974, p.184].

Kuleshov used the experiment to indicate the usefulness and effectiveness of film editing. The implication is that viewers brought their own emotional reactions to this sequence of images, and then moreover attributed those reactions to the actor, investing his impassive face with their own feelings.

The effect has also been studied by psychologists, and is well-known among modern film makers. Alfred Hitchcock refers to the effect in his conversations with François Truffaut, using actor Jimmy Stewart as the example. The experiment itself was created by assembling fragments of pre-existing film from the Tsarist film industry, with no new material. Mozzhukhin had been the leading romantic "star" of Tsarist cinema, and familiar to the audience.

Kuleshov demonstrated the necessity of considering montage as the basic tool of cinema art. In Kuleshov's view, the cinema consists of fragments and the assembly of those fragments, the assembly of elements which in reality are distinct. It is therefore not the content of the images in a film which is important, but their combination. The raw materials of such an art work need not be original, but are pre-fabricated elements which can be deconstructed and re-assembled by the artist into new juxtapositions.

The montage experiments carried out by Kuleshov in the late 1910s and early 1920s formed the theoretical basis of Soviet montage cinema, culminating in the famous films of the late 1920s by directors such as Sergei Eisenstein, Vsevolod Pudovkin and Dziga Vertov, among others. These films included The Battleship Potemkin, October, Mother, The End of St. Petersburg, and The Man with a Movie Camera.

Soviet montage cinema was suppressed under Stalin during the 1930s as a dangerous example of Formalism in the arts, and as being incompatible with the official Soviet artistic doctrine of Socialist Realism.

L Cut

An L cut, also known as a split edit, is a transition from one shot to another in film, where the picture transition does not occur coincidentally with the audio transition. This is often done to enhance the aesthetics or flow of the film (for example--a conversation between two people can feel like a tennis match without L cuts. L cuts allow the audience to see the reactionary impulse to speak, or the aftermath of speaking rather than simply the act of speaking.) L cuts are also used to hide transitions between scenes. An prominent example of an L cut occurs in the film The Silence of the Lambs when Clarice is leaving her first interview with Dr. Lecter. She has just been humiliated and remembers her father arriving home from work one day when she was a child; after he picks her up and spins her around, the camera pans over to a passing truck and tilts up to the sky. Then we hear Clarice's sobs and cut back to her outside the mental institution, leaning on her car and crying.

The name of the cut refers to the shape of the cut pieces of the film-the audio track is cut somewhat after (or before) the last frame of video, resulting in roughly L-shaped film ends, as the video and audio parts of film are in tracks, one below, one above, on the film itself.

Master Shot

A master shot is a filmic recording of an entire dramatized scene, from start to finish, from an angle that keeps all the players in view. It is often a long shot and can sometimes perform a double function as an establishing shot. Usually, the master shot is the first shot checked off during the shooting of a scene-it is the foundation of what is called camera coverage, other shots that reveal different aspects of the action, groupings of two or three of the actors at crucial moments, close-ups of individuals, insert shots of various props, and so on.

Historically, the master shot was arguably the most important shot of any given scene. All shots in a given scene were somehow related to what was happening in the master shot. This is one reason why some of the films from the 1930s and 1940s are considered "stagey" by today's standards. By the 1960s and 1970s, the style of film shooting and editing shifted to include radical angles that conveyed more subjectivity and intimacy within the scenes (Ascher, 227). Today, the master shot is still an extremely important element of film production, but scenes are not built around the master shot in the same way that they were in the 1930s.

Montage Sequence

A montage sequence is a technique in film editing in which a series of short shots is edited into a sequence to condense narrative. It is usually used to advance the story as a whole (often to suggest the passage of time), rather than to create symbolic meaning as it does in Soviet montage theory. In many cases, a song plays in the background to enhance the mood or reinforce the message being conveyed.

Many films are well known for their montage scenes. Examples include:

   • the training regimen montages in Sylvester Stallone's Rocky series of movies

   • Dirty Dancing

   • Flashdance

   • several of director Sam Raimi's films

   • Ghostbusters

   • Scarface's montage showing Tony Montana's rise to power, set to the song "Scarface (Push It to the Limit)"

   • Groundhog Day's repeated courtship sequence

   • the satirical self-referential montages in the South Park episode "Asspen", the film Team America: World Police and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode "Once More with Feeling" (featuring a duet between Buffy and Giles).

In nearly all of these examples, the montages are used to compress narrative time and show the main character learning or improving skills that will help achieve the ultimate goal. The song "Montage"-from "Asspen" and Team America-describes this perfectly:

Show a lot of things happening at once

Remind everyone of what's going on

And with every shot you show a little improvement

To show it all would take too long

That's called a montage

Oh we want montage

The sports training montage

The sports training montage is a standard explanatory montage. It originated in American cinema but has since spread to modern martial arts films from East Asia. Originally depicting a character engaging in physical or sports training, the form has been extended to other activities or themes.

Conventions and Cliches

The standard elements of a sports training montage include a build-up where the potential sports hero confronts their failure to train adequately. The solution is a serious, individual training regimen. The individual is shown engaging in physical training through a series of short, cut sequences. An inspirational song (usually fast-paced rock music) typically provides the only sound. At the end of the montage several weeks have elapsed in the course of just a few minutes and the hero is now prepared for the big competition. One of the most well-known examples is the training sequence in the 1976 movie Rocky, which culminates in Rocky's run up the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

The simplicity of the technique and its over-use in American film vocabulary has led to its status as a film cliché. A notable parody of the sports training montage appears in the South Park episode, "Asspen", noted above. When Stan Marsh must become an expert skier quickly, he begins training in a montage where the inspirational song explicitly spells out the techniques and requirements of a successful sports training montage sequence as they occur on screen:

In any sport, if you want to go

From just a beginner to a pro

You'll need a montage!

Use in Japanese and Hong Kong cinema

In films from Japan and Hong Kong, particular emphasis is placed on the suffering of the trainee, often with the breakthrough in training being a change in perspective rather than physical capability. More importance is often placed on the master passing down knowledge to their student, rather than the self-discovery of American film.

A classic use of the sports training montage in Hong Kong cinema is The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (Shao Lin san shi liu fang). In The 36th Chamber the student displays an arrogance and unwillingness to learn. The student develops through a process of suffering, towards self-mastery in learning, finally achieving triumph in realising that he controls his ability to learn. This training sequence is much closer to Zen Buddhist ideas regarding teaching practice, or Sufi learning concepts, than the individualistic American model used above.

Motion Picture Editors Guild

The Motion Picture Editors Guild (MPEG) is the guild that represents freelance and staff motion picture film and television editors and other post-production professionals and story analysts throughout the United States. The Motion Picture Editors Guild (Union Local 700) is a part of the 500 affiliated local unions of IATSE (International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees), a national labor organization with a nearly 65-year history of bargaining for better wages and working conditions for its 104,000-plus members. Currently there are as more than 6,000 members of the 100-plus year old Editors Guild.

The MPEG negotiates collective bargaining agreements (union contracts) with producers and major motion picture movie studios and enforces existing agreements with employers involved in post-production. The MPEG provides assistance for securing better working conditions, including but not limited to salary, medical benefits, safety (particularly "turnaround time") and artistic (assignment of credit) concerns.

History

The Society of Motion Picture Film Editors was created in 1937 by I. James Wilkinson, Ben Lewis and Philip Cahn when film editors earned a mere $100 per week. Initial membership totaled 571.

In 1938 the first contract talks garnered a 10% wage increase. In 1943 film editors and assistant editors are offered their own local by the International Alliance of Theatrical Stage Employees (IATSE). Many Society members sought to align themselves with this larger national organization, hoping for greater negotiating clout. The Screen Directors Guild of America (DGA) also made overtures, but offered only to admit picture editors (not assistant editors), and only to grant them diluted voting rights. The editors and assistant editors opted to join IATSE instead. In 1944, the Society of Motion Picture Film Editors underwent a name change and became the Motion Picture Editors Guild, Local 776 of the IATSE. In 1998, the two IA editorial locals (776 in Los Angeles and 771 in New York) merged to form one national Editors Guild, now Local 700. Also in 1998, members of IATSE Local 695 are transferred to the Editors Guild consisting of Re-Recording Mixers, Maintenance Engineers, Sound Recordists and Studio Projectionists. In 2000, the Story Analysts, formerly Local 854, also join the Editors Guild.

Non-linear Editing System

A non-linear editing system (NLE) is a video editing (NLVE) or audio editing (NLAE) system which can perform random access on the source material.

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Non-linear Editing

Introduction

Non-linear editing for film and television postproduction is a modern editing method which involves being able to access any frame in a video clip with the same ease as any other. This method is similar in concept to the "cut and glue" technique used in film editing from the beginning. However, when working with film, it is a destructive process, as the actual film negative must be cut. Non-linear, non-destructive methods began to appear with the introduction of digital video technology.

Video and audio data are first digitized to hard disks or other digital storage devices. The data is either recorded directly to the storage device or is imported from another source. Once imported they can be edited on a computer using any of a wide range of software. For a comprehensive list of available software, see List of video editing software, whereas Comparison of video editing software gives more detail of features and functionality.

In non-linear editing, the original source files are not lost or modified during editing. Professional editing software records the decisions of the editor in an edit decision list (EDL) which can be interchanged with other editing tools. Many generations and variations of the original source files can exist without needing to store many different copies, allowing for very flexible editing. It also makes it easy to change cuts and undo previous decisions simply by editing the edit decision list (without having to have the actual film data duplicated). Loss of quality is also avoided due to not having to repeatedly re-encode the data when different effects are applied. Compared to the linear method of tape-to-tape editing, non-linear editing offers the flexibility of film editing, with random access and easy project organization. With the edit decision lists, the editor can work on low-resolution copies of the video. This makes it possible to edit both broadcast quality and high definition quality very quickly on normal PCs which do not have the power to do the full processing of the huge full-quality high-resolution data in real-time.

The costs of editing systems have dropped such that non-linear editing tools are now within the reach of home users. Some editing software can now be accessed free as web applications, some, like Cinelerra (focused on the professional market), can be downloaded free of charge, and some, like Microsoft's Windows Movie Maker or Apple Computer's iMovie, come included if you buy the appropriate operating system.

A computer for non-linear editing of video will usually have a video capture card for capturing analog video or a FireWire connection for capturing digital video from a DV camera, as well as video editing software. Modern web based editing systems can take video directly from a camera phone over a GPRS or 3G mobile connection, and editing can take place through a web browser interface, so strictly speaking a computer for video editing does not require any installed hardware or software beyond a web browser and an internet connection.

Various editing tasks can then be performed on the imported video before it is exported to another medium, or MPEG encoded for transfer to a DVD.

History

The first truly non-linear editor, the CMX 600, was introduced in 1971 by CMX Systems, a joint venture between CBS and Memorex. It recorded & played back black-and-white analog video recorded in "skip-field" mode on modified disk pack drives the size of washing machines. These were commonly used to store data digitally on mainframe computers of the time. The 600 had a console with 2 monitors built in. The right monitor, which played the preview video, was used by the editor to make cuts and edit decisions using a light pen. The editor selected from options which were superimposed as text over the preview video. The left monitor was used to display the edited video. A Digital PDP-11 computer served as a controller for the whole system. Because the video edited on the 600 was in black and white and in low-resolution "skip-field" mode, the 600 was suitable only for offline editing.

Various approximations of non-linear editing systems were built in the '80s using computers coordinating multiple laser discs, or banks of VCRs. One example of these tape & disc-based systems was Lucasfilm's EditDroid, which used several laserdiscs of the same raw footage to simulate random-access editing (a compatible system was developed for sound post production by Lucasfilm called SoundDroid--one of the earliest digital audio workstations).

The term "nonlinear editing" or "non-linear editing" was formalized in 1991 with the publication of Michael Rubin's "Nonlinear: a handbook for electronic film and video editing" (Triad, 1991)--which popularized this terminology over other language common at the time, including "real time" editing, "random-access" or "RA" editing, "virtual" editing, "electronic film" editing, and so on. The handbook has remained in print since 1991, currently in its 4th edition (Triad, 2000).

Computer processing advanced sufficiently by the end of the '80s to enable true digital imagery, and has progressed today to provide this capability in personal desktop computers.

An example of computing power progressing to make non-linear editing possible was demonstrated in the first all-digital non-linear editing system to be released, the "Harry" effects compositing system manufactured by Quantel in 1985. Although it was more of a video effects system, it had some non-linear editing capabilities. Most importantly, it could record (and apply effects to) 80 seconds (due to hard disk space limitations) of broadcast-quality uncompressed digital video encoded in 8-bit CCIR 601 format on its built-in hard disk array. Non-linear editing with computers as we know it today was first introduced by Editing Machines Corp. in 1989 with the EMC2 editor; a hard disk based non-linear off-line editing system, using half-screen resolution video at 15 frames per second. A couple of weeks later that same year, Avid introduced the Avid/1, the first in the line of their Media Composer systems. It was based on the Apple Macintosh computer platform (Macintosh II systems were used) with special hardware and software developed and installed by Avid. The Avid/1 was not the first system to introduce modern concepts in non-linear editing, however, such as timeline editing and clip bins--both of which were pioneered in Lucasfilm's EditDroid in the early 1980s.

The video quality of the Avid/1 (and later Media Composer systems from the late 80s) was somewhat low (about VHS quality), due to the use of a very early version of a Motion JPEG (M-JPEG) codec. But it was enough to be a very versatile system for offline editing, to revolutionize video and film editing, and quickly become the dominant NLE platform.

In October 1990 NewTek introduced Video Toaster, a hardware and software solution for the Commodore Amiga 2000 computer system, taking advantage of the video-friendly aspects of that system's hardware to deliver the product at an unusually low cost ($1499). The hardware component was a full-sized card which went into the Amiga's unique single video expansion slot rather than the standard bus slots, and therefore could not be used with the A500 and A1000 models. The card had several BNC connectors in the rear, which accepted four video input sources and provided two outputs (preview and program). This initial generation system was essentially a real-time four-channel video switcher.

For the second generation NewTek introduced the Video Toaster Flyer. The Flyer was a much more capable Non-linear editing system. In addition to just processing live video signals, the Flyer made use of hard drives to store video clips as well as audio and allow complex scripted playback. The Flyer was capable of simultaneous dual-channel playback, which allowed the Toaster's Video switcher to perform transitions and other effects on Video clips without the need for rendering.

The hardware component was again a card designed for the Amiga's Zorro 2 expansion slot, and was primarily designed by Charles Steinkuehler. The Flyer portion of the Video Toaster/Flyer combination was a complete computer of its own, having its own Microprocessor and Embedded software, which was written by Marty Flickinger. Its hardware included three embedded SCSI controllers. Two of these SCSI buses were used to store video data, and the third to store audio. The hard drives were thus connected to the Flyer directly and used a proprietary filesystem layout, rather than being connected to the Amiga's buses and were available as regular devices using the included DOS driver. The Flyer used a proprietary Wavelet compression algorithm known as VTASC, which was well regarded at the time for offering better visual quality than comparable Motion JPEG based non-linear editing systems.

Until 1993, the Avid Media Composer could only be used for editing commercials or other small content projects, because the Apple Macintosh computers could access only 50 gigabytes of storage at one time. In 1992, this limitation was overcome by a group of industry experts lead by a Digital Video R&D team at the Disney Channel. By February 1993, this team had integrated a long form system which gave the Avid Media Composer Apple Macintosh access to over 7 terabytes of digital video data. With instant access to the shot footage of an entire movie, long form non-linear editing (Motion Picture Editing) was now possible. The system made its debut at the NAB conference in 1993, in the booths of the three primary sub-system manufacturers, Avid, SGI and Sony. Within a year, thousands of these systems replaced a century of 35mm film editing equipment in major motion picture studios and TV stations world wide, making Avid the undisputed leader in non-linear editing systems for over a decade.

Although M-JPEG became the standard codec for NLE during the early 1990s, it had drawbacks. Its high computational requirements ruled out software implementations, leading to the extra cost and complexity of hardware compression/playback cards. More importantly, the traditional tape workflow had involved editing off tape, often in a rented facility. When the editor left the edit suite he could take his confidential video tapes with him. But the M-JPEG data rate was too high for systems like Avid on the Mac and Lightworks on PC to store the video on removable storage, so these used fixed hard discs instead. The tape paradigm of keeping your (confidential) content with you was not possible with these fixed discs. Editing machines were often rented from facilities houses on a per-hour basis, and some productions chose to delete their material after each edit session, and then redigitize it again the next day, in order to guarantee the security of their content. In addition, each NLE system had storage limited by its hard disc capacity.

These issues were addressed by a small UK company, Eidos plc (which later became famous for its Tomb Raider video game series). Eidos chose the new ARM-based computers from the UK and implemented an editing system, launched in Europe in 1990 at the International Broadcasting Convention. Because it implemented its own compression software designed specifically for non-linear editing, the Eidos system had no requirement for JPEG hardware and was cheap to produce. The software could decode multiple video and audio streams at once for real-time effects at no extra cost. But most significantly, for the first time, it allowed effectively unlimited quantities of cheap removable storage. The Eidos Edit 1, Edit 2, and later Optima systems allowed the editor to use any Eidos system, rather than being tied down to a particular one, and still keep his data secure. The Optima software editing system was closely tied to Acorn hardware, so when Acorn stopped manufacturing the Risc PC in the late 1990s, Eidos stopped selling the Optima system; by this time Eidos had become predominantly a games company.

In the early 1990s a small American company called Data Translation took what it knew about coding and decoding pictures for the US military and large corporate clients and threw $12m into developing a desktop editor which would use its proprietary compression algorithms and off-the-shelf parts. Their aim was to 'democratize' the desktop-and take some of Avid's market. In August 1993 Media 100 entered the market and thousands of would-be editors had a low-cost, high-quality platform to use. Inspired by the success of Media 100, members of the Premiere development team left Adobe to start a project called "Keygrip" for Macromedia. Difficulty raising support and money for development lead the team to take their non-linear editor to NAB. After various companies made offers, Keygrip was purchased by Apple as Steve Jobs wanted a product to compete with Adobe Premiere in the desktop video market. At around the same time, Avid-now with Windows versions of its editing software-was considering abandoning the Macintosh platform. Apple released Final Cut Pro in 1999, and despite not being taken seriously at first by professionals, it has evolved into a serious competitor to Avid.

Another leap came in the late 1990s with the launch of DV-based video formats for consumer and professional use. With DV came IEEE 1394 (FireWire/iLink), a simple and inexpensive way of getting video into and out of computers. The video no longer had to be converted from an analog signal to digital data-it was recorded as digital to start with-and FireWire offered a straightforward way of transferring that data without the need for additional hardware or compression. With this innovation, editing become a more realistic proposition for standard computers with software-only packages. It enabled real desktop editing producing high-quality results at a fraction of the cost of other systems.

More recently the introduction of highly compressed HD formats such as HDV has continued this trend, making it possible to edit HD material on a standard computer running a software-only editing application.

Avid is still considered the industry standard, with the majority of major feature films, television programs, and commercials created with its NLE systems. Avid products were used in the creation of every film nominated in the Best Picture, Directing, Film Editing, Sound Editing, Sound Mixing, Visual Effects, and Animated Feature categories of the 2005 Academy Awards. Avid systems were also the overwhelming NLE choice of the 2004-2005 Primetime Emmy Award nominees, being used on more than 50 shows in eleven major categories. Final Cut Pro continues to develop a strong following, and the software received an Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2002.

Avid has held on to its market-leading position, but faces growing competition from other, cheaper software packages, notably Adobe Premiere in 1992, and later Final Cut Pro in 1999. These three competing products by Avid, Adobe, and Apple are the foremost NLEs, often referred to as the A-Team.

Quality

One of the primary concerns with non-linear editing has always been picture and sound quality. The need to compress and decompress video leads to some loss in quality. While improvements in compression techniques and disc storage capacity have reduced these concerns, they still exist. Most professional NLEs are able to edit uncompressed video with the appropriate hardware.

With the more recent adoption of DV formats, quality has become an issue again: DV's compression means that manipulation of the image can introduce significant degradation. However this can be partially avoided by rendering DV footage to a non-compressed intermediary format, thereby avoiding quality loss through recompression of the modified video images. Ultimately it depends on what changes are made to the image, simple edits should show no degradation, however effects that alter the colour, size or position of parts of the image will have a more negative effect.

The range of user-friendly editing tools has given inexperienced people access to editing at high quality for the first time.

Point of View Shot

A point of view shot (also known as POV shot or a subjective camera) is a short film scene that shows what a character (the subject) is looking at (represented through the camera). It is usually established by being positioned between a shot of a character looking at something, and a shot showing the character's reaction (see shot reverse shot). The technique of POV is one of the foundations of film editing. A POV shot need not be the strict point-of-view of an actual single character in a film. Sometimes the point-of-view shot is taken over the shoulder of the character (third person), who remains visible on the screen. Sometimes a POV shot is "shared" ("dual" or "triple"), i.e. it represents the joint POV of two (or more) characters. There is also the "nobody POV", where a shot is taken from the POV of a non-existent character. This often occurs when an actual POV shot is implied, but the character is removed. Sometimes the character is never present at all, despite a clear POV shot, such as the famous "God-POV" of birds descending from the sky in Alfred Hitchcock's film, The Birds. Another example of a POV shot is in the movie Doom, which contains a fairly long POV shot which resembles a heads-up display in a first-person shooter video game, with the viewer watching through a character who is venturing through hallways shooting and killing aliens.

A POV shot need not be established by strictly visual means. The manipulation of diegetic sounds can be used to emphasize a particular character's POV.

It makes little sense to say that a shot is "inherently" POV; it is the editing of the POV shot within a sequence of shots that determines POV. Nor can the establishment of a POV shot be isolated from other elements of filmmaking-mise en scene, acting, camera placement, editing, and special effects can all contribute to the establishment of POV.

With some POV shots when an animal is the chosen character, the shot will look distorted or black and white.

Leading Actor POV

Subjective viewpoint is what it is called when the leading actor is the subject of the POV. The audience sees events through the leading actor's eyes, as if they were experiencing the events themselves. Some films are partially or totally shot using this technique,

One of the first films to use this technique was Rouben Mamoulian's Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. Everything is seen through Jekyll's eyes, as he leaves his house to go to the medical lecture. Then, as he begins to speak, Jekyll is seen for the first time. When Jekyll first transforms himself into Hyde, Mamoulian once again uses the subjective camera to record his agonized reaction to the drug that he drinks. In the film noir Dark Passage, the protagonist has plastic surgery, and when his bandages are removed, he is revealed to be Humphrey Bogart. But until that moment, everything is seen through his eyes and the viewer has no idea what he looks like.

In another film noir, Lady in the Lake, directed by and starring Robert Montgomery as Raymond Chandler's detective Philip Marlowe, the entire film is shot from a subjective viewpoint, and Montgomery's face is seen only when he looks in a mirror. The film was not a critical or popular success.

Long Take

A long take is an uninterrupted shot in a film which lasts much longer than the conventional editing pace either of the film itself or of films in general, usually lasting several minutes. It can be used for dramatic and narrative effect if done properly, and in moving shots is often accomplished through the use of a dolly or Steadicam. Some films, such as Timecode and Russian Ark are filmed in one single take; others, such as Rope, Before Sunset, Elephant, and Irréversible are composed entirely from a series of long takes, while others, such as Goodfellas, Children of Men, Boogie Nights, Touch of Evil, The Player and Brazil, are well-known for a specific long take or two within otherwise more conventionally edited films. The term "long take" is used because it avoids the ambiguous meanings of "long shot", which can refer to the framing of a shot, and "long cut", which can refer to either a whole version of a film or the general editing pacing of the film. However, these two terms are sometimes used interchangeably with "long take".

Sequence Shot

A sequence shot involves both a long take and sophisticated camera movement; it is sometimes called by the French term plan-séquence. Jean Renoir's movie La Grande Illusion illustrates the use of the sequence shot effectively throughout the film. The use of the sequence shot allows for realistic and dramatically significant background and middle ground activity. Actors range about the set transacting their business while the camera shifts focus from one plane of depth to another and back again. Significant off-frame action is often followed with a moving camera, characteristically through a series of pans within a single continuous shot.

Talking Head

Talking head can refer to:

   • In Sex Toys, the Talking Head™ Vibrator is a rabbit vibrator with MP3 playback and voice recording capability.

   • In broadcasting, slang for interview footage shot in a locked down medium shot of the subject's head and shoulders. It also refers to an anchor, pundit, or other personality on news television.

   • In music, the group Talking Heads gets its name from the second definition. The phrase can also refer to one of the individual members of the band. There is also a song by Motörhead called "Talking Head"

   • In legend and mythology, a magical talking head giving advice is a recurring motif (see Mimir, Baphomet, Pope Silvester II).

   • In computer graphics, a computer-generated character that talks. The topic is a subset of computer facial animation with focus on visual speech synthesis.

   • Talking head, a film by Mamoru Oshii.

Wipe

Wipe has several meanings:

   • Wipe (transition) is a gradual transition in film editing.

   • In roleplaying games, especially MMORPGs, a wipe can refer to a situation where an entire group or party is killed by hostile units. It is sometimes also called Total Party Kill.

   • File wiping is the process of thoroughly deleting a file on computers.

   • In networking, wipe is short for a "server wipe," in which an administrator inadvertently removes a server from the network.

   • Wiping, a process in which old television and radio recordings were erased or destroyed.

   • Wiping is also a process of cleansing the anus after defecation.

Audio Editing

Audio editing is the process of taking recorded sound and changing it directly on the recording medium. It was a new technology that developed in the middle part of the 20th century with the advent of magnetic tape recording. Originally, editing was done on reel-to-reel tape machines and edits were made with straight razors and special tape to connect pieces of tape that had been cut. Audio editors would listen to recorded tapes at low volumes, and then located specific sounds using a process called scrubbing, which is the slow rocking back and forth of the tape reels across the playback heads of the tape deck.

With the development of microcomputer technology, Sound Recordists were able to digitize their recordings and edit them as files on a computer's hard disk. The computer programs responsible for this task are known as digital audio editors. The earliest program to become widely used in this application was a wave editor called Sound Designer in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Sound Designer was created by a company called Digidesign who achieved early industry dominance. In recent years, however, that dominance has been challenged by a number of companies attempting to grab a portion of Digidesign's market share.

In recent years, with the growing popularity of GNU/Linux, a number of Open Source software projects have sprung up in order to develop an open source audio editing program. This movement has been bolstered recently by the development of ALSA, and the Linux low latency kernel patch, which allow the GNU/Linux Operating System to achieve audio processing performance equal to that of commercial operating systems. The multi-platform package Audacity is currently the most fully-featured free software audio editor.

Sound Recording and Reproduction

Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical or mechanical inscription and re-creation of sound waves, usually used for the voice or for music.

The two main classes of sound recording technology are analog recording and digital recording.

The Cylinder Phonograph

The first practical sound recording and reproduction device was the mechanical cylinder phonograph, invented by Thomas Edison in 1877 and patented in 1878, and in some ways resembled the phonoautograph patented by Edouard-Leon Scott de Martinville in 1857. The invention soon spread across the globe and over the next two decades the commercial recording, distribution and sale of sound recordings became a growing new international industry, with the most popular titles selling millions of units by the early 1900s. The development of mass-production techniques enabled cylinder recordings to become a major new consumer item in industrial countries and the cylinder was the main consumer format from the late 1880s until around 1910.

The Disc

The next major technical development was the invention of the gramophone disc, generally credited to Emile Berliner and commercially introduced in the United States in 1889.

Discs were easier to manufacture, transport and store, and they had the additional benefit of being louder (marginally) than cylinders, which by necessity, were single-sided. Sales of the Gramophone record overtook the cylinder ca. 1910, and by the end of World War I the disc had become the dominant commercial recording format. In various permutations, the audio disc format became the primary medium for consumer sound recordings until the end of the 20th century, and the double-sided 78rpm shellac disc was the standard consumer music format from the early 1910s to the late 1950s.

Although there was no universally accepted speed, and various companies offered discs that played at several different speeds, the major recording companies eventually settled on a de facto industry standard of 78 revolutions per minute, which gave the disc format its common nickname, the "seventy-eight". Discs were made of shellac or similar brittle plastic like materials, played with metal needles, and had a distinctly limited life.

Electrical Recording

Sound recording began as a mechanical process and remained so until the 1920s (with the exception of the 1898 Telegraphone) when a string of groundbreaking inventions in the field of electronics revolutionised sound recording and the young recording industry. These included sound transducers such as microphones and loudspeakers, and various electronic devices such as the mixing desk, designed for the amplification and modification of electrical sound signals.

After the Edison phonograph itself, arguably the most significant advances in sound recording were the electronic systems invented by two American scientists between 1900 and 1924.

In 1906 Lee De Forest invented the "Audion" triode vacuum-tube, electronic valve, which could greatly amplify weak electrical signals, (one early use was to amplify long distance telephone in 1915) which became the basis of all subsequent electrical sound systems until the invention of the transistor. The valve was quickly followed by the invention of the Regenerative circuit, Super-Regenerative circuit and the Superheterodyne receiver circuit, all of which were invented and patented by the young electronics genius Edwin Armstrong between 1914 and 1922. Armstrong's inventions made higher fidelity electrical sound recording and reproduction a practical reality, facilitating the development of the electronic amplifier and many other devices; after 1925 these systems had become standard in the recording and radio industry. Armstrong's groundbreaking inventions (including FM radio) also made possible the broadcasting of long-range, high-quality radio transmissions of voice and music. The importance of Armstong's Superheterodyne circuit cannot be under-estimated--it was the central component of almost all analog amplification and radio-frequency transmitter and receiver devices of the 20th century.

Beginning during World War One, experiments were undertaken in the United States and Great Britain to reproduce among other things, the sound of a Submarine (u-boat) for training purposes. The acoustical recordings of that time proved entirely unable to reproduce the sounds, and other methods were actively sought. Radio had developed independently to this point, and now Bell Laboritories sought a marriage of the two disparate technologies, greater than the two separately. The first experiments were not very promising, but by 1920 greater sound fidelity was achieved using the electrical system than had ever been realized acoustically. One early recording made without fanfare or announcement was the dedication of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington Cemetery.

By early 1924 such dramatic progress had been made, that Bell Labs arranged a demonstration for the leading recording companies, Victor Talking Machine, and Columbia Phonograph Co's.

Columbia, always in financial straits, could not afford it, and Victor, essentially leaderless since the Mental collapse of Founder E. Johnson, left the demonstration without comment. English Columbia, by then a separate Company, got a hold of a test pressing from these sessions, and realized the immediate and urgent need to have the new system. Bell was only offering its method to United States Companies, and to circumvent this, Managing Director Louis Sterling of British Columbia, bought his once parent company, and signed up for electrical recording. When Victor Talking Machine was apprised of the Columbia deal, they too quickly signed. Columbia made its first electrical recordings on February 25, 1925 with Victor following a few weeks later. The two then agreed privately to "be quiet" until November 1925, by which time enough electrical repretory would be available.

Other Recording Formats

This period also saw several other historic developments including the introduction of the first practical magnetic sound recording system, the magnetic wire recorder, which was based on the work of Danish inventor Valdemar Poulsen. Magnetic wire recorders were effective, but the sound quality was poor, so between the wars they were primarily used for voice recording and marketed as business dictating machines.

In the 1930s radio pioneer Guglielmo Marconi developed a system of magnetic sound recording using steel tape. This was the same material used to make razor blades, and not surprisingly the fearsome Marconi-Stille recorders were considered so dangerous that technicians had to operate them from another room for safety. Because of the high recording speeds required, they used enormous reels about one metre in diameter, and the thin tape frequently broke, sending jagged lengths of razor steel flying around the studio.

The other major invention in sound recording in this period was the optical sound-on-film system, also generally credited to Lee De Forest. Although famous early "Talkies" like The Jazz Singer used a sound-on-disc system, the film industry eventually adopted the optical sound-on-film system and it revolutionised the movie industry in the 1930s, ushering in the era of 'talking pictures'. Optical sound-on-film, based on the photoelectric cell, became the standard film audio system throughout the world until it was superseded in the 1960s.

Magnetic Tape

The other major inventions of this period were magnetic tape and the tape recorder(Telegraphone). Paper-based tape was first used but was soon superseded by polyester and acetate backing due to dust drop and hiss. Acetate was more brittle than polyester and snapped easily. This technology, the basis for almost all commercial recording from the 1950s to the 1980s, was invented by German audio engineers in the 1930s, who also discovered the technique of AC biasing, which dramatically improved the frequency response of tape recordings. Tape recording was perfected just after the war by American audio engineer John T. Mullin, whose pioneering recorders were based on captured German recorders, and the Ampex company produced the first commercially available tape recorders in the late 1940s.

Magnetic tape brought about sweeping changes in both radio and the recording industry. Sound could be recorded, erased and re-recorded on the same tape many times, sounds could be duplicated from tape to tape with only minor loss of quality, and recordings could now be very precisely edited by physically cutting the tape and rejoining it.

Within a few years of the introduction of the first commercial tape recorder, the Ampex 200 model, launched in 1948, American musician-inventor Les Paul had invented the first multitrack tape recorder, bringing about another technical revolution in the recording industry. Tape made possible the first sound recordings totally created by electronic means, opening the way for the bold sonic experiments of the Musique Concrète school and avant garde composers like Karlheinz Stockhausen, which in turn led to the innovative pop music recordings of artists such as Frank Zappa, The Beatles and The Beach Boys.

Tape enabled the radio industry for the first time to pre-record many sections of program content such as advertising, which formerly had to be presented live, and it also enabled the creation and duplication of complex, high-fidelity, long-duration recordings of entire programs. It also, for the first time, allowed broadcasters, regulators and other interested parties to undertake comprehensive logging of radio broadcasts. Innovations like multitracking and tape echo enabled radio programs and advertisements to be pre-produced to a level of complexity and sophistication that was previously unattainable and tape also led to significant changes to the pacing of program content, thanks to the introduction of the endless-loop tape cartridge.

The vinyl microgroove record was introduced in the late 1940s, and the two main vinyl formats--the 7-inch single turning at 45 rpm and the 12-inch LP (long-playing) record turning at 33? rpm--had totally replaced the 78 rpm shellac disc by the end of the 1950s. Vinyl offered improved performance, both in stamping and in playback, and came to be generally played with polished diamond styli, and when played properly (precise tracking weight, etc.) offered longer life. Vinyl records were, over-optimistically, advertised as "unbreakable". They were not, but were much less brittle and breakable than shellac. Nearly all were tinted black, but some were coloured, as red, swirled, translucent, etc.

Stereo and Hi-fi

Magnetic tape also enabled the development of the first practical commercial sound systems that could record and reproduce high-fidelity stereophonic sound. Experiments with stereo dated back to the 1880s and during the 1930s and 1940s there were many attempts to record in stereo using discs, but these were hampered by problems with synchronization.

The first major breakthrough in practical stereo sound was made by Bell Laboratories, who in 1937 demonstrated a practical system of two-channel stereo, using dual optical sound tracks on film. Major movie studios quickly developed three-track and four-track sound systems, and the first stereo sound recording in a commercial film was made by Judy Garland for the MGM movie Listen, Darling in 1938. The first commercially-released movie with a full stereo soundtrack was Walt Disney's Fantasia, released in 1940.

German audio engineers working on magnetic tape are reported to have developed stereo recording by 1943, but it was not until the introduction of the first commercial two-track tape recorders by Ampex in the late 1940s that stereo tape recording became commercially feasible. However, despite the availability of multitrack tape, stereo did not become the standard system for commercial music recording for some years and it remained a specialist market during the 1950s. This changed after the late 1957 introduction of the "Westrex stereo phonograph disc".

Most pop singles were mixed into monophonic sound until the mid 1960s, it was common for major pop releases to be issued in both mono and stereo until the early 1970s. Many Sixties pop albums now available only in stereo were originally intended to be released only in mono, and the so-called "stereo" version of these albums were created by simply separating the two tracks of the master tape. In the mid Sixties, as stereo became more popular, many mono recordings (such as The Beach Boys' Pet Sounds) were remastered using the so-called "fake stereo" method, which spread the sound across the stereo field by directing higher-frequency sound into one channel and lower-frequency sounds into the other.

The Fifties and Beyond

Magnetic tape transformed the recording industry, and by the late-1950s the vast majority of commercial recordings were being mastered on tape. The electronics revolution that followed the invention of the transistor brought other radical changes, the most important of which was the introduction of the world first "personal music device", the miniaturized transistor radio, which became a major consumer luxury item in the 1960s, transforming radio broadcasting from a static group experience into a mobile, personal listening activity. The first multitrack recording made using magnetic tape was "How High the Moon" by Les Paul, on which Paul played eight overdubbed guitar tracks. In the 1960s Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Frank Zappa and The Beatles (with producer George Martin) were among the first popular artists to explore the possibilities of multitrack techniques and effects on their landmark albums Pet Sounds, Freak Out! and Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.

The next important innovation was the compact cassette, introduced by the Philips electronics company in 1964. The cassette became a major consumer audio format and advances in microelectronics eventually led to the development of the Sony Walkman, introduced in the 1970s, which gave a major boost to the mass distribution of music recordings. Cassettes became the first successful consumer recording/re-recording medium as opposed to the gramophone record, which was a pre-recorded playback medium.

A key advance in audio fidelity came with the Dolby A noise reduction system, invented by Ray Dolby and introduced in 1966. Dolby's noise reduction system, which greatly improved the sound of cassette tape recordings, also found wide application in the recording and film industries. Dolby A was crucial to the popularisation and commercial success of the compact cassette as a domestic recording and playback medium, and became a part of the booming "hi-fi" market of the 1970s and beyond.

The multitrack audio cartridge was in wide use in the radio industry, from the late 1950s to the 1980s, but in the 1960s the pre-recorded 8-track cartridge was launched as a consumer audio format. Aimed particularly at the automotive market, they were the first practical, affordable car hi-fi systems, and they offered superior sound quality to the compact cassette. However the smaller size and greater durability--augmented by the ability to create home-recorded music "compilations"--saw the cassette become the dominant consumer format for portable audio devices in the 1970s and 1980s.

There had been experiments with multi-channel sound for many years--usually for special musical or cultural events--but the first commercial application of the concept came in the early 1970s with the introduction of Quadraphonic sound. This spin-off development from multitrack recording used four tracks (instead of the two used in stereo) and four speakers to create a 360-degree audio field around the listener. Following the release of the first consumer 4-channel hi-fi systems, a number of popular albums were released in the Quadraphonic format; among the best known are Mike Oldfield's Tubular Bells and Pink Floyd's The Dark Side of the Moon. Quadraphonic sound was not a commercial success, and it eventually faded out in the late 1970s, although this early venture paved the way for the eventual introduction of domestic Surround Sound systems, which have gained enormous popularity since the introduction of the DVD.

The replacement of the thermionic valve(vacuum tube) by the smaller, cooler and less power-hungry transistor also accelerated the sale of consumer high-fidelity "hi-fi" sound systems from the 1960s onward. In the 1950s most record players were monophonic and relatively low fidelity in sound quality, and few consumers could afford high-quality stereophonic sound systems. In the 1960s American manufacturers introduced a new generation of "modular" hi-fi components--turntables, integrated amplifiers, tape recorders and other ancillary equipment (like the graphic equaliser), which could be connected together to create a complete home sound system. These developments were rapidly taken up by the Japanese electronics companies, which soon flooded the world market with relatively cheap, high-quality components. By the 1980s, corporations like Sony had become world leaders in the music recording and playback industry.

Digital Recording

The invention of digital sound recording and the compact disc in 1983 brought significant improvements in the durability of consumer recordings. The CD initiated another massive wave of change in the consumer music industry, with vinyl records effectively relegated to a small niche market by the mid-1990s.

The most recent and revolutionary developments have been in digital recording, with the invention of purely electronic consumer recording formats such as the WAV digital music file and the compressed file type, the MP3. This generated a new type of portable solid-state computerised digital audio player, the MP3 player. Another invention, by Sony, was the minidisc player, using ATRAC compression on small, cheap, re-writeable discs. This was in vogue in the 1990s, and is still popular, especially in a newer, longer playing and higher fidelity version. New technologies such as Super Audio CD, DVD-A, Blu ray Disc and HD DVD continue to set very high standard in evolution of digital audio storage. This technology spreads across various associated fields, from hi-fi to professional audio, internet radio and podcasting.

Technological developments in recording and editing have transformed the record, movie and television industries in recent decades. Audio editing became practicable with the invention of magnetic tape recording, but the use of computers has made editing operations faster and easier to execute, and the use of hard-drives for storage has made recording cheaper. We now divide the process of making a recording into tracking, mixing and mastering. Multitrack recording makes it possible to capture sound from several microphones, or from different 'takes' to tape or disc with maximum headroom and quality, allowing maximum flexibility in the mixing and mastering stages for editing, level balancing, compressing and limiting, and the addition of effects such as reverberation, equalisation, flanging and many more.

In the 1920s, the first talkies came out, featuring the new sound-on-film technology which used photoelectric cells to record and reproduce sound signals that were optically recorded directly onto the movie film. The advent of talkies, spearheaded by The Jazz Singer in 1927, saw the rapid demise of live cinema musicians and orchestras, which were replaced with pre-recorded soundtracks, causing the loss of many jobs. The American Federation of Musicians took out ads in newspapers, protesting the replacement of real musicians with mechanical playing devices, especially in theatres.

Voice to Note

Voice-to-note refers to the capability of personal computers to be able to recognize notes that are sung, hummed, or whistled into a microphone. The pitch and duration of the notes are then calculated and converted into MIDI music files.

6

Electronic Music

Introduction

Electronic music is a term for music created using electronic devices. As defined by the IEEE, electronic devices are low-power systems that use components such as transistors and integrated circuits. Working from this definition, distinction can be made between instruments that produce sound through electromechanical means as opposed to instruments that produce sound using electronic components. Examples of electro­mechanical instruments are the teleharmonium, Hammond B3, and the electric guitar, whereas examples of electronic instruments are a Theremin, synthesizer, and a computer.

History

Late 19th Century to early 20th Century

Before electronic music, there was a growing desire for composers to use emerging technologies for musical purposes. Several instruments were created that employed electromechanical designs and they paved the way for the later emergence of electronic instruments. An electromechanical instrument called the Teleharmonium (or Telharmonium) was developed by Thaddeus Cahill in 1897. Simple inconvenience hindered the adoption of the Teleharmonium: the instrument weighed seven tons and was the size of a boxcar. Several more refined versions were also constructed a few years later (the final and most refined model arriving in 1907, weighing in at 200 tons). The first electronic instrument is often viewed to be the Theremin, invented by Professor Leon Theremin circa 1919-1920. Another early electronic instrument was the Ondes Martenot, which was most famously used in the Turangalîla-Symphonie by Olivier Messiaen as well as other works by him. It was also used by other, primarily French, composers such as Andre Jolivet.

Post-war Years: 1940s to 1950s

The tape recorder was invented in Germany during World War II. It wasn't long before composers used the tape recorder to develop a new technique for composition called Musique concrète. This technique involved editing together recorded fragments of natural and industrial sounds. Frequently, composers used sounds that were produced entirely by electronic devices not designed for a musical purpose. The first pieces of musique concrète were written by Pierre Schaeffer, who later worked alongside such avant-garde classical composers as Pierre Henry, Pierre Boulez and Karlheinz Stockhausen. Stockhausen worked for many years at the WDR Cologne's Studio for Electronic Music, on two occasions combining electronically generated sounds with relatively conventional orchestras-in Mixtur (1964) and Hymnen, dritte Region mit Orchester (1969). More recently, he has turned to producing electronic music in his own studio in Kürten, his most recent work in the genre being Cosmic Pulses (2007). The first electronic music for magnetic tape composed in America was completed by Louis and Bebe Barron in 1950.

Two new electronic instruments made their debut in 1957. Unlike the earlier Theremin and Ondes Martenot, these instruments were hard to use, required extensive programming, and neither could be played in real time. The first of these electronic instruments was the computer when Max Mathews used a program called Music 1, later users were Edgard Varèse, and Iannis Xenakis. The other electronic instrument that appeared that year was the first electronic synthesizer. Called the RCA Mark II Sound Synthesizer, it used vacuum tube oscillators and incorporated the first electronic music sequencer. It was designed by RCA and installed at the Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center where it remains to this day. The Columbia-Princeton Electronic Music Center, now known as the Computer Music Center, is the oldest center for electronic and computer music research in the United States. It was founded in 1958 by Vladimir Ussachevsky and Otto Luening who had been working with magnetic tape manipulation since the early 1950s. A studio was built there with the help of engineer Peter Mauzey and it became the hub of American electronic music production until about 1980. Robert Moog developed voltage controlled oscillators and envelope generators while there, and these were later used as the heart of the Moog synthesizer.

1960s to late 1970s

Because of the complexities of composing with a synthesizer or computer, let alone the lack of access, most composers continued exploring electronic sounds using musique concrète even into the 60s. But musique concrète was clumsy, and a few composers sought better technology for the task. That search led three independent teams to develop the world's first playable electronic synthesizers.

The first of these synthesizers to appear was the Buchla. Appearing in 1963, it was the product of an effort spearheaded by musique concrète composer Morton Subotnick. In 1962, working with a grant from the Rockefeller Foundation, Subotnick and business partner Ramon Sender hired electrical engineer Don Buchla to build a "black box" for composition. Subotnick describes their idea in the following terms:

Our idea was to build the black box that would be a palette for composers in their homes. It would be their studio. The idea was to design it so that it was like an analog computer. It was not a musical instrument but it was modular... It was a collection of modules of voltage-controlled envelope generators and it had sequencers in it right off the bat... It was a collection of modules that you would put together. There were no two systems the same until CBS bought it...Our goal was that it should be under $400 for the entire instrument and we came very close. That's why the original instrument I fundraised for was under $500.

Another playable synthesizer, the first to use a piano-styled keyboard, was the brainchild of Robert Moog. In 1964, he invited composer Herb Deutsch to visit his studio in Trumansburg. Moog had met Deutsch the year before, heard his music, and decided to follow the composer's suggestion and build electronic music modules. By the time Deutsch arrived for the visit, Moog had created prototypes of two voltage-controlled oscillators. Deutsch played with the devices for a few days; Moog found Deutsch's experiments so musically interesting that he subsequently built a voltage-controlled filter. Then, by a stroke of luck, Moog was invited that September to the AES Convention in New York City, where he presented a paper called "Electronic Music Modules" and sold his first synthesizer modules to choreographer Alwin Nikolais. By the end of the convention, Moog had entered the synthesizer business.

Also in 1964, Paul Ketoff, a sound engineer for RCA Italiana in Rome, approached William O. Smith, who headed the electronic music studio at the city's American Academy, with a proposal to build a small playable synthesizer for the academy's studio. Smith consulted with Otto Luening, John Eaton, and other composers who were in residence at the academy at the time. Smith accepted Ketoff's proposal, and Ketoff delivered his Synket (for Synthesizer Ketoff) synthesizer in early 1965.

Although electronic music began in the world of classical (or "art") composition, within a few years it had been adopted into popular culture with varying degrees of enthusiasm. One of the first electronic signature tunes for television was the theme music for Doctor Who in 1963. It was created at the BBC Radiophonic Workshop by Ron Grainer and Delia Derbyshire.

In the late 1960s, Wendy Carlos popularized early synthesizer music with two notable albums Switched-On Bach and The Well-Tempered Synthesizer, which took pieces of baroque classical music and reproduced them on Moog synthesizers. The Moog generated only a single note at a time, so that producing a multilayered piece, such as Carlos did, required many hours of studio time. The early machines were notoriously unstable, and went out of tune easily. Still, some musicians, notably Keith Emerson of Emerson Lake and Palmer did take them on the road. The theremin, an exceedingly difficult instrument to play, was even used in some popular music. Many people believe it to be used in "Good Vibrations" by The Beach Boys, however the instrument used was actually an Electro-Theremin. There was also the Mellotron which appeared in the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever", and the volume tone pedal was uniquely used as a backing instrument in "Yes It Is".Fifty Foot Hose used a custom-built guitar synthesizer, plus reverse sounds of drums, cymbals and electric bass, along with other magnetic tape transformations, on their 1967 album Cauldron.

As technology developed, and synthesizers became cheaper, more robust and portable, they were adopted by many rock bands. Examples of relatively early pioneers in this field are bands like The United States of America, The Silver Apples, Fifty Foot Hose and Pink Floyd, and although not all of their music was electronic (with the exception of The Silver Apples), much of the resulting sound was dependent upon the synthesiser although it usually merely substituted for an organ. In the 1970s, the electronic style was revolutionised by the Düsseldorf band Kraftwerk, who used electronics and robotics to symbolise and sometimes gleefully celebrate the alienation of the modern technological world. To this day their music remains uncompromisingly electronic. In Germany particularly electronic sounds were incorporated into popular music by bands such as Cluster, Neu!, Tangerine Dream, Can, Popol Vuh, DAF and others.

Some of the leading jazz pianists, most notably Herbie Hancock, Chick Corea, Joe Zawinul (Weather Report) and Jan Hammer (Mahavishnu Orchestra) started to use synthesizers on their fusion recordings during the years 1972-1974. The very first fusion albums containing synthesizer were recorded in 1972. These recordings, I Sing the Body Electric by Weather Report and Crossings by Herbie Hancock, used synthesizer for sound effects rather than a replacement for piano (and actually neither Hancock nor Zawinul played the synthesizer on those albums themselves). But in 1973 the synthesizer-used now as a solo instrument-was already part of the jazz fusion sound as heard in Weather Report's Sweetnighter album and Hancock's famous The Headhunters. Corea and Hammer soon followed, and both developed unique ways of playing synthesizers-utilizing slide, vibrato, ring modulators, distortion and wahwah. Later, Hancock released the well known Future Shock album, a collaboration with producer Bill Laswell in the 1980s, which spawned a pop hit "Rockit" in 1983.
Musicians such as Kraftwerk, Cluster, Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, Brian Eno, Suicide, Vangelis, Mike Oldfield, Jean Michel Jarre, Ray Buttigieg, as well as the Japanese composers Isao Tomita and Kitaro, also popularised the sound of electronic music. The film industry also began to make extensive use of electronic music in soundtracks. An example is the Wendy Carlos' score for A Clockwork Orange.
The score for Forbidden Planet, by Louis and Bebe Barron, was entirely composed using custom built electronic circuits in 1956. On the album sleeve notes of the Forbidden Planet soundtrack, Louis and Bebe explain:
We design and construct electronic circuits which function electronically in a manner remarkably similar to the way that lower life-forms function psychologically. [...]. In scoring Forbidden Planet-as in all of our work-we created individual cybernetics circuits for particular themes and leit motifs, rather than using standard sound generators. Actually, each circuit has a characteristic activity pattern as well as a "voice". [...]. We were delighted to hear people tell us that the tonalities in Forbidden Planet remind them of what their dreams sound like. Once electronic sounds became more common in popular recordings, other science fiction films such as Blade Runner and the Alien series of movies began to depend heavily for mood and ambience upon the use of electronic music and electronically derived effects. Electronic groups were also hired to produce entire soundtracks, just like other popular music stars.

Late 1970s to late 1980s

In the late 1970s and early 1980s there was a great deal of innovation around the development of electronic music instruments. Analogue synthesizers largely gave way to digital synthesizers and samplers. Early samplers, like early synthesizers, were large and expensive pieces of gear. Companies like Fairlight and New England Digital sold instruments that cost upwards of $100,000. In the mid 1980s, however, the introduction of low-cost digital samplers made the technology available to more musicians.

From the late 1970s onward, much popular music was developed on these digital machines. Groups and artists such as Ultravox, Gary Numan, The Human League, Landscape, Visage, Daniel Miller, Pete Shelley, Heaven 17, Eurythmics, Severed Heads, John Foxx, Thomas Dolby, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Norman Iceberg, Yazoo, Erasure, Alphaville, Art of Noise, Yello, Depeche Mode and New Order developed new ways of making popular music by electronic means. Fad Gadget (Frank Tovey) is cited by some as the father of electronics in New Wave, although Ultravox, The Normal (Daniel Miller), The Human League, and Cabaret Voltaire, all released electronic singles before Fad Gadget.

The new kinds of electronic noise that synthesizers could create contributed to the formation of the genre of industrial music, pioneered by groups such as Throbbing Gristle in 1975, Wavestar and Cabaret Voltaire. Artists like Nine Inch Nails in 1989, KMFDM, and Severed Heads, took the innovations of musique concrète and applied them to dance and rock music. Others, such as Test Department, Einstürzende Neubauten, took this new sound and created noisy electronic compositions. Other groups, such as Robert Rich, Zoviet France, and Rapoon created soundscapes using synthesized noise. Still others (Front 242, Skinny Puppy) combined this harshness with pop and dance, creating electronic body music.

During this time, dub musicians such as industrial-funk outfit Tackhead, vocalist Mark Stewart and others on Adrian Sherwood's On-U Sound record label in the 1980s integrated the aesthetics of industrial and noise music with tape and dub production. This paved the way for much of the 1990s interest in dub, first through bands such as Meat Beat Manifesto and later downtempo and trip hop producers such as Kruder & Dorfmeister. Still, others, like Big Noise, Bruce Haack, Robert Lowe, Glenn Davis (DR G) and Sprites built, or had built some or all of the instruments that they used.

Recent Developments: 1980s to early 2000s

The development of the techno sound in Detroit, Michigan and house music in Chicago, Illinois in the 1980s, and the later UK-based acid house movement of the late 1980s and early 1990s fueled the development and acceptance of electronic music into the mainstream and introduced electronic dance music to nightclubs. Electronic composition can create faster and more precise rhythms than is possible using traditional percussion. The sound of electronic dance music often features electronically altered sounds (samples) of traditional instruments and vocals.

Overview

Genres

Electronic music, especially in the late 1990s fractured into many genres, styles and sub-styles, too many to list here, and most of which are included in the main list. Although there are no hard and fast boundaries, broadly speaking we can identify the experimental and classical styles: electronic art music, musique concrète, Acousmatic art; the industrial music and synth pop styles of the 1980s; styles that are primarily intended for dance such as italo disco, techno, house, trance, electro, breakbeat, jungle, drum and bass, Gabber and styles that are intended more as experimental styles or for home listening such as IDM, glitch, Breakcore and trip-hop. The proliferation of personal computers and the MIDI interface beginning in the 1980s brought about a new genre of electronic music, known loosely as chip music or bitpop.

These styles, produced initially using specialized sound chips in PCs such as the Commodore 64, Commodore Amiga, and Atari ST among others, grew primarily out of the demoscene. The latter categories such as IDM, glitch and chip music share much in common with the art and musique concrète styles which predate it by several decades.

Notable Record Labels

Until 1978 and the formation of Mute Records, there were virtually no record labels that deal with exclusively electronic music. Because of this dearth of outlets, many of the early techno pioneers started their own. For example, Juan Atkins started Metroplex Records a Detroit-based label, and Richie Hawtin and John Acquaviva started their hugely influential Plus 8 imprint. In the United Kingdom, Warp Records emerged in the 1990s as one of the pre-eminent sources of home-listening and experimental music. Later arrivals include Astralwerks, Ninja Tune, Tiesto's Black Hole Recordings, and Oakenfold's Perfecto Record label.

Electronic Music Press

United States magazine sources include the Los Angeles based Urb, BPM Magazine and San Francisco based XLR8R and other magazines such as Side-Line, e/i and Grooves. British electronic music sources include the London-based magazine The Wire (a monthly publication), DJ, Mixmag, Knowledge, Sound on Sound, Computer Music, Music Tech Magazine and Future Music. German magazine sources include Spex as well as Berlin-based De:bug.

Magnetic Storage

Magnetic storage and magnetic recording are terms from engineering referring to the storage of data on a magnetised medium. Magnetic storage uses different patterns of magnetization on a magnetically coated surface to store data and is non-volatile memory. The information is accessed using one or more read/write heads. Since the read/write head only covers a part of the surface, magnetic storage is sequential access memory and must seek, cycle or both. As of 2007, magnetic storage media, primarily hard disks, are widely used to store computer data as well as audio and video signals. In the field of computing, the term magnetic storage is preferred and in the field of audio and video production, the term magnetic recording is more commonly used. The distinction is less technical and more a matter of preference.

Magnetic storage was first suggested by Oberlin Smith in 1888. The first working magnetic recorder was invented by Valdemar Poulsen in 1898. Poulsen's device recorded a signal on a wire wrapped around a drum. In 1928, Fritz Pfleumer developed the first magnetic tape recorder. Early magnetic storage devices were designed to record analog audio signals. Modern magnetic storage devices are designed for recording digital data.

In early computers, magnetic storage was also used for primary storage in a form of magnetic drum, or core memory, core rope memory, thin film memory, twistor memory or bubble memory. Also unlike modern computers, magnetic tape was often used for secondary storage.

Current Usage

As of 2007, common uses of magnetic storage media are for computer data mass storage on hard disks and the recording of analog audio and video works on analog tape. Since much of audio and video production is moving to digital systems, the usage of hard disks is expected to increase at the expense of analog tape. Digital tape and tape libraries are popular for the high capacity data storage of archives and backups. Floppy disks see some marginal usage, particularly in dealing with older computer systems and software. Magnetic storage is also widely used in some specific applications, such as bank checks (MICR) and payment cards (mag stripes).

Future

A new type of magnetic storage, called MRAM, is being produced that stores data in magnetic bits based on the GMR effect. Its advantage is non-volatility, low power usage, and good shock robustness. However, with storage density and capacity orders of magnitude smaller than e.g. an HDD, MRAM is a niche application for situations where small amounts of storage with a need for very frequent updates (>10**15 writes) are required, which flash memory could not support.

Analog Sound vs. Digital Sound

Analog sound versus digital sound compares the two ways in which sound is recorded and stored. The information contained in a sound wave is retained as a signal, which over time can vary continuously in amplitude. This signal can be recorded either digitally or on an analog format.

Main Differences

An analog recording is one where the original sound signal is modulated onto another physical signal carried on some media or substrate such as the groove of a gramophone disc or the iron filings of a magnetic tape. A physical quantity in the medium (e.g., the intensity of the magnetic field) is directly related, or analogous, to the physical properties of the sound (e.g, the amplitude, phase, etc.).

A digital recording is produced by first converting the physical properties of the original sound into digital information (stored as bits) which can then be decoded for reproduction. The conversion process can be susceptible to noise and imperfection. However, the nature of the physical medium is immaterial in recovery of the encoded information as long as the individual bits can be recovered.

Accurate, high quality sound is possible with both analog and digital systems. The principal advantage that digital systems have over analog ones is one of lower cost. High-quality open-reel analog tape and related hardware is expensive to buy and maintain. With digital systems, high quality sound output is achievable with very low manufacturing cost and in mass-produced devices (Rumsey & Watkinson 1995). This is because analog systems require high-quality mechanical and electronic performance all the way through the audio-chain-recording, production, and finally playback by the consumer. Digital systems are only dependent on the electronic performance of the equipment, and because the signal information is conveyed as a digital (binary) code, any noise or distortion generated by the equipment is easier to reject. Imperfections in the mechanical performance of the analog equipment may cause distortions like wow and flutter. Some of these distortions can be prevented using timebase correction, as is done in VHS tapes. Time-instability in digital systems (jitter) can degrade system performance. After a signal has been converted into a digital format, application of error-correcting codes helps to prevent data loss and/or corruption. This allows digital formats to have a higher resistance to media deterioration than analog formats. It is possible for poorly produced digital media to result in data loss. Laser rot was most troublesome to the Laserdisc format, which used digital audio, and was caused by inadequate disc manufacture. There can occasionally be difficulties related to the use of consumer recordable/rewritable compact disc. This may be due to poor quality CD recorder drives or low quality discs.

Unlike analog dubs, digital copies and regenerations are exact clones. They can be made infinitely without degradation, unless DRM restrictions apply or mastering errors occur. Digital systems have the ability for the same medium to be used with arbitrarily high or low quality encoding methods and number of channels or other content, unlike mechanically pre-fixed speed and channels of practically all analog systems.

There are also several advantages of digital systems that are not related to sound quality but are of practical value. Most digital media have non-sequential (random) access, due to their disk or memory-based nature. In production, this makes editing it easier. It also allows the listener greater flexibility when playing back recordings. Digital systems have the ability to encode non-audio information into the audio stream such as information about the owner, track titles, etc.

Also, whereas digital formats retain a sample rate, analog does not.

Noise and Distortion

In the process of recording, storing and playing back the original sound wave analogy (in the form of an electronic signal), it is unavoidable that some signal degradation will occur. This degradation is in the form of linear (changes to the amplitude or phase response within a specified passband) and non-linear errors (noise and distortion). Noise is unrelated in time to the original signal content, while distortion is in some way related in time to the original signal content.

Digital Fundamentals

A digital recorder firstly requires the input of an analog signal, this signal may come directly from a microphone pre-amp, but any analog audio signal can be converted. Measurements of the signal intensity are then made at regular intervals (sampling) by the analog-to-digital converter. At each sampling point, the signal must be assigned a specific intensity from a set range of values (quantization). In doing this, the original sound wave can now be described using only numbers-as digital information. When the original signal is converted into binary numbers (1's and 0's, called 'bits') further additions of noise and distortion (in the form of digital errors) can be rejected at every stage of processing. Error correction coding, essential when transferring digital audio over noisy channels, helps to eliminate bit errors. When playing back a digital recording, the digital information is converted back into a continuous, analog signal by a digital-to-analog converter. This electronic signal is then amplified and converted back into a sound wave by a loudspeaker.

Noise Performance

For electronic audio signals, sources of noise include (unavoidable) mechanical, electrical and thermal noise level in the recording and playback cycle (mechanical transducers (microphones, loudspeakers), amplifiers, recording equipment, mastering process, reproduction equipment, etc). Whether an audio signal is, at some stage, converted into a digital form will affect the how much noise is added. The actual process of digital conversion will always add some noise, however small in intensity. The amount of noise that a piece of audio equipment adds to the original signal can be quantified. Mathematically, this can be expressed by means of the signal to noise ratio (SNR). Sometimes the maximum possible dynamic range of the system is quoted instead. In a digital system, the number of bits with which a signal is allowed to have on quantization will have a bearing on the level of noise and distortion added to that signal. The 16-bit digital system of audio CD has 216= 65,536 possible signal amplitudes, theoretically allowing for a SNR of 98 dB (Maes & Vercammen 2001) and dynamic range of 96 dB.

   • Note that a decibel is one-tenth of a Bel. It is a somewhat strange concept that characterizes the logarithmic nature of human senses. Now to make it more complex, the amplitudes discussed in this article are voltage levels. To convert a voltage level ratio to a Bel, simply divide them and calculate the logarithm to base 10. Then multiply by 10 to get decibels. Unfortunately, Ohm's Law comes into play; the power of the sound is approximately the square of the voltage level. The human hearing range is around 120 dB.

In order to meet the theoretical performance of a 16 bit digital system, for a 0.5 V peak to peak input line signal, a PCM (pulse code modulation) quantizer would require an equivalent minimum input sensitivity of just 7.629 microvolts. For an analog recorder, this is equivalent to a 15.3 ppm sensitivity by part of the whole recording system and medium. With digital systems, the quality of reproduction depends on the analog-to-digital and digital-to-analog conversion steps, and does not depend on the quality of the recording medium. Practical digital converters may show considerable deviation from ideal performance.

Typically anything below 14 bits can lead to reduced sound quality, with 80 dB of SNR considered as an informal "minimum" for Hi-Fi audio. However, it is uncommon to find digital media specified for less than 14 bits, except for older 12-bit PCM Camcorder audio (or DAT in long-play, 32khz mode) and the output from older or lower-cost computer software, sound cards/circuitry, consoles and games (typically 8 bit as a minimum and standard, though trick sample output methods for generally non-PCM hardware gave effectively "6" or "4" bits).

Digital Dither

In digital recording, quantization of the original analog signal results in quantization noise. Unlike the noise floor in analog systems, quantization noise is non-random in nature, and is more audibly disturbing. Dithering can be used to hide quantization noise. Dither reduces the amount of low level distortion in digital recordings but increases the amount of background noise by a few dB. Early tests in the 1970's by the BBC using a 10 bit PCM system suggested that undithered 14 bit recording or 13 bit dithered recordings were suitable for high-quality FM radio broadcasting (Croll 1970). Later research highlighted difficulties experienced by digital recorders due to idle-channel noise, with such noise showing less variation in recorders using dither (Ely 1978).

Greater than 16 Bits

Each additional quantization bit theoretically adds a notable 6 dB in possible dynamic range, e.g. 24 x 6 = 144 dB for 24 bit quantization, 126 dB for 21-bit, and 120 dB for 20-bit. One of the advantages in using digital recorders with more bits is the ability to directly record uncontrolled microphone signals. 19 bits has been shown to be necessary to capture some high-quality signals for broadcast (Manson 1980). The benefits of using digital recorders with greater than 16 bit accuracy can be applied to the 16 bits of audio CD. This may be done using dither and noise shaping. More noise is present in recordings using noise shaping, but the noise is present in less audible frequency regions, thus improving the subjective dynamic range.

One aspect that may prevent the performance of practical digital systems from meeting their theoretical performance is jitter. This is caused by deviations in the sampling of the waveform from ideal performance, and is usually expressed as a time value. Random jitter alters the noise floor of the digital system. It has been shown that a random jitter of 5 ns (nanoseconds) may be significant for 16 bit digital systems (Rumsey & Watkinson 1995). Systems of greater than 16 bits need performances higher than this (lower jitter meaning levels less than 5 ns) to meet their theoretical noise floors. Audibility tests have shown that the detection threshold for random jitter in musical signals is several hundred nanoseconds.

Analog Systems

Consumer analog cassette tapes may have a dynamic range of 60 to 70 dB. Analog FM broadcasts rarely have a dynamic range exceeding 50 dB. The dynamic range of a direct-cut vinyl record may surpass 70 dB. Analog studio master tapes using Dolby-A noise reduction can have a dynamic range of around 80 dB (Stark 1989).

Rumble

"Rumble" is a form of noise peculiar to turntables. Because of imperfections in the bearings of turntables, the platter tends to have a slight amount of motion other than just the desired rotation. That is, besides its rotation, the turntable surface also moves up-and-down and side-to-side slightly. This additional motion is added to the desired signal as noise, usually of very low frequencies, creating a "rumbling" sound during quiet passages. Very inexpensive turntables sometimes used ball bearings which are very likely to generate audible amounts of rumble. More expensive turntables tend to use massive sleeve bearings which are much less likely to generate offensive amounts of rumble. Increased turntable mass also tends to lead to reduced rumble. A good turntable should have rumble at least 60 dB below the specified output level from the pick-up (Driscoll 1980).

Wow and Flutter

Wow and flutter are the result of imperfections in the mechanical performance of analog devices. Wow and flutter are most noticeable on signals which contain pure tones. As an example, 0.22% (rms) wow may be detectable by listeners with piano music, but this increases to 0.56% with jazz music. For LP records, the quality of the turntable will have a large effect on the level of wow and flutter. A good turntable will have wow and flutter values of less than 0.05%, which is the speed variation compared to the ideal value (Driscoll 1980).

The digital equivalent of flutter is periodic jitter, which is caused by instablities in the sample clock of the converter (Rumsey & Watkinson 1995). The sensitivity of the converter to periodic jitter depends on the design of the converter. Periodic jitter produces modulation noise. Practical research by Benjamin and Gannon involving listening tests found that the lowest level of jitter to be audible on test signals was 10 ns (rms). With music, no listeners in the tests found jitter audible at levels lower than 20 ns (Dunn 2003).

Frequency Response

The frequency response of audio CD is sufficiently wide to cover the entire audible range, which roughly extends from 20 Hz to 20 kHz. Analog audio is unrestricted in its possible frequency response, but the limitations of the particular analog format will provide a cap.

For digital systems, the maximum audio frequency response is "hardcoded" by the sampling frequency. The choice of sampling rate used in a digital system is based on the Nyquist-Shannon sampling theorem. This states that a sampled signal can be reproduced exactly as long as it is sampled at a frequency greater than twice the bandwidth of the signal. Therefore a sampling rate of 40 kHz would be enough to capture all the information contained in a signal having frequency bandwidth up to 20 kHz. The difficulty arises in removing all the signal content above 20 kHz, and unless this is done, aliasing of these higher frequencies may occur. This is where these higher, inaudible frequencies alias to frequencies which are in the audible range. To prevent aliasing, it is not necessary to design a brick-wall filter-that is a filter which perfectly removes all frequency content above (or below) a certain range. Instead, a sampling rate is chosen above the theoretical requirement. This allows for a less severe filter to be used. In addition to this, other methods can be used to try and increase performance, for example, oversampling.

High-quality metal-particle cassettes may have a response extending up to 14 kHz (Stark 1989). A vinyl record player can have a frequency response extending to 20 kHz, and unlike the audio CD, does not require a cut-off in response above this. There will be some loss in fidelity on each playing of the disc. This is due to the wear of the stylus in contact with the record surface. A good quality stylus, matched with a correctly set up pick-up arm, should cause minimal surface wear. The low frequency response of vinyl records is restricted by rumble noise (described above). When a CD is played, there is no physical contact involved, and the data is read optically using a laser beam. Therefore no such media deterioration takes place, and the CD will, with proper care, sound the same every time it is played.

Sound Quality

Subjective Evaluation

Subjective evaluation attempts to measure how well an audio component performs according to the human ear. The most common form of subjective test is a listening test, where the audio component is simply used in the context in which it was designed for. This test is popular with hi-fi reviewers, where the component is used for a length of time by the reviewer who then will describe the performance in subjective terms. Common descriptions include whether or not the component has a 'bright' or 'dull' sound, or how well the component manages to present a 'spatial image'.

Another type of subjective test is done under more controlled conditions, and attempts to remove possible bias from listening tests. These sorts of tests are done with the component hidden from the listener, and are called blind tests. To prevent possible bias from the person running the test, the blind test may be done so that this person is also unaware of the component under test. This type of test is called a double-blind test. This sort of test is often used to evaluate the performance of digital audio codecs.

There are critics of double-blind tests who see them as not allowing the listener to feel fully relaxed when evaluating the system component, and can therefore not judge differences between different components as well as in sighted (non-blind) tests. Those who employ the double-blind testing method may try to reduce listener stress by allowing a certain amount of time for listener training (Toole 1994).

Early Digital Recordings

Analog sound reproduction was already a mature technology when digital recording and compact discs first appeared. Early digital recorders were designed at a time when the need for applying dither was not widely appreciated. Recordings made without appropriate dither suffer from signal distortion at low signal levels (Hicks 1995).

Some early digital recordings were criticised for their sound quality. One explanation for this was that engineers had learned to place microphones in such a way as to improve fidelity when producing analog recordings. Due to the extra resolution of the audio CD, such techniques were no longer appropriate. For instance, violins that once sounded well-balanced on analog (vinyl) disc would sound too aggressive on CD. Other faults in recordings were more noticeable, like background noise. Even so, some recording engineers like Jack Renner of the Telarc record label were more aware of these problems than others, and early on were able to produce recordings of excellent sound quality (Greenfield et al. 1986).

Higher Sampling Rates

CD quality audio is sampled at 44.1 kHz (Nyquist frequency = 22.05 kHz) and at 16 bits. Sampling the waveform at higher frequencies and allowing for a greater number of bits per sample allows noise and distortion to be reduced further. DAT can store audio at up to 48 kHz, while DVD-Audio can be 96 or 192 kHz and up to 24 bits resolution. With these higher sampling rates, signal information is captured above what is generally considered to be the human hearing range. Work done in 1980 by Muraoka et al. (J.Audio Eng. Soc., Vol 29,
pp2-9) showed that music signals with frequency components above 20 kHz were only distinguished from those without by a few of the 176 test subjects (Kaoru & Shogo 2001). Later papers, however, by a number of different authors, have led to a greater discussion of the value of recording frequencies above 20 kHz. Such research led some to the belief that capturing these ultrasonic sounds could have some audible benefit. Dunn (1998) examined the performance of digital converters in order to see if the reported differences in performance could be explained. He did this by considering the band-limiting filters used in converters and the artifacts that they introduce.

A perceptual study by Nishiguchi et al. (2004) concluded that no perceivable difference could be found between music signals with and without frequency components above 21 kHz. They were, however, unable to say whether or not some subjects could perceive a difference, and felt that further evaluation tests were necessary.

Super Audio CD and DVD Audio

The Direct Stream Digital format, developed by Sony and used in the Super Audio CD (SACD), works quite differently to the pulse-code modulation (PCM) format discussed in this article. Instead of using a greater number of bits depth and attempting to record a signal's precise amplitude for every sample cycle, a DSD recorder works by encoding a signal in a series of PWM pulses-and therefore strictly speaking an analogue signal-(of fixed amplitude but variable duration and timing). In the SACD standard, the analog wave is sampled at over 1 MHz and at 1 bit. The competing DVD-Audio format, instead, uses standard PCM instead at variable sampling rates and bit depths, which the very least match and usually greatly surpass those of a standard CD Audio (16 bits, 44.1 kHz). A double-blind subjective test between high resolution PCM (DVD-Audio) and DSD did not reveal a statistically significant difference.

Analog Warmth

Some audio enthusiasts prefer the sound of vinyl records over that of CD, this despite the apparent technical advantages of the digital format. Founder and editor Harry Pearson of The Absolute Sound journal says that "LPs are decisively more musical. CDs drain the soul from music. The emotional involvement disappears". Dub producer Adrian Sherwood has similar feelings about the analog cassette tape, which he prefers because of its warm sound.

Those who favour the digital format point to the results of blind tests, which demonstrate the high performance possible with digital recorders. The assertion is that the 'analog sound' is more a product of analog format inaccuracies than anything else. One early supporter of digital audio was the classical conductor Herbert von Karajan, who said that digital recording was "definitely superior to any other form of recording we know".

Was it ever Entirely Analog or Digital?

Complicating the discussion is that recording professionals often mix and match analog and digital techniques in the process of producing a recording. Analog signals can be subjected to digital signal processing or effects, and inversely digital signals are converted back to analog in equipment that can include analog steps such as vacuum tube amplification.

For modern recordings, the controversy between analog recording and digital recording is becoming moot. No matter what format the user uses, the recording probably was digital at several stages in its life. In case of video recordings it is moot for one other reason; whether the format is analog or digital, digital signal processing is likely to have been used in some stages of its life, such as digital timebase correction on playback.

Hybrid Systems

While the words analog audio usually imply that the sound is described using a continuous time, continuous amplitudes approach in both the media and the reproduction/recording systems, and the words digital audio imply a discrete time, discrete amplitudes approach, there are methods of encoding audio that fall somewhere between the two, e.g. continuous time, discrete levels and discrete time,continuous levels.

While not as common as "pure analog" or "pure digital" methods, these situations do occur in practice. E.g. while vinyl records and common compact cassettes are analog media and use quasi-linear mechanical encoding methods (e.g. spiral groove depth, tape magnetic field strength) without noticeable quantization or aliasing, there are analog non-linear systems that exhibit effects similar to those encountered on digital ones, such as aliasing and "hard" dynamic floors (e.g. frequency modulated audio on VHS tapes, PWM encoded signals).

Although those "hybrid" techniques are usually more common in telecommunications systems than in consumer audio, their existence alone blurs the distinctive line between certain digital and analog systems, at least for what regards some of their alleged advantages or disadvantages.

Digital audio Editor

A digital audio editor is a computer application for audio editing, i.e. manipulating digital audio. Editors designed for use with music allow the user to do the following:

   • Record audio from one or more inputs and store recordings in the computer's memory as digital audio

   • Edit the start time, stop time, and duration of any sound on the audio timeline

   • Mix multiple sound sources/tracks, combine them at various volume levels and pan from channel to channel to one or more output tracks

   • Apply simple or advanced effects or filters, including compression, expansion, flanging, reverb, noise reduction and equalization to change the audio

   • Playback sound (often after being mixed) that can be sent to one or more outputs, such as speakers, additional processors, or a recording medium

   • Conversion between different audio file formats, or between different sound quality levels

Typically these tasks can be performed in a manner that is both non-linear and non-destructive. Editors designed for use in speech research add the ability to make measurements and perform acoustic analyses such as extracting and displaying a fundamental frequency contour or spectrogram. They typically lack most or all of the effects of interest to musicians.

Binding and Finishing

Getting ink on paper isn't the end of the story. The printed piece must be trimmed to its final size and subjected to any required folding and gluing. Build it the wrong size in the beginning, and you'll suffer the slings and arrows of irritated bindery operators later on. Layout repairs cost money and time. The mechanical alterations required to mend incorrect page size or configuration can be much more complex (and expensive) than just changing a font. Even if your artwork is perfect, you must keep in mind that trimming, folding, binding, and fancy finishing treatments such as embossing are all physical processes. Environmental influences such as temperature and humidity, coupled with the stresses of moving paper through printing presses, folding equipment, and trimming devices, can result in errors in the final piece. As a designer, you can't control those physical processes. But if you take those possibilities into account as you prepare artwork and create page layouts, you may be able to minimize adverse effects.

One Size Does Not Fit All

Even if you don't sew, you can nonetheless anticipate the unfortunate results of using a defective pattern. The old adage "measure twice, cut once" applies to any manufacturing process, whether it's sewing or printing.

Careful planning when creating a pattern can mean the difference between being stylish (left) and facing public humiliation (right).

Building your files without considering the finishing processes (like trimming and binding) can cost you money and delay your job. Consequently, the more you know about folding, trimming, binding, and imposition, the better prepared you'll be to correctly build files. Let's start with two dimensions-width and height-and work our way up to the challenge of designing in three dimensions. Think of it as one of those fun, spatial reasoning games that you loved as a child. (Or maybe you didn't. In that case, you'll hate this part of the book.) And all games have rules....

Rule Number One: Build to the Correct Trim Size

If you're creating an odd-sized piece-say, a 5-by-4 inch invitation-don't put it all alone in the middle of a letter-sized page. Create a custom page size that matches the final trim size of your piece. In a page layout program such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress, specify the size as you begin the document.

To specify a custom page size, enter the correct values in the Width and Height fields as you create a new file in InDesign (left) or QuarkXPress (right).

Slang Terms

There's a lot of colourful language in printing, and much of it has to do with the arts of trimming, folding, and binding: creep, dummy, bleed, guillotine, jogging, nipping, perfect, shingle, twist, punch, bust... (I believe some of these were also dance crazes in the 1960s).

If you're using a drawing program such as Adobe Illustrator or Adobe (formerly Macromedia) FreeHand, the page limits that you see are just imaginary paper. Only the actual drawing's dimensions count.

Why is this important? Take a simple business card as an example. The print service provider doesn't feed little individual 3.5 by 2 inch pieces of paper through a press to create cards one at a time. Your business card doesn't float alone in the middle of a press sheet. Instead, multiple copies of the card are printed simultaneously-imposed-for a press sheet, which is subsequently trimmed to final size. That's why it's important to supply artwork of the correct size. Prepress technicians need to position your artwork accurately in the imposed layout. If they have to modify your file to do so, it costs money-and threatens your deadline. If you supply business card art as a lonely card on a letter-sized page, a prepress operator will have to copy the card art into a new page of the correct size (or change the dimensions of the existing file) so it's correct for everything down the line. In addition to requiring an extra, time-consuming step, this also introduces the possibility of error-not copying some little detail or moving something in the process. Later in this chapter, shows one method of imposing business cards. The imposition used by your print service provider might be different, depending on their press and the size of paper used.

Rule Number Two: Provide Bleed

Trimming is the finishing process that chops the printed piece to the correct final size. Since this is a mechanical process, it helps to have some margin for error in both the printing and trimming processes. Consequently, any time there is artwork intended to extend to the edge of the page, it's necessary to provide bleed-extra image beyond the edge of the true page size. Commonly, bleed extends one-eighth of an inch (.125 inch or 9 points) beyond the trim line, but your print service provider may request a different bleed value. As with all issues, it behooves you to check the print service provider's specifications as you begin the job.

However, Rule Number Two does not invalidate Rule Number One, which stipulates that you should build to the correct trim size. Start with the correct trim size, and then add the extra image (or flat colour) beyond the trim limits by yanking on the edges of the appropriate frames. In a page-layout program like InDesign or QuarkXPress, it's a simple matter to pull on the handles of image and tint frames to extend them beyond the page edges for sufficient bleed.

In a drawing program, such as Illustrator or FreeHand, the visible page edge doesn't necessarily indicate the limits of what you can draw. Depending on how you export your artwork from Illustrator or FreeHand, objects beyond that edge may be maintained, or they may be eliminated. This behaviour is particularly confusing when you're trying to make sure that you're building your artwork to the correct size, with appropriate bleed. For specific information about handling this issue, see Chapter Ten, "Illustrator Production Tips," and Chapter Eleven, "FreeHand Production Tips."

Rule Number Three: Stay Away From the Edge

You may have your heart set on that adorable doggie paw print border, but placing it too close to the edge or fold may result in disappointing results if there's any error in printing, folding, or binding. The closer your artwork is to the trim edge, the smaller the margin (literally) for error, and the more obvious any inaccuracy will be. What to do?

Don't place artwork perilously close to the edges (both internal and external). But, if you just must, make the margin as wide as possible to camouflage any problems. A small trimming error is less obvious against a larger total margin. Which leads us to Rule Number Four.

In an ideal world, your cute little paw-print border will print and trim perfectly. But a slight misregister during printing, combined with binding and trimming errors, can produce disappointing results (middle). The effect is exaggerated for dramatic effect, but you get the idea. A larger margin (right) makes it easier to camouflage a binding error.

Rule Number Four: Follow the Print Specifications

Your print service provider should provide folding and trimming specifications to guide you as you create your work, including such information as:

   • Minimum distance from edges and folds for artwork

   • Minimum amount of bleed (usually 1/8 of an inch)

   • Suggested sizes for panels in folded pieces

Folding: High-Speed Origami

Consider something as simple as a three-panel, letter-fold brochure. If all panels were the same width, the innermost panel would buckle, and the piece would never fold completely flat-the brochure would spring open or the oversized panel would crinkle when forced. You can demonstrate this for yourself by folding a sheet of paper into approximate thirds, as if you were going to stuff it in an envelope.

The solution? Make the fold-in panel more narrow. Sounds simple, but think of the effect on your design: You have to build your design to accommodate the shorter third panel. The sanest way to do this is to build such a piece as a two-page job-one page for the outside and one for the inside. Don't build such a piece as a pair of three-page spreads because this provides no way to create the narrower panel (page layout applications only allow one page size per document).

For example, if the finished, open flat width is 11 inches, build the file with two panels that are 311/16 inches wide and one panel 35/8 inches wide. Keep in mind that the inside and outside of the piece are mirrors of each other: The outside of the brochure will need the short trim panel on the left, and the inside of the brochure will need the short trim panel on the right.

Before starting, ask your print service provider what panel sizes they suggest, based on the paper stock to be used on the job, and the requirements of their equipment. Some folding configurations don't require short panels.

How can you ensure that you're laying out your panels correctly? Use guidelines to indicate the location of folds, and it will be easier to place artwork so it won't be interrupted by the folding process.

Applications such as InDesign, Illustrator, and FreeHand allow you to numerically specify the position of guidelines. Although QuarkXPress doesn't provide this ability, there are XTensions that add the ability to numerically position guidelines, such as Gluon's Pro Grids & Guides, and XPert Guides from Quark.

When the guidelines are in place, use them to help you position artwork in the layout. Additionally, all page layout and illustration applications provide some method of numerically positioning page elements. InDesign's Control palette, Illustrator's Transform palette, FreeHand's Object Properties, and the QuarkXPress Measurements Palette all allow you to enter values for position and dimensions of selected objects.

If you're aiming for a particular finished folded size, work backwards from that, following the same rules. For example, to create a three-panel piece that folds to a closed width of 8½ inches, create the outside three panels in one 253/8 inch page (not three, letter-sized pages stitched together in a spread).

As always, check with the print service provider early in the game, to ensure that your artwork meets their requirements. Note that thick paper stock may necessitate even greater short-trim values (that is, even more lopped off that short-trimmed panel) to compensate for the thickness of the folded piece.

Imposition

The process of laying out individual pages or other pieces in final printing position is called imposition. The size and configuration of an imposition arrangement is dictated by the dimensions and printing orientation of the paper running through the press. For simple pieces such as business cards, the imposition may consist of the same piece printed repeatedly.

Basic Imposition

As mentioned earlier in this chapter, business cards don't shoot out of the press one by one. Multiple cards are laid out on each sheet, then cut apart. If you've created business cards on a desktop printer, you have some idea of what's involved. It's fun trying to get those perforated little rascals to line up with the perforations on your desktop printer's output, isn't it? That alone should give you some sympathy for the challenges faced by a commercial print service provider.

However, if there is artwork that needs to bleed off the edge of the card, the imposition and trimming process must ensure that, if there are small errors in the process, remnants of one card don't appear on the edge of the adjacent card. To avoid messy edges on cards with artwork that bleeds, the prepress operator has to be a bit creative with the multicard layout, arranging the art so that similar sides of the cards print adjacent to each other. Keep this in mind the next time you're printing homemade cards-it may save you some aggravation and some paper.

On the left, a double-trim layout (easy to lay out, but requires an additional cut). On the right, a more economical layout to accommodate a single cut.

Multipage Imposition

Let the spatial reasoning games begin! As you move beyond single pieces like business cards, you won't be surprised to discover that things get a bit trickier.

When multipage pieces are imposed, the sheet is folded and trimmed to become a group of printed pages, called a signature. Depending on the page size, the press capabilities, and the type of binding to be used, a signature could comprise 8, 16, 32, or more pages.

This might be a good time to get a little destructive in the name of science. Buy (or borrow) a weekly news magazine and leaf through it. The pages appear, as you might expect, in reader's spreads: 2-3, 4-5, 6-7, and so on.

But pry out the staples at the center of the magazine and note how the pages were printed. For example, in a saddle-stitched 96-page magazine, you'll find that page 96 is printed across from page 1, page 2 is across from page 95, 94-3, and so on. Thus, the term printer's spreads.

Reader's spreads (left) compared to pages imposed in printer's spreads (right). Pages four and five face each other in both examples because they make up the center spread.

If the spatial reasoning challenge of figuring out which pages should face each other on the final printed sheet frightens you, there is good news: You don't have to build your files in printer's spreads. In fact, you shouldn't. It's better to let the print service provider take care of imposition. Build your document as two-page reader's spreads. Additionally, don't build your spreads as single pages (that is, don't put pages two and three on one big page).

If your print service provider requests that you supply files already in printer's spreads, you have a right to be concerned. Imposition of pages is a very basic printing service, and a printer who lacks that capability is likely to fall short in other areas. Asking you to perform imposition places additional responsibility on you, and the complexity of imposition increases proportionally with the number of pages in your publication.

Since facing pages don't actually print next to each other (except for the center spread), a number of errors can creep in. Variations in ink coverage across a press sheet may result in colours not matching, and errors in print, trim, and binding can cause crossover elements to be misaligned in the finished piece.

Reader spreads as they appear onscreen (left), compared to printer spreads exhibiting printing and binding problems (right). Colour and binding errors are exaggerated for dramatic effect.

Is there a crucial piece of artwork that needs to span two pages? If so, it will fare best if it's placed on the center spread, where it will print intact. Now that you know that most spreads are not printed together, this may also inspire you to avoid placing photographs so that they extend onto a facing page. Since the pages aren't printed together, even a very slight variation in ink coverage between the pages could become obvious where the two portions of the photograph meet at the center. It might be better to stop the photograph at the inner edge of one page rather than continuing it onto the facing page.

You might consider modifying your design to allow for these issues. Move artwork away from the center fold to avoid crossover issues entirely. That's not cheating, it's planning.

The printing and binding process is not usually this sloppy (if it is, it's time to find a new print service provider). But it gives you an idea of what can go wrong.

To get a feel for how your piece is actually printed, folded, and trimmed, ask your print service provider to give you a folding dummy for your job. It's a folded and numbered blank representation of how your pages will be printed, and it's very helpful as you contemplate the realities of your job.

If you're given to origami, you can make your own miniature folding dummy for an eight-page document by following the illustration below. This isn't meant to replace an authentic folding dummy created by your printer. It's just a great way for you to get some sense of what really goes on when your pages are split apart and grafted back together in the finished, imposed piece. If you want a true representation of how your job will print and fold, consult with the printer's customer service representative who is handling your job. They can help you communicate with the bindery department.

A simple folding dummy for an eight-page document. Note how the pages are printed, and the order in which the folds occur.

If you're creating a piece that contains a fold-in panel, remember that the fold-in panel will be short-trimmed, and position your art accordingly, allowing for at least.125 of an inch less page width on those pages.

Note that the page numbers are just for identification. You'll have to decide whether to number pages by position in the document or by viewing order. For example, as this piece is opened, the pages would be viewed in this order: 1-2-3-4-7-5-6-8-9-10. Not surprisingly, many designers elect to omit page numbers in such brochures. Feel free to claim that page numbers would just detract from your fresh, clean design.

It's not just the width and height you have to worry about when preparing your piece for print. Paper thickness also contributes to the behaviour of a finished printed product. To illustrate, stack several sheets of heavy paper, and then fold the stack in the middle. Notice what happens to the edges of the individual pieces of paper-they don't line up, because the cumulative paper thickness at the fold drives the innermost pages out. This is called page creep. The more pages (and the heavier the stock), the more pronounced the effect. Paper thickness causes edges of pages to creep outward during binding. When the finished pages are trimmed, artwork on the inner pages will be closer to the trim edge.

But look at a publication such as a weekly magazine: All the pages are nice and even because the finished piece is trimmed. Of course, this makes for a more attractive magazine, but consider the side effects. Artwork near the edge of the page would be even closer to the trimmed edge of the page on the innermost pages, so the appearance of some elements-such as page numbers-would become inconsistent.

The fix? To maintain a consistent outer margin despite the page creep, the page content must be shifted incrementally to compensate, a process known as shingling.

The closer a page is to the center of the magazine, the more content must be moved very slightly inward. While this results in tighter margins at the center, the result is usually less noticeable than margin errors on the outside edges of the pages.

The results of shingling to compensate for page creep during folding. The outermost pages of a signature (left) are fine. But to keep the external margins consistent throughout the bound piece, page content is moved inward, which results in tighter inner margins (right).

The good news is that designers aren't expected to do shingling. It's done by the print service provider as part of the imposition process, which positions individual pages correctly for final printing, trimming, and binding.

But you should still be mindful of the process as you design your pages so you can minimize problems. It helps if you have generous inside margins so that moving content inward during shingling won't cause any artwork to be crammed into the spine of the printed and bound piece.

Some binding processes incur shingling more frequently (or to a more pronounced degree) than others. As you might expect, binding a relatively large number of pages, such as those in a weekly magazine, will result in the need for more shingling than binding a publication containing only eight pages.

Binding Methods

There are many ways of combining multiple pages into a single, finished piece. At home, we use staples, paper clips, or binder clips to consolidate sheets of paper. The methods used in printing plants are rather more elaborate.

Saddle Stitching

Take another look at the magazine that we've been using as an example. The staples that anchor the pages at the spine of the magazine are actually created from a spool of wire. For the binding process, the loose sheets of printed pages that constitute the magazine are draped together over a saddle-like holder (hence the term saddle stitching). The wire is fed into position, cut to a short length, bent into shape, and then the legs of the staple are driven through the pages. Finally, the legs are bent into the final staple shape. Of course, this all takes place at high speed, in about the same amount of time it takes you to say the word magazine.

In saddle stitching, wire is fed from a roll, and then cut to form staples, which are driven through a sheaf of paper and then crimped.

Perfect Binding and Case Binding

There is another method of binding-perfect binding-that is used for larger publications such as textbooks (and some high-page-count journals). In perfect binding, creep is not as large an issue as it is with other binding methods, although it can still occur. Whereas magazines might combine over 100 pages in a saddle-stitched issue, when perfect binding is used, pages are gathered in much smaller groups-such as 16-page signatures-which are likely to result in less-pronounced creep. Then, multiple signatures are stacked together, trimmed (or ground off), and glued at the spine. Finally, a cover is added to enclose the pages, which is held in place by glue along the spine. For larger books such as textbooks, the spine is reinforced by adhering a cloth strip to the spine of the gathered signatures before affixing a hard cover. This is called case binding.

In perfect binding, individual signatures are stitched with thread to keep their pages in place. Then, multiple signatures are gathered together and anchored with adhesive on the common spine. Finally, a cover is added.

Although the smaller constituent signatures in a perfect bound book are not subject to the degree of creep that you might see in a magazine, you still have to consider some of the side effects of combining a high number of pages with the relatively stiff spine of a perfect binding. Even in a comparatively slender magazine of 192 pages, there is pronounced pinching of the pages at the center of the finished magazine, making it difficult to read some text near the interior bound edge. You can compensate for this by using wider inside margins when you build your pages.

Comb Binding

Often used for publications such as cookbooks, textbooks, and workbooks, comb binding allows a book to be opened flat. Rectangular holes are punched in the pages of the book, and then the teeth of the plastic comb are pushed through the holes. Because the combs are coil-like and curly, the teeth curve back under a spine-like collar that forms a solid spine for the bound book. The plastic combs themselves come in a variety of colours and diameters. Comb-bound books usually use heavier stock for the front and back covers, or they use clear plastic sheets as a protective first page.

Comb binding allows books to be opened flat. It's great for cookbooks and workbooks, but makes it challenging to add a printed spine.

Comb Binding has one Disadvantage: It's a challenge to put a title or other copy on the spine. It's possible to apply adhesive labels or even imprint the plastic combs by using silk screening at extra cost.

In preparing artwork for a publication that will be comb bound, you have to provide sufficiently wide inside margins so the punched holes won't damage any content. Your print service provider can give you specifications for their punches.

Most print service providers and many office-supply stores can perform comb binding for you. But if you frequently produce short-run books or other small-quantity publications that require comb binding, you might consider purchasing punching and binding equipment of your own.

Coil Binding

In coil binding, a spiral of wire or plastic is threaded through round holes punched in the book. As with comb binding, coil binding (also called spiral binding) allows a piece to lie flat when open. However, there's no way to imprint a spine, and you must create a wide inner margin as you design the piece so that the printed area of the page will clear the punch holes.

Coil binding is suitable for notebooks, cookbooks, and textbooks. While this binding method allows a book to lie flat when open, there's no way to imprint a spine.

Other Binding Methods

If you're creating textbooks or notebook-like workbooks, you'll encounter other punch-and-bind methods that are similar in configuration to comb and coil binding. Wire binding uses tooth-like loops of wire similar in appearance to the teeth of comb binding, but it produces a sturdier binding than the plastic combs. By now, you're probably reciting the mantra, "Use wider inner margins to avoid the punch holes." Hold that thought. It applies to most specialty-binding methods.

For heavy-duty books with constantly changing content, such as a wallpaper sample book, post binding may be the most appropriate solution. In this binding method, metal posts are pushed through punched holes in the book and anchored with bolts that thread into the post centers. This method has the advantage of allowing you to add or replace pages, and it's possible to have an exterior cover with an imprinted spine.

Special presentations or other artistic publishing concepts may involve custom binding solutions such as handmade covers or cases and decorative binding devices such as screws or ribbons. Such pieces are usually used in very limited print runs and entail a considerable amount of handwork. Consequently, these undertakings require extremely careful planning.

Moving Beyond Two Dimensions

When you start building more complicated pieces-such as pocket folders-it's really helpful to create a dummy of some sort, so you can visualize the finished piece. It's easy to think of how the finished piece will look, but you need to consider how the piece will print and fold so you can create it correctly. An anatomically correct dummy will let you visualize both the inside and outside and will shed light on the difficulties of positioning tricky artwork. In fact, the challenge of lining all that stuff up in your head may force you to simplify your concept.

Consider a pocket folder. Folded, its configuration resembles a simple, two-page spread. But take a folder apart so you can see how the pocket and its glue flaps are positioned, and you'll see that the printed piece is rather more complex. Any art falling over the pocket has to be carefully aligned with art on the inside of the piece, and this can present a challenge in design as well as in printing and finishing.

The outside of the finished pocket folder looks like this....but it should be created like this. Note that the pocket and glue flap affect the dimensions of the piece.

How do you build such a piece? Think of it as having an inside and an outside, and build it as a two-page document. As with all printed pieces, build to trim size. But you also have to think in three dimensions, to take into consideration the physical processes of folding and gluing.

The complex trimming for a piece like a pocket folder requires a shaped cutter called a die. If possible, obtain artwork for the finished die line to use as the basis of your file, as well as an example of the final configuration. A die line is a drawing of the open, flat piece, with all the folds and cuts indicated. This will help you visualize how the artwork must be positioned on the panels of the pocket folder. You'll also learn a lot about how your files must be created if you disassemble a printed example of a finished pocket folder. You'll see how the thickness of the heavy stock affects artwork at the folds, and you'll see how you must accommodate gluing requirements in your design.

Most print service providers who specialize in printing pocket folders can provide vector artwork for standard die lines, which you can use as a guide for building your piece. Since the glue area must be blank to allow glue to adhere to unprinted stock, follow the print service provider's guidelines for the size and position of the unprinted area to ensure that no artwork falls within it.

The inside of the finished pocket folder may look like this......but it prints like this. Ink must not be applied in areas that will be glued.

In addition to considering the unfolded size of the folder, you must include the glue flap in the overall size of the piece.

The dimensions of pocket-folder artwork must include the glue flap and the pocket area. It's helpful to take apart a printed example that is made from the cutting die that will be used on your job. This helps you visualize how the artwork should be created.

Die Cutting

When your design requires specially shaped edges or complicated folding and assembly, special dies must be created to score and cut the printed piece. Scoring is the act of pressing an indentation into the stock to facilitate folding the final piece. Die cutting is the process of cutting the printed piece into a custom shape. Packaging and pocket folders are examples of pieces that require both scoring and die cutting. Scoring ensures predictable folding, and die cutting creates the shape necessary for the printed piece to become a pocket folder or package. The die itself consists of sharp steel cutting edges anchored in a sturdy wooden base. Although much of the design of cutting dies is now assisted with computer-driven manufacturing, there is still considerable handwork and skill involved in making a successful cutting die. Provisions must be made to ensure that cuts are clean and complete, scoring is correct, and excess material is safely removed without clogging or damaging the cutting edges.

The cutting die is mounted on a specialized, die-cutting press, which uses pressure to score and cut the stock. Most die-cutting devices are platen-based, meaning that the die is a flat surface. But there are also rotary die-cutting presses, which require that the die be affixed to a cylinder. Not all printing companies perform their own die cutting. Some opt instead to contract with companies that specialize in such custom finishing.

If you intend to create a specialized piece for which the printer has no existing die, work closely with their finishing department (or the outside finisher, if that part of the job is being outsourced) to ensure that your artwork is built correctly. They can help you understand finishing issues affecting your job, and their advice can steer you away from problematic designs. It's important that you obtain a die line before you finalize your artwork. It may be supplied as an EPS or imaged on clear film. Carefully follow the dimensions of the die line as you plan your design, and you'll minimize problems during the finishing process.

Die-line artwork shows the dimensions of the finished piece and indicates any scores, punches, or perforations.

Creating correct artwork for a die-cut piece can sometimes require that you create custom bleed areas that consider the irregular trim of the finished piece. Bleed on a diecut piece is more than just a concentric rind around the trim. A beveled approach is required where colours meet some trim points, in an effort to minimize the chances of colour falling in the wrong place on the finished piece. Die creation is a combination of art and engineering. Don't embark on creating the art for a piece that will be elaborately die-cut without first consulting with your printer's finishing department or finishing supplier. They may have an existing die line that you can use as a basis for designing your piece, which would reduce job cost.

Die-cut pieces like this hang tag may require complicated bleed construction. Note beveled treatment where two colours meet (left). Finished piece (right).

Embossing

Embossing adds dimension to paper by pressing the paper stock between shaped metal pieces, resulting in a raised surface on the top (reading side) of the paper. Heat and pressure help push the paper into the shape of the embossing dies.

Heat and pressure combined with a pair of shaped dies (top) are necessary to produce an embossed effect on paper (bottom, shown in cross section).

Debossing is the same concept, but the shape of the dies creates a convex shape, pushing the surface of the paper down rather than raising it.

There are several variations on the concept of embossing:

   • Blind embossing is an embossed effect in an unprinted area of the paper, thus creating artwork solely from the shape of the embossing.

   • Registered embossing is aligned with a printed area already on the paper. While registered embossing heightens the dimensional effect, it requires more precision than blind embossing.

   • Glazed embossing describes the shine that may appear as part of the embossed effect, especially on dark stock. Sometimes glazing is induced intentionally, although the higher heat often used to produce the effect can lead to scorching, and thus must be cautiously applied.

If you plan to use embossing to enhance your printed piece, consult with the print service provider and any participating outside finishing supplier to ensure that the effect you visualize is possible with the stock you intend to use. Understandably, the stock must have sufficient weight to withstand the embossing process. The pressure and heat used to shape the paper can weaken the paper, especially when attempting to force it into extreme or highly detailed embossing dies. The paper must be flexible enough to accomplish the effect, but strong enough to hold up to the deformation. Any texture inherent in the paper must also be taken into consideration, as well as any other finishing effects (such as folding or perforation) occurring close to the embossed area. The embossing dies themselves are based on artwork such as an EPS file or raster artwork. As you prepare artwork to be used as the basis for embossing, consult with the finishing experts to ensure that you provide artwork in the appropriate format. It's likely that skilled artists will modify your artwork to create the dies and perform handwork on the metal dies themselves to ensure that the final embossed piece matches expectations. Plan for the extra time and cost involved in creating and refining embossing dies. Something this elaborate can't be hurried, but the results can be stunning.

Foil Stamping

Often used as an accent for book covers and packaging, foil stamping uses a heated, raised metal die to transfer decorative foil from a roll of carrier material onto the underlying paper. The foil may be metallic, coloured, or iridescent. Some foils are holographic in nature, creating a rainbow or three-dimensional effect when applied. The best results are achieved on smooth, coated papers, since pronounced texture may prevent the foil from adhering uniformly. In addition, foil may not adhere to some coatings such as some waxy varnishes, so you should use aqueous coatings or nonwaxy varnishes before foil stamping.

As with embossing, artwork must be created to serve as the basis for the foil stamping die, and it's important to consult with knowledgeable specialists as you begin the process. Foil stamping is most effective in reasonably small areas such as type or patterns. It can be difficult to cover large areas successfully with foil stamping. But if you want a realistic metallic effect, foil stamping can accomplish what could never be equaled with metallic inks. And combined with embossing, foil stamping can create some beautiful effects.

 7

Interviews of Editors

Interview with a Newspaper Editor

Here we are presenting a few questions asked by a reporter to an editor of Union Tribune. It is intende to make you know the technicalities of editing by their experience.

We were very lucky to conduct an "in person" interview With Mr. Cannon, an editor at the San Diego Union Tribune:

1. Can you explain your job?

I am an assistant metro editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune, a daily newspaper that circulates about 380,000 papers on weekdays and 450,000 on Sundays. I am in charge of the general assignment team, a group of six reporters who come in every morning ready to write about whatever is the biggest news of the day. I help get photos and other artwork to illustrate these stories and capture readers' attention.

2. Do you like your job? What do you like best? Least?

Most days, I like my job a lot. Some days, though, I wish I were a marine biologist or maybe a carpenter. The best part of my job is when my reporters produce a story that makes a difference in the community. For example, when we find out about something that is wrong, and it gets fixed because we pointed it out, that is very satisfying. The thing I like least about my job is telling people "No." People call and think they have the best story in the world, but then I realize it's a real boring deal that even the best writer in the world couldn't make interesting. I have to tell those people that we won't be writing about them. Sometimes they get mad. Sometimes they yell. Oh well, part of the job.

3. Did you always want to be a newspaper editor? How long have you been an editor?

I knew I always wanted to be a writer, or involved in writing in some way. I was an editor on high school and college newspapers. After college, I was a reporter for 10 years, and then decided to make a switch into editing. I have been an editor for about 15 years. I know what you're going to say--I really don't look old enough to have spent all those hard years working for newspapers. Come on, that's what you were going to say, right?

4. What other jobs have you done on the newspaper?

People who work in journalism typically move around a lot and work for a several newspapers during their careers. On smaller newspapers, you do many jobs at once, because there are fewer staff members. Early in my career, I worked on small newspapers. Here are newspaper jobs I have held in the last 25 years at a variety of newspapers: news reporter, sportswriter, sports editor, photographer, photo lab technician (the person who develops the film and prints the photos), page designer, copy editor, headline writer, makeup editor (the person that trims stories that come out too long), news editor (helps decide what goes on the front page), and weekend editor. Whew.

5. Is there special training or education involved in your job?

Yes, but most of it is learned on the job. The best way to prepare for a newspaper career is to study as many different subjects as possible, because you never know what you may be writing about the next day or next month or next year. I went to college to get a degree in English, and along the way I took a lot of courses in history and Spanish and political science. I wish I had taken some classes in business and economics. But, you can prepare for journalism in a very simple way: Read a lot.

6. How long does it take to edit one story?

Like everything else in life, that depends. It depends on how long and complicated the story is. If it's a story that is likely to make a lot of important people angry, we can spend days and even weeks making sure it accurate. If it's a fairly simple little story, it might only take 30 minutes to edit. I would say the average time for an everyday type of news story is about an hour.

7. Do you use dictionaries, spell checkers or other tools to help you with your job?

Absolutely! I have a dictionary within arm's reach, and a book called the Associated Press Stylebook, which is a listing of rules that the Union-Tribune follows on word usage, capitalization, and punctuation. My computer at work has a spell checker, which I use on every story. I have a thesaurus on my desk, along with special books on medicine and science and the military that help me edit stories about those subjects. I also have a Thomas Brothers map book on the San Diego region and a road atlas of the United States to help me check on locations that are in stories I'm editing.

8. Can you explain the steps of producing a newspaper?

It's easy. Here's what you do: listen and look for unusual things that are happening; write about those things and get pictures and graphics to show people what you're talking about; edit those stories; decide where they'll be placed in the newspaper; design the pages; write the headlines and photo captions; send all the material to the production department, where the pages are assembled; send the completed pages to the plate making department, where the words and images on the page are transferred to a flexible metal plate; attach the plates (in the right order) to the three-story high printing press; run the press for a few hours, and get the completed papers to the trucks for delivery; get ready to do it again tomorrow.

9. What is the process (are there specific steps) involved in editing?

The best way to edit a story is to read it through once to get a sense of it, before you start changing anything. After you have a feel for it, read it again to look for things that are missing, and ask yourself these questions: Are there gaps in what you are telling the reader? Does the story make sense? Are the important ideas at the beginning of the story? Is it fair, accurate and balanced? Have the reporter fill in anything that's missing. When you are satisfied, read the story again, this time looking for grammar and spelling problems. (Whoops, that should be problems. Good thing I edited this.) After you have made those fixes, read it over one last time just to see if you missed anything. Use the computer spell checker, and you're finished.

10. Do you have to have knowledge of the subject you are editing?

It is a very good idea to have knowledge about subjects that you are editing. That is why it is so important to keep reading books, magazines and newspapers, to keep your knowledge tank full. That doesn't mean you have to be an expert. For example, you don't have to be a lawyer to edit stories about court cases, but you have to know enough to make sure the stories are accurate and fair.

11. Have you ever printed anything that had errors?

Yes, unfortunately. In every case, the errors were because we didn't check into a story enough, or we were going so fast that we overlooked something important.

12. How many editors are there at a newspaper?

That is another one of those questions in which the answer depends on a variety of factors. Size of the newspaper will determine the number of editors at most papers. At the Union-Tribune, if you consider the news, sports and features departments, there are probably 125-150 editors.

13. Are you in charge of other people? How do you choose whom you'll work with?

I supervise a team of six reporters. My bosses assigned the team to me, so I didn't really pick them. However, when we have an opening on the team, my bosses ask me if I want to recommend someone who I think might be good on the team.

14. What part of the newspaper do you edit?

I edit stories about things that happen in the San Diego area, or stories that happen elsewhere in the world that might have some sort of connection to San Diego. These stories are likely to appear in the A (front) and B (local news) sections of the newspaper, although they sometimes are printed in the Currents or Business sections.

Interview with a Technical Writer

We were able to correspond with Mrs. Anne Martin, a Technical Writer in the Washington Metropolitan area.

1. Can you explain your job?

I write technical documents for electronic equipment. Some of it is operational manuals and some of it is test procedures.

2. Do you like your job? What do you like best? Least?

Yes. The thing I like best is that I get to learn a lot about new technology and new equipment. There is nothing I don't like about it.

3. Is there special training or education involved in your job?

I'm not certain what specific training is involved. I am an engineer by degree and have worked in the engineering field for many years. I also am very good at writing and editing, so coupled with my engineering degree this was a very natural fit.

4. How long does it take to complete one document?

It depends on the deadline, how big the document is and what the requirements are.

7. Do you use dictionaries, spell checkers or other tools to help you with your job?

I type most of my documents in Microsoft Word and it highlights words that are improperly spelled. However, most of the technical terms that I use in my work are not available in spell checkers or dictionaries. I have to do all of my proofreading and editing myself.

8. Do you think an English language background would be more helpful than an engineering background for this particular job?

No. I think you need both because it is very helpful to have a good command of the English language and have good writing skills, but to create a really good technical document you need to understand technical terminology.

11. Have you ever published a document that had errors?

I don't think so.

12. What would happen if you did?

The customer would send it back for a revision.

13. What do the companies that hire you do with the documents you produce?

Test procedures are used internal to the company or are for the customers of that company; and manuals are distributed in the same way.

14. Do you feel that it is important to have good writing skills in a technical field?

In any field that you go into it is very important to be able express yourself both verbally and in writing. Often times in technical, science, or math related fields people feel that solving equations or doing research is all they will have to do. But, what good is all of the math and science if you can't explain it to someone; especially in writing?

Interview With a School Librarian

We interviewed Mrs. Behnke at Highland Ranch Elementary School, and this is what she said!

How long have you been a librarian? Have you had other jobs that have helped you be a librarian?

I have been a librarian since March 1, 2000. I just started in this position, but my past experience helps me in this job. For the last seven years I have worked at a high school in the classroom as an Instructional Assistant. Working at a school and assisting students helps me now in my new job. Before that, I was a Bookkeeper for a company that sold computer software (learning programs) to schools. This experience helps me with the record keeping I do now with all the books.

Did you have to have special training or schooling to be a librarian?

I did not have to have any special training to be an elementary school librarian, although some libraries do require a college degree. I was required to have experience working at a school. And probably the most important qualification to be an elementary school librarian is to LOVE CHILDREN and to LOVE BOOKS!

How do you choose what books go in the library?

I choose new books for the library based on what the teachers and students want and need. When a student or teacher requests a book that they would like our library to have, I write the title down. Also, all the elementary school librarian in our school district have been working together to select some new books. Sometimes, book publishers will bring or send books for me to preview. And I love going to the bookstore in my neighborhood to look at and find new books for the library.

How are the books paid for?

Every year I am given a budget to buy some new books. And next year, I will receive money from a District-wide grant that will help me buy lots of books. That is why all the librarians are working together right now to pick out new books.

Do you lose many books each year? How do you replace them?

I do not think we lose very many books each year. I think students are very responsible about bringing their library books back. If a student thinks they have lost a book, I will send a bill home for the parents to pay for the replacement. Sometimes, this will cause everyone in the family to look extra hard for the book and then they will find it! If not, the student's family is expected to pay for it so we can buy a new one.

What are the most popular books-fiction, non-fiction, and biography…

Based on what I've seen, the most popular fiction books are: The Dear America Series, The American Girls Series, Cam Jansen Series, Great Illustrated Classics such as Little Women and Tom Sawyer, Nancy Drew and Hardy Boys books, Harry Potter books and Boxcar Children Mysteries. The younger students check out quite a few Clifford books and books by author Tedd Arnold, such as Parts and Green Wilma and Frank Asch, such as Happy Birthday Moon. In the poetry section, Shel Silverstein is very popular and for non-fiction, the most popular seem to be books on all sports, how-to draw books, I Spy, and books about animals and different countries.

Interview with a Public Librarian

Here is an interview that we conducted with Maren Conrique, a Children's Librarian at the Public Library:

1. Can you explain the job of the librarian?

I am in charge of the children's collection: all materials, books, audios, CDs, and reference work.

2. Do you like your job? What do you like best? What do you like least?

Yes, I like my job a lot. What I like best about my job is finding references (answering questions) and collection of books. What I like least is programming computers.

3. What other jobs have you had? Did they help you do this  job?

I processed bills and reports at a Court House, and I also worked at a private library as a library technician. The library technician job is what helped me to get this job.

4. How long have you been a librarian?

I have been a librarian for 10 years.

5. What special training or education do you need for your  job?

You need a Master's Degree in Library Science.

6. How do you choose what books to put in the library?

I choose the books we need based on the demands of the community, curriculums, and reviews done by other people on books.

7. How do you get money to pay for the books?

We have an annual budget and we also get a portion of our money from taxes paid by the State of California.

8. Do you only have one copy of each book? How do you decide how many copies of each book you need?

I have more than one copy of most books. It is based on demand for a particular book. For example, I have more than one copy of the Harry Potter books because they are really popular.

9. Do you lose many books each year?

No, not many are lost. I withdraw books from circulation that are damaged or really old.

10. What are the most popular books-for example, fiction, non-fiction, biography... ?

Some of the most popular books are fiction, non-fiction, chapter books, and Newbery Award books. Some of the most popular titles are: Dr. Seuss, Boxcar Children, and Little House on the Prairie.

Correspondence with the Library of Congress

Our team sent some questions via email to the Library of Congress and here is their response. Check out some of the cool links if you want more information about the Library of Congress!

Thank you for visiting the Library of Congress web site. Your communication will be reviewed and will receive an additional response in accordance with the Library's Reference Policy.

The primary mission of the Library of Congress is to serve Members of the Congress and, thereafter, the needs of the government, other libraries, and members of the public, universities, and learned societies.

Library of Congress staff will respond to your reference and information needs to the extent possible. Please note that the scope of our services does not include: 1) compilation of bibliographies; 2) response to requests for information connected with school assignments; debates, and contests; and 3) research in heraldry or family history.

The Library of Congress encourages correspondents to use local library resources first, particularly their online catalogs and reference email services. Public, state, academic, and special libraries are often able to respond more quickly and thoroughly than we and are better able to identify and respond to specific and ongoing research needs. Local reference librarians often rely on state and regional library networks to supplement their resources and on the Library of Congress for questions requiring access to our collections.

Please note that the collections in the Library of Congress (books, serials, music and sound recordings, cartographic items, visual materials, computer files, etc.) are generally not available as digital versions via the Internet. However, as many libraries are doing, the Library is reproducing portions of its collections as digital works, via the American Memory project.

Reading Specialist

We asked the Reading Specialist, Mrs. Walda, if she would answer our questions. She is a Reading Specialist in the Poway Unified School Districts in California.

Dear Think"Questers",

I apologize for taking so long to respond to you-a Reading Specialist must have a very busy job, huh?

Here are my answers to your survey questions:

1. What does a Reading Specialist do?

In the elementary school, Reading Specialists are in charge of most of the activities that involve reading and language arts. In my case those activities include working with students in grades K-5 and their teachers, planning for author visits, maintaining volunteer literacy programs, serving as the school test coordinator, providing reading materials for all students, and serving on school site teams for student evaluations.

2. Do you like your job? What do you like best? What do you like least?

I really like my job a lot!! The best part is the children with whom I get to work. They make every day an adventure. My least favourite part of my job is the paperwork that must accompany some of my responsibilities.

3. What other jobs have you had? Did they help you do this job?

In High School, I was a waitress-no help!! Every job I have had since then has been as a teacher. I have taught Kindergarten, First and Third grades. Each of them helped prepare me for my reading specialist job because they helped my understand how children think and learn.

4. How long have you been a Reading Specialist?

I became a Reading Specialist in 1981 at Garden Road School in Poway, California. I have had this job ever since.

5. What special training or education do you need for you job?

I have a Masters Degree in Education with a concentration in Reading. The Reading Specialist Credential Program required 30 graduate hours of training (for me, at San Diego State University) and successful completion of the Comprehensive Examinations. I also have 12 graduate hours in Reading Recovery training

6. What are some ways that you help kids learn how to read?

I spend the majority of my day with first graders and their teachers. I provide reading Recovery instructions for students-this is a one to one accelerated tutoring program. I like to meet with groups of students in their classroom and in my room.

7. What do you do if someone can't learn to read?

I am not being silly with this answer-I have never worked with someone who could not learn to read. I have worked with many students for whom it wasn't easy to learn to read, but I have been trained to use many strategies to help children be successful at reading and writing. The only thing that is required of them is that they be able to fit through the door!

8. How do you decide what books a kid should read?

This is a very complicated question, and deserves a good answer. In order to be a successful reader, a child must be interested in the book, the text can not be too hard (no more than 3-5 "tricky" words or ideas in the whole book), and he/she must be able to apply everything they know about how
words work with meaning. If you are reading a book that
is too easy, you're really not getting good work done; however, you are building reading mileage. You must see a word or phrase lots of times in text in order to have it come to you automatically. On the other hand, if you are reading a book that is too hard, you are sacrificing meaning, words, and most of all, pleasure! It takes finding the right fit through trial and error and expertise!

Interview with a Bookstore Manager

Our team was able to interview a bookstore manager at a local San Diego bookstore. We spoke with Maria at Borders in Carmel Mountain.

(1)  Can you explain the job of bookstore manager? What are the responsibilities?

There are actually five managers at this particular store and each has a different job. I am the Human Resources Manager and I am responsible for making the employee work schedule, helping them with benefits such as medical coverage, etc., and handling employee matters.

(2) Do you like your job? What do you like best? What do you like least?

Yes, I've been here for four years. The thing I like best is being around books and music … it's like my own library! The thing I like least is picking up after the customers.

(3) How do you choose what books to stock in your store?

Borders, the company, sends us a basic inventory to stock. In addition, we choose books based on demand, what's new, and sometimes teacher requests. For example, if we know that a certain topic is going to be studied in many of the area schools, we'll stock up on books dealing with that subject.

(4) How many copies of each book do you stock?

That depends on the popularity of the book. We may have only one copy of books that are not too popular, but many copies of the more popular books. For example, we had over 400 copies of Harry Potter on the first day!

(5) How do you attract customers to your store?

By holding many different types of events. We have children's events (magicians, storytellers), and also music events (small bands and individual performers). We also attract customers through our website Borders.com.

(6) What are the most popular selling books for adults? For children?

Currently, the most popular books for adults are anything written by or about Oprah. The most popular children's books are the Harry Potter books.

(7) How do you decide what books to promote?

Sometimes we can promote books based on our own personal preference. These are called "Staff Selections" and we can discount or highlight books that we personally enjoy and think others might also enjoy. Most of the time, Borders, the company, gets money from publishers who wish for us to promote specific books.

(8) How do you promote or publicize books?

Mostly by displaying them around the store.

(9) Do you ever have authors visit the store to sign books?

Yes. As a matter of fact, we just had an author visit us yesterday to announce the winners of a local writing contest and to sign books. Also, when authors visit some of the area schools, they make the bookstores their "last stop" and sign books. When Tedd Arnold visited Canyon View, and other area schools, he also came to Borders to visit and sign books.

(10) Do you sell anything else besides books?

Yes. We sell music, videos, magazines and periodicals, newspapers, cards and stationery, calendars, coffee and other beverages, pastries, candy, and gift certificates.

(11) How quickly can you order books that are not in stock?

If I can place a call to the publisher on Monday morning by 10:00 a.m., and they have it available, then I can have the book the following day. That is the absolute fastest time in which I can place and receive a book order. Typical delivery times for special orders are about one week.

(12) Do you deal with all publishing houses, or only certain ones?

Most of the major ones. There are many small publishers and I'm not certain how many we deal with.
 8
A New Structure of News Editing
Introduction

Ideally a computational approach could assist in the human-intensive tasks associated with selecting and presenting timely, relevant information, i.e., news editing. At present this goal is difficult to achieve because of the paucity of effective machine-understanding systems for news. A structure for news that affords a fluid interchange between human and machine-derived expertise is a step toward improving both the efficiency and utility of on-line news. This paper examines a system that employs richer representations of texts within a corpus of news. These representations are composed by a collection of experts who examine news articles in the database, looking at both the text itself and the annotations placed by other experts. These experts employ a variety of methods ranging from statistical examination to natural-language parsing to query expansion through specific-purpose knowledge bases. The system provides a structure for the sharing of knowledge with human editors and the development of a class of applications that make use of article augmentation.

A news editor fine-tunes and prioritizes information based on criteria that include timeliness, importance, and relevance to the audience. —Jack Driscoll

News editing is an exacting problem. Many factors contribute to making the selection and presentation of timely, relevant information a task as daunting as it is necessary. People want to be kept informed of events and occurrences that affect them, but at the same time they do not want to wade through the tens of thousands of news articles available every day to find what they need.

And it is not just a matter of deciding which articles may be of interest. How much is enough and how much is too much is a delicate balance to strike. One Elián Gonzales article a week might be interesting-fifty might not be. A person's source of news needs to express what is new rather than just what has happened. However, if someone has relatives in Pakistan, then every article about a revolution that occurs there may be of interest.

The amount of time that the average person can spend on the news each day is more or less fixed. Consequently, many personal and situational interests compete for this time. Decisions must be made as to what to present, in what order, and in what way. It requires understanding on the editor's part of not only what a given article is about, but also what the context is, or how the particular article relates to other articles that are available, as well as how it relates to the reader.

The task of an editor, then, is to examine the news for a given day and try to find the meaning in it-that is, not only to understand the article, but also to understand its context. What is new or timely? What is of importance? What is of high general interest? What does the reader need to know about? What would the reader like to know about? What informs, educates, guides, or entertains? How many articles on a topic are appropriate, and, if the answer is not "all of them," then what should be kept and what discarded?

Advantages of a Human Editor

When considering an on-line newspaper as a primary news source, it makes sense to consider what editors do, what issues they face, and what their strengths are, as well as their weaknesses.

"In today's Journal of the American Medical Association... " There is a need to integrate multiple sources of news, since not all articles of interest come from the same source. In fact, unless someone's interests are exactly aligned with the focus of a particular publication, the reader probably will need to consult several sources of information each day to find what he or she needs. For example, the televised weather report in the morning, the newspaper on the bus ride to work, the radio for the outcome of the afternoon baseball game, and an on-line news service for up-to-date stock information: each of these sources presents information in a different format and, if a unified presentation is to be made, all need to be understood and considered together.

Editors do not work in isolation. They receive feedback from the community they serve in a number of ways: direct letters, telephone calls, or electronic mail to the editor; comments from their colleagues; focus and market surveys; and simple hard numbers like newsstand sales when a particular headline is run. This feedback allows the editor to better serve the needs of the community. Note that none of this feedback is actively solicited from the readership. Rather, these are observations that are made passively or as a result of user-initiated comments. There is something to be said for assuming that, if there are no complaints, then something is going right and need not be modified.

On your doorstep. One other aspect of the "real world" editorial process is that there is no waiting. When one reaches for the newspaper there is no delay. The fact that a newspaper may represent a 24-hour production cycle, thousands of person-hours of preparation, and a variety of news sources is inconsequential. When you want the news, there it is. This is especially important when contemplating on-line editorial approaches that require significant processing time. It may seem obvious, but the right time to think about the news is not the first time someone asks for a copy of the newspaper.

The On-Line Times? When we type a query into a search engine, we are making a request that such an engine consider a large number of possible articles and select and present some of those articles for our consideration. This is nothing more nor less than an editorial process. Many search engines return results that would be considered poorly edited. Sometimes they return nothing, providing no explanation of how the request was too restrictive. Other times they return far too many results, swamping the user with a plethora of information to wade through and decide on. Neither of these alternatives is particularly attractive to an end user. Little wonder then that most individuals would be unwilling to accept an on-line computer-generated newspaper when they have the opportunity to read a traditional one, where the selection is done by human editors.

I do not know what I want! Defining searches is a difficult task. It is even more difficult when trying to define what the search should be about. One of the reasons a reader may subscribe to a newspaper is that he or she trusts the editors will provide needed information. An on-line newspaper should provide users with some reasonable starting point, even if they themselves do not know what that is.

I want what he has! One role a newspaper fills is that of providing a sense of community and shared world view. The conversation that starts with "Did you see the front page of the newspaper?" is absent in a world where each newspaper is custom-made for an individual. The common context provided by a shared information source is important, for without it, individuals lack a common reference point with which to engage in discussion.

News as a product/news as a service. Ideally a computational approach could alleviate the human-intensive tasks associated with news editing. At present this goal is difficult to achieve because of the paucity of effective machine-understanding systems for news. A structure for news that affords a fluid interchange between human and machine-derived expertise is a step toward improving both the efficiency and the utility of on-line news. This structure reflects a reorganizing of on-line news distribution around both a production model and a services model. The on-line news product is a reflection of the traditional paper offering.

On-line services include:

   (1)    identifying, contrasting, and relating;

   (2)    analyzing, positioning, and verifying;

   (3)    localizing, augmenting, and remembering;

   (4)    contextualizing, connecting, and associating;

   (5)    expressing, storytelling, and transcoding;

   (6)    learning, interacting, and constructing; and

   (7)    marketing, observing, and transacting.

Each of these services contributes to the whole but also has value when offered as a component service. In a distributed but structured architecture, each of these services can be developed and deployed with relative autonomy.

The ZWrap System

This chapter examines an approach by which a computer system, ZWrap, can develop rich structure for a corpus of news. Beyond developing an understanding of each news item, the system attempts to find context for each article, examining how it fits into the larger picture of the news. (In this paper, we consider the understanding of an article to be the result of examining the article and identifying features within it. These features may be as simple as the individual words that appear or as complex as the actors and actions they perform in an article or even the bias with which a particular article was written. "Context" refers to how features relate to each other, especially the way in which they tend to occur in a large number of articles. This includes, for example, both the co-occurrence of features and their associations and implications.) The ZWrap system considers what technologies are needed to keep this context current in the face of a changing external world. It examines ways in which users who are not information retrieval experts can share their understanding with the system and act as a source of common sense for it.

Background

Ideally, the ZWrap system should be easy to assemble, easy to maintain, and easy to improve. It should perform the task of developing and discovering meaning in a reasonably efficient and interesting manner. More specifically, it should assist, simplify, and automate the types of editorial decisions that a human editor must face and resolve, in a way that is amenable for use in an on-line news environment.

The news editing task embodies information retrieval, in that searching for relevant articles within a corpus is part of the problem being addressed. But a news editing system must span multiple corpora and multiple domains; it must accommodate feedback from multiple sources; it must be capable of continuous updating; it must facilitate the dynamic redefinition of relevance while maintaining high precision and recall; it must support automatic query generation; and it must be the host for a shared context across a varied audience.

The ZWrap approach to news editing is to provide a structure for interoperation of multiple components rather than attempt to design an algorithm that is optimized along the many constraints of the problem. Components were chosen with little regard to employing the best practice within a particular subfield. Those components (e.g., a classifier or a router) that are found most useful are candidates for optimization.

While the field of information retrieval is well populated, the space of projects similar to the ZWrap system is rather sparse. Examples include Apple Computer's Sherlock** (with its "pluggable" search and selection algorithms), IBM's Lotus Notes** (with its loadable experts and integration framework), the UNIX** shell (that allows many processes to interoperate through pipes), the World Wide Web (if viewed as a single system and when considering CGI [common gateway interface] programs as plug-ins), integrated development environments (such as Metrowerks' Code Warrior**), the Emacs editor (in its guise as an electronic mail reader, spell checker, development environment, document authoring tool, and overall "kitchen sink"), and the Media Bank (with its distributed architecture and community of viewers). All of these approaches seek to perform a higher-level task by marshaling a number of conceptually lower-level operations. The ZWrap system might best be described as an attempt to serve the function of information retrieval within the domain of exploring, selecting, and presenting news.

Paper Organization

In this chapter, we address the task of news selection for an on-line environment. Our approach is to create a symbiotic relationship between computer and human editors and human consumers. We accomplish this within the framework of a blackboard structure that manages the simultaneous execution of multiple experts. We conclude with a discussion of the efficiencies gained by this approach, in particular, the advantages of article selection through use of precognition, the use of modular, domain-specific experts, and an augmented presentation.

In the following sections, these topics are discussed:

   (1)    blackboard systems and the overall architecture,

   (2)    data representation and management,

   (3)    networking, distribution, and parallel computation,

   (4)    searching and sorting in an augmented database,

   (5)    statistical examinations,

   (6)    user interface and presentation,

   (7)    implementation, and

   (8)    evaluation and conclusion.

Blackboard Systems

Blackboard systems are an old idea, proposed by Newell in 1962. Roughly speaking, a blackboard system is one that employs a collection of experts that independently look at a blackboard. There is one piece of chalk and when an expert has something to contribute to the understanding of a problem, the expert takes the chalk and writes the contribution on the board. Experts are generally not allowed to talk to each other; all communication is done via the blackboard. Each of the experts sitting in front of the blackboard is assumed to have a specialized area of knowledge, but may make use of observations written on the blackboard by other experts. Creating a piece of code to represent an expert is fairly simple. The expert needs to be able to read the blackboard, take the chalk, and write observations on the blackboard. Since all communication is done via the blackboard, no other interexpert protocols are necessary.

Since the experts do not interact with each other except via the blackboard, adding, removing, or changing an expert has minimal impact on the overall system (although, if one expert depends on the work of another, some complications can arise). This allows the development and improvement of experts to be an ongoing process. Since experts do not need to interact except through the blackboard they can all "think" about the problem simultaneously. This opens the possibility of parallel cognition processes. From a theoretical standpoint, this architecture allows for the development of a "society of agents," as suggested by Minsky, with a number of specialized experts contributing their observations about a problem in the hope of developing some kind of understanding about it. Each of these experts can evolve independently; new ones can be added at any time; and those that are found to be less useful can be dropped.

Despite all these benefits, blackboard systems have fallen into disrepute. Perhaps the biggest difficulty with this architecture is its problems with efficiency. It has been observed that in general, most experts wait on the actions of another expert. If Expert B needs to look at Expert A's observations, then until Expert A makes those observations, Expert B can do nothing but wait. The necessity of a single piece of chalk with atomic locking makes writing to the blackboard somewhat expensive: when more than one expert has something to say there is conflict over the chalk; and when one expert writes with the chalk, the other experts are obligated to reconsider the blackboard in light of whatever is written. It has been observed that blackboard systems perform less efficiently than many alternative architectures, e.g., a pipeline.

Why is efficiency such an issue, given that a blackboard system can help to reduce development time, sometimes dramatically? Blackboards have been applied to problems such as speech processing, sonar contact analysis, and fighter aircraft intercept evaluation, all cases where there is a single or small number of problems being considered and there is an element of time pressure (necessitating efficient processing). These applications highlight both the strengths and weaknesses of blackboard systems.

Blackboards and News

Developing understanding of news is a problem that shares many elements with the traditional blackboard problems-it is a complex problem where it makes sense for many experts to work on several different approaches simultaneously. There are, however, a number of key differences that make news an appropriate environment for using blackboards. In the traditional blackboard case, there is a single (or perhaps a small number) of problems being considered, while in news applications, on the order of 10000 articles arrive daily, thus the number of "problems" is quite large; and unlike the case where a single problem might be relevant for only a matter of minutes or hours, news articles often retain their relevance for days or weeks.

In the context of news, the blackboard architecture can be modified. Instead of several dozen experts standing around a single blackboard, one can instead imagine a room with thousands of blackboards, one for each article. Several dozen experts wander around the room, making observations on each of the problems in process. If a blackboard has an expert standing in front of it, then another expert can just pass it by, coming back to it later when it is free. If each expert has a different colour chalk, then those experts that depend on the work of others can just visit blackboards that already have the appropriate coloured marks on them. In short, most of the problems with the original blackboard architecture either do not arise or can be avoided in the case of news systems.

The blackboard architecture is amenable to the news-as-a-service model described earlier. Experts can be designed to process the news by contrasting and relating article features and by identifying associations between articles.

Implementation

The ZWrap system uses a blackboard architecture for developing its in-frame representation of articles. Experts watch a variety of news sources. Whenever an article arrives, a new blackboard is created, the article is posted, and the blackboard is then visited by a number of experts.

In the ZWrap system, one group of experts examines the articles for purely structural elements. These experts extract the headline, the dateline, the author, the body text, the time the article was posted, etc., and place this information on the blackboard, mitigating the problem that different news sources provide news utilizing different structures. These experts ensure that all articles will have more or less the same article elements broken out (e.g., body, headline, date, etc.) and tagged for later processing by other experts.

A second group of experts performs information extraction, parsing, and evaluation on the uniform article elements extracted above. These experts perform tasks such as proper-noun identification, word stemming, date and time spotting, parsing to find references to places, spotting country names, etc. These derived features are written back onto the blackboard representing the article.

A third group of experts uses the derived features to perform high-level augmentation. For example, the person spotter looks at the list of proper nouns and decides (through a simple heuristic) which proper nouns are the names of persons. The geography expert uses a list of rules applied to the country feature to decide which regions and continents are being discussed in an article. Also included in this group are experts that use these derived features to produce more features. For example, the Media Lab expert looks at the people feature to search for the names of Media Laboratory professors. It also looks for "MIT Media Lab" in the proper noun feature.

Ultimately, this parade of experts takes an article as an initial, monolithic piece of text and transforms it into a richly annotated structure of identified high-level features.

These features are used for three different purposes:

   (1)    search engines use them for selecting articles;

   (2)    clustering and data-mining techniques use them for finding patterns and trends in the articles; and

   (3)    display engines use them for presenting articles to the user in context.

About Dependency

One design issue with blackboard-type systems is information-dependency management. The person expert can do no work until the proper-noun expert has visited the article. This leads to inefficiency if the person expert keeps checking blackboards to see if they have been processed.

The ZWrap system supports a simple directed, acyclical graph (DAG) of expert dependency. It does so by maintaining a list (called a dependency scratch space) of which articles have been visited by which nodes in the DAG. A "downstream" node can examine this list to identify which articles have been visited by every expert it depends on.

If a key/value pair that some other key depends on changes, how does the system know to go back and address the resulting inconsistency? In the current implementation of the ZWrap system, inconsistencies are not repaired. This limitation is being addressed in follow-on work.

Data Representation

The use of a blackboard system simplifies the question of data representation, since the only well-defined representation needed is that of the blackboard. This representation needs to support several actions efficiently: the reading of the contents of a particular blackboard, the addition of a note or notes to a given blackboard, and the search of all blackboards for particular notes or types of notes.

The requirements of both flexibility and speed of access argue for the use of frames as the data storage medium. A frame is a collection of key/value pairs, known as terminals, that describe a particular object or concept (in this case, a news article).

Frames have a number of advantages, not the least of which is their flexibility. New key/value pairs can be liberally added and clients looking for a particular datum can ignore those terminals that they do not understand or need. The ability for experts to ignore what they do not understand or need in a frame is important, since it allows the addition of arbitrary experts without the need to modify any other experts in the system.

A feature borrowed from FramerD, a persistent database of frames (framestore) developed at the Media Laboratory, is the use of a universally unique identification number (called an object ID or OID) for each frame. This 64-bit number allows the frame to be referred to in a succinct, unambiguous manner. Since OIDs are never recycled, they can be used as pointers to articles, and it is assured that the articles being pointed to will never change.

In the blackboard context, each blackboard is represented by a frame. Experts examine the frame to see what observations have been made and make their own observations by adding terminal nodes to the frame. A mechanism exists (inherited from FramerD) to allow a blackboard to be locked while an expert is looking at it. When an article enters the system, a frame is allocated and the article is entered as the only terminal, under the key Text. As experts examine the frame in turn, they add terminals, with successive terminals containing increasingly higher-level information about the article.

Network Protocol

Given that the ZWrap system uses a framestore to represent its blackboards, the question arises as to how the experts will communicate with the framestore to read the blackboards and write their annotations. There are characteristics this communication system should have-some implied by the previously made assumptions and others that simply enhance usability:

   • Atomic Framestore Access: Experts must be able to "grab the chalk" while they are writing on the blackboard.

   • Efficient Framestore Access: In many cases, the time taken for framestore access will not be the bottleneck for programs augmenting the articles. Because experts tend to be computationally expensive, extremely fast access is probably unnecessary.

   • Lightweight Framestore Access: The primary concern of someone coding an expert should not be how that expert gets its data. Also, the computation and memory associated with access should be minimal.

   • Concurrent Framestore Access: The blackboard system gains much of its performance through allowing many experts to access the framestore simultaneously. The extension to multiple blackboards suggests that there be a mechanism for multiple experts to work on different blackboards in the store at the same time.

Taken as a group, these characteristics suggest that the central framestore repository be provided as a service. An expert connecting to the service expects the service provider to worry about issues of concurrent access. This lightens the load on experts and those who author them.

Given the prevalence of network-computing environments, it makes sense to consider that such a service might be provided over a network connection. A network approach also allows computationally intensive experts to run on different computers, allowing for load distribution and for more efficient use of available resources. A side benefit of a network solution is that any program that can obtain a network connection and use the framestore protocol can operate as an expert. Thus, experts can be written in whatever language is appropriate for the processing they perform and run on whatever hardware or operating system is best for their execution.

All that is needed to utilize a networked framestore server is a protocol by which clients can read from, write to, and lock frames. Such a protocol should be:

   • Easy to Implement: Encoding messages to go over the network and decoding the response should be simple for the programmer. The easier it is to implement an expert, the more likely it is that many experts will be developed.

   • Low Computational Overhead: The computational load on the expert should be biased toward the task at hand, not toward frame access.

   • Low Bandwidth: The percentage of bandwidth dedicated to the protocol should be low. Ideally using this protocol will not slow the expert down.

   • Extensibility: New commands and structures should be easy to add, without the need to rewrite existing experts.

   • Expressiveness: It is key that experts be able to write nearly any kind of observation into the framestore. The protocol should support arbitrary nesting and combination and extensions of the basic data set.

   • Human Readability: While not strictly necessary, the existence of a text representation is extremely useful. It facilitates debugging and documenting the protocols.

   • Robustness: A protocol that works well in light of the peculiarities of packet transport, dropouts, concurrent connections, etc., is important.

A protocol meeting almost all of these criteria existed at the inception of the ZWrap system in the form of Dtypes. Dtypes comprise a simple network protocol for exchanging LISP-like objects. They were designed for situations where there is routine use of data structures with complex interconnections. They include basic elements such as numbers and text arrays, as well as extensions to special-purpose data types. Dtypes were originally developed by Abramson, later extended by Dienes, and subsequently formalized and extended by Haase and Gruhl. The resulting protocol meets all of the above criteria and serves as the underlying communication system for ZWrap.

The Dtypes library has been implemented under IBM AIX (Advanced Interactive Executive), DEC Ultrix, Sun Solaris, Linux, NeXT Operating System, Apple Macintosh Operating System, and Microsoft's Windows NT, Windows 95, and Windows 98. Versions exist in the Java language, Perl, C, C++, Scheme, and LISP.

The impact of Dtypes on the ZWrap system is subtle but important. It serves as the lingua franca for the various components of the system, allowing them to communicate with each other in an unprescribed manner. This results in components of the system being used in ways that were not originally intended. (For example, in the MyZWrap application, a weighted search is implemented as a series of calls to an index server.)

There are other protocols that would allow this kind of interaction as well (e.g., XML [Extensible Markup Language]). What is important is not that the communication protocol be Dtypes per se, but that it support arbitrary and nonpremeditated interactions.

Expert Distribution

In the ZWrap system, experts can run on any machine that supports the Dtypes protocol, allowing them to be implemented in the environment most practical for the tasks they will undertake.

The use of the Dtypes protocol facilitates the types of distributed, concurrent interactions needed to implement blackboard systems. This approach allows the development of experts in an incremental manner without incurring a performance penalty.

The ability to run experts on multiple midrange commercial computers allows the use of many computationally expensive experts without the need to resort to expensive special-purpose, supercomputing solutions.

The distribution of experts over a network allows the simultaneous pursuit of very different approaches to representation, increasing the chance that the system will be able to develop interesting and relevant observations for every article.

Searching in augmented framestores

The approach to searching used in the ZWrap system has an advantage over more traditional approaches in that a host of augmentations are available to help direct the search. In this section, the adaptation of traditional approaches to database searching in the ZWrap environment is discussed.

Boolean searches. Boolean searches are a baseline for many search engines (e.g., AltaVista**, Lexis-Nexis**, Gopher, etc.). Searches of this type examine articles to evaluate a Boolean expression describing the presence of certain words. For example, the Boolean expression

("Bill" OR "Hillary") AND "Clinton"

seeks articles that mention the word Bill or the word Hillary and also mention the word Clinton. The ZWrap system implements this type of search using the operators AND, OR, and NAND. However, the ZWrap system operates on terminals when searching, not words. Since the set of proper nouns is written back into the frame, the above search (in the ZWrap system) is implemented as

((PROPER_NOUN."Bill_Clinton") OR (PROPER_NOUN."Hillary_Clinton"))

But proper noun is not the only feature in the frame of an article. As an example, consider what can be done with the output of three experts. One of the ZWrap experts spots types of food and notes the occurrence under the "food" terminal. A number of experts are inherited from FishWrap (an on-line news system that is a precursor to the ZWrap system), one of which spots morbid news stories, e.g., articles where death, serious injury, or grievous harm occur. A geography expert places information on continents mentioned implicitly in an article into the frames. These can be used together as

((FOOD."beer") OR (FOOD."wine")) AND (FISHWRAP_TOPIC."morbid")

AND (CONTINENT."Europe")

which finds (mostly) articles about drunken driving in Europe. With a fairly detailed knowledge of what experts are in the system and some clever authoring of search expressions, reasonably complex concepts can be expressed with just Boolean operations on article features.

There are two problems with this approach. First, there is a considerable onus on the user to understand the details of the system, such as what features are being spotted and what their typical values are. Second, there is no concept of how well an article fits a particular topic. It either matches the search expression or it does not. There is very little that can be passed along, for example, to the display engine to help it decide how the articles should be presented.

Weighted searches. A weighted search, such as that used by AltaVista, introduces the concept of "must" (by prepending a "+" to a search term) and "must not" (by prepending a ""), allowing a simple notion of query weighting. Some features are designated more important than others but once all of the "must" conditions have been met, other terms contribute to the fitness of an article for selection. For example

+Bill Hillary+ClintonChelsea

finds articles that contain the words "Bill" and "Clinton" but do not contain the word "Chelsea." From this set, articles that also mention "Hillary" are considered a better match than those that do not. Search results are sorted by their ranking. Of course, as before, in the ZWrap system the search terms can be any of the derived features.

Activation/evidential Searches

The term "activation search" comes from imagining a database of all the terminals with connections to all of the articles that mention a particular feature. A search is performed by activating the stated concepts and selecting those articles that are in turn sufficiently activated through these connections.

The presence or absence of a feature contributes to or detracts from an article's score for selection, as shown in these examples (from explanations generated by ZWrap):

The presence of the PROPER_NOUN "Kosovo" strongly supports selection.

The presence of the STEMMED_WORD "Albanian" does support selection.

The presence of the PROPER_NOUN "NATO" may support selection.

The presence of the PROPER_NOUN "United Nations" may support selection.

To increase readability by the users, a fuzzy mapping to words is used instead of numeric weights, but this is an arbitrary assignment. A very large weighting (i.e., certainty) is used to allow selected features to be "stop" features; selection is prevented if they occur. Activation-style searches are fully weighted searches. The result of this type of search is a list of articles that can be ranked by their level of activation.

Relevance Feedback

The ease of construction from examples suggests that relevance feedback might be a useful approach for designing searches: the user performs an initial search to identify articles similar to the ones he or she is seeking; the system looks for similarities between these articles and uses this as search criteria; the user examines the results of this new search and identifies articles that seem most relevant. The user iterates through this process until articles of the sought-after class are found.

Relevance-feedback searches need not be explicit. If the system can observe the user interactions and infer something about which articles were of interest, then this approach can be used to refine news channels without explicit formulation of rankings.

Multiple Algorithms

Ng has found that in some contexts a weighted average of the recommendations of several algorithms almost always performs better than a single algorithm for search tasks, i.e., weighing is better than picking. The ZWrap system is well suited to multiple-algorithm approaches.

News Channels

The ZWrap system borrows the concept of channels for news presentation from NewsPeek, PointCast, and MyExcite. All of the articles in a channel are part of a specific and hopefully well-defined topic. In general, articles are selected for a channel by searching. In the ZWrap system, any search performed by the user is a candidate for redefining as a channel. This allows a user to apply any search skills he or she might have toward automating the editing of his or her newspaper.

Experts

Searching need not be a one-time event. Once a means of finding a particular type of information is developed, it can be turned into a standing request for information (as a channel). From here, there is a clear evolution toward developing an expert. First, a simple query might be developed. Over time, that query might be refined. Commonalities between queries might be formalized into subqueries. If a subquery is sufficiently useful, then it becomes a candidate for being turned into an expert.

Statistics

The ZWrap system makes use of the relationships among frames through a variety of statistical examinations of the corpus, looking for patterns and trends that develop among high-level features.

Developing good searches by hand is effortful. This is compounded by the tendency for topics to "drift" over time. As explained in the previous section, the ZWrap system seeks to capture this work by allowing searches to be turned into news channels, where they can be used for an extended period of time. Statistics can augment search techniques by flagging unusual events, drawing attention to them for further consideration by experts, human editors, or the user.

In order to apply statistical and pattern-recognition techniques to the task of retrieving articles, some mapping is needed between the articles and a vector of features that represent the article. The common mapping is one that takes words that appear in the article and maps them to individual elements in the vector. These vectors are collected into a single matrix, known as a "word document matrix," that represents the corpus (or at least a training set).

When features carry information in addition to words, techniques that work well on word sets work even better on augmented frames. In the ZWrap system, by the time an article is to be examined statistically, additional features have been spotted, computed, or otherwise added to the frame, making it possible to use a "feature document matrix." It is this matrix that is used by experts to provide context for individual articles and to find associations and differences among multiple articles.

Statistical Techniques

Each article in the ZWrap system is represented as a vector of features, where ai is the feature vector for article i and ai(n) the nth entry of that vector. The mapping of features to entry is arbitrary but fixed for the corpus. For reasons of efficiency, features with insufficient support may be dropped from this mapping (if a feature occurs only once it is not of much help in classification) and, likewise, overly common features may also be dropped (a feature is equally useless if it occurs all the time). For simplicity, the ZWrap system uses Boolean values to represent features. This means that feature vectors are filled with ones and zeros, representing the presence or absence of a feature in a given article.

Clustering

One task that statistical methods perform well is clustering. There are many different clustering algorithms available, ranging from simple K-means to the more complicated simulated annealing. The goal of these algorithms is to take a large number of items and divide them into groups. They often require that the number of groups is fixed initially or modified by a heuristic during the analysis. Some of the algorithms are described here:

   • Simple a Priori Occurrence Expectation: A priori occurrence is a simple but powerful statistical technique. It looks at a domain (e.g., a channel or the entire corpus) and develops a priori statistics on feature occurrence. For example, let be the normalized, average article in a channel. A 2 or cos(A o A) is then a measure of how "distant" a particular article is from what is typical for the channel. The set of As for all channels represent the typical or expected articles for those channels and a new article is compared to these stereotypical articles in order to decide which channel to place it in.

   • Related Articles: It would be expected that articles covering the same topic would have similar features. Thus, a simple distance metric like cosine angle between the normalized feature vectors would give some sense of how related articles are. This nearest-neighbor analysis allows automatic identification of related articles. It also can be used to find near-duplicate articles, for related articles that are close, but not too close. This is especially true for news streams that tend to repeat stories with small changes from hour to hour. In these cases, just presenting the most recent article is probably sufficient.

   • Association-rule Data Mining: The next step up from simple occurrence is co-occurrence, determining what features occur together frequently in the same article. Association-rule data mining seeks to find the associations between groups of features, for example that A B C, where A, B, and C are particular features in the corpus.

   • K-means: An augmented framestore can be used to explain K-means clusters. K-means is run on a set of LSI (latent semantic indexing) dimensionality-reduced vectors generated from the stemmed-word document vectors through singular-value decomposition. The ZWrap system gives the user an indication of why a cluster has been created by revealing those high-level features that are in common among the articles within the cluster.

   • Presentation: Clustering is used to decide what articles to present to a user. If several dozen articles are candidates for presentation within a particular topic, one approach is to cluster them and select the representative articles from each cluster for presentation. The user asks the system to select an article to indicate that he or she is interested in its associated cluster.

   • Cluster Management: Most clustering algorithms operate on a fixed number of clusters. This is a difficult number to determine if there is no a priori reason to suspect how many clusters there are in a set. There are several heuristics that can be applied to determine when a cluster should be split (when there appear to be two or more strong subclusters within it) or when two clusters need to be joined (there is not much difference between them). These heuristics can also be used to examine when channels might warrant being split or joined, by examining the features of those articles they contain.

   • Dimensionality Reduction: Dimensionality reductions (such as those achieved through LSI, PCA [principal-component-analysis], or SVD [singular-value-decomposition] techniques) seek to map a given feature space to a space of much lower dimensionality through projection, where as much as possible of the important information is preserved. The hope is that operations such as finding the nearest neighbor or clustering can be performed much more efficiently in vector space of lower dimensionality. Unfortunately, the vectors in the reduced-dimensionality space tend to be opaque to a user; thus dimensionality reduction is at odds with the design goal of sharing everything with the user. In the ZWrap system, dimensionality reduction needs to be used carefully-never as the main feature in an expert.

User Interface

The ZWrap system seeks to share its representation with the user at all times-it often uses less than mathematically optimal approaches in the interest of eliciting feedback from the user. The ZWrap system considers the user a resource that may be periodically employed and in general will have more "common sense" than the system does. ("Mathematically optimal" means doing the most with the information the system has. A technique that elicits additional user input may perform better than one that tries to make do with only existing information, since user input represents more information entering the system.)

To the extent possible, all information is stored internally in a form that is human-understandable. Having gone to this trouble, it only makes sense to then share as much of this information as possible with the user. This affords the possibility that the user will notice when the system is "confused" and take steps to address it.

One goal in sharing information with the user is to fill in gaps in the user's understanding. If 15 cities in eastern Europe are mentioned in an article, a map might be used to present this information. If an unusual word appears, perhaps a dictionary definition would be useful. For individuals, a short biographic sketch can be provided. This type of augmentation requires a knowledge base and specialized experts, as in Elo's PLUM, which uses augmentation to localize FishWrap articles about natural disasters.

One of the more frustrating features of many information-retrieval services is how hard it is to figure out why a particular document was selected for presentation. This is not just a trivial annoyance. Without understanding why a search engine produced an unwanted result, it is very difficult to modify an errant query to remedy the problem. The ZWrap system provides an explanation of how each article is selected for presentation.

Collections of articles are easier to skim if similar articles are grouped together. Traditional newspapers use sections such as "Sports" or "Living" to group their articles. An on-line newspaper can be more flexible; the ZWrap system allows users to define their own channels.

A World Wide Web page is not the only delivery mechanism for on-line news. There are also the printed page, pagers, electronic mail, telephones, instant messaging, audio alerts, LED (light-emitting diode) signs, etc. Restructuring of the presentation to use these various media is facilitated by the ZWrap internal structure.

It remains an open question how best to present an augmented news article. One truism about the user interface is that the more a system knows about both the news and the user, the better job it can do in presenting the users with the information they need. The ZWrap system addresses the news-representation half of this equation, but it must await an equally rich user-modeling system, e.g., DOPPELGÄNGER, before its user interface develops further.

Implementation

The ideas set out in the previous sections have been explored in two implementations. The first implementation, MyZWrap, is a general-purpose on-line news system developed and run at the MIT Media Laboratory. It obtains most of its news from the wire services (Associated Press World Stream, Associated Press State 50, Reuters, The New York Times), although it does get some from the Web (The Onion as well as various sources of weather, comics, and sports). MyZWrap is designed to serve as a primary news source for individuals, providing news on a variety of general topics.

Panorama, the second system, was designed and implemented at the IBM Almaden Research Center. It is a more focused on-line news system, designed to serve the needs of an electronics design engineer. Rather than employing wire services, Panorama obtains most of its news from the World Wide Web and Internet news and internal discussion sites. Since it is a more focused application, it utilizes domain-specific understanding (in the domain of the electronics industry) at the expense of a somewhat narrower understanding of the world at large.

In both of the projects, the same basic system was implemented. The general flow of information is as follows. Articles enter the system through the news streams, having been acquired from a variety of sources. The articles are reformatted into frames and placed in a framestore. The experts examine the frames and augment them when appropriate. Statistical examination occurs in the background (trends that are observed are used in a number of ways, including the augmentation of the knowledge bases used by the experts). Searches are performed directly on the framestore and through various indexes that are computed. All of these features are exploited by the user interface to provide an augmented presentation.

Experts

MyZWrap and Panorama both use a large collection of experts to develop understanding. These experts connect to the framestore, request a frame, examine it, and add terminals to reflect their observations. As noted earlier, the experts talk to the framestore using the Dtype network protocol-they are written in whatever language is convenient. There is no constraint on how much an expert can "think." There is also no constraint on the use of human experts. For example, an editor might fine-tune the list of articles suggested by a channel server. Following is a list of some of the experts currently running:

   • Structure: This is typically the first expert to run against an article. It uses a wide variety of heuristics to identify the various structural elements. For example, the word "by" followed by a proper noun is likely an indication of authorship if it appears in the first few lines of an article.

   • Stemmer: The list of stemmed words is stored in the frame to facilitate word-based searches.

   • Proper Noun: A simple heuristic is used to identify proper nouns in an article.

   • Noun/verb: Noun/verb pairs are identified in an article and included as features in the frame.

   • Time Spotter: References to time intervals, ages, and dates are identified in an article. These references are converted to UNIX-style date/time.

   • Place Spotter: This expert identifies places mentioned in an article.

   • Country Spotter: Using a list of known countries drawn at run time from the CIA World On-Line Factbook, this expert spots country names.

   • Region Spotter: This expert uses the country feature to identify those regions that are mentioned in an article, for example Middle East or South East Asia.

   • People Spotter: Using a list of known first names, this expert examines all the proper nouns and identifies persons who are mentioned in an article.

   • Reading Level: This expert makes use of an automated readability index to guess the "grade level" needed to comprehend an article.

   • Media Lab Faculty: A filter on the people feature is used to identify a Media Laboratory professor mentioned in an article.

   • FishWrap Topics: All of the FishWrap keyword topics are run and their matches written back into the frame.

This list is by no means exhaustive. Rather, it gives an idea of the span from the very general to the very specific, and illustrates how experts can work with each other.

Presentation and user Interface

MyZWrap is a skewed project, with a disproportionately small amount of effort spent in exploring how articles are presented. Some issues have been examined in enough detail to merit mention:

   • Top-level Presentation: MyZWrap presents its information in channels. Each channel is focused on a specific topic and the channel list is, in general, shared among users. MyZWrap places these channels in a three-column format. A graphical user interface is provided to allow simple channel selection as well as page-layout management.

   • Searches vs Repurposed Information: MyZWrap is nonprescriptive regarding the implementation of channel servers. Not all channels perform searches on the news pool to generate their content. (Weather channels and comics acquire their news using other mechanisms, yet their presentation is wholly integrated with the other channels.)

   • Channel Creation: Repurposed news aside, the majority of MyZWrap channels are the results of searches. Since the system cannot anticipate all possible searches, some mechanism must be provided to enable channel creation. At the moment, the only "user friendly" channel-creation mechanism is an interface similar to AltaVista's that allows a search to be turned into a named channel. The "search explanation" feature in the ZWrap system allows existing channels to be fine-tuned or used as a basis for new channel creation.

   • Channel Analysis: MyZWrap provides some simple tools for channel analysis. The first is an examination of which features have recently appeared in articles that have been selected for a channel. By examining frequency of occurrence, the channel maintainer can identify active features and perhaps change the channel definition to account for them.

   • New-feature Alerts: Another category of tool is the "new feature" alert, of which WordWatch is a good example. WordWatch mimics a "word-of-the-day" list. It creates its entries by examining the words that enter the system every day and finding "differences." These new words are filtered through a copy of the Oxford English Dictionary to rule out misspellings and the results are presented with definitions linked to the articles that triggered them. In general, bringing information to the attention of the user only when something new occurs minimizes the necessity for channel monitoring.

A few high-level engineering observations about the ZWrap approach to user interface are:

   (1)    it allows complex real-time information-understanding and presentation architectures to be constructed out of simple pieces;

   (2)    it allows the parts of the system to be distributed to arbitrary numbers of arbitrary types of machines for scalability;

   (3)    it encourages development by allowing new components to be added without adversely impacting the existing system;

   (4)    it encourages incremental improvement of existing components, since the system does not care how a component accomplishes its task; and

   (5)    by involving users in channel creation and maintenance, the number of system administrators is kept to a minimum.

Results

There are formal methods of evaluation for many of the individual components of the ZWrap system. However, since the system is designed to readily incorporate new or improved components, their individual evaluation is not particularly significant. It is more interesting to examine the system performance as a whole. The ZWrap system is an interactive information-retrieval system and, as such, it is difficult
to construct a repeatable protocol for giving quantitative
results.

Side effects, such as users gaining familiarity with the task, differences between users, etc., create a system where an on-going interaction is difficult to characterize. One way to evaluate these systems is to have a large number of typical users work with the system and examine their interactions and opinions of the system. Such studies are expensive and often inconclusive. Another approach, becoming popular, is to release the system to the Internet and allow its merit to be determined by the number of hits. Some qualitative observations can, however, be made regarding how the ZWrap system fulfills its goal of multiple functionality.

Blackboard Approach

Blackboard systems were initially developed to take advantage of their ease of development as well as opportunities for parallelism. Unfortunately, as noted, this approach fell somewhat into disfavour in the late 1980s due to the performance limitations resulting from the serialization of experts.

The ZWrap system is a validation of the blackboard architecture in the context of news. The system handles on the order of 10000 articles a day; this translates to approximately one gigabyte of text per month. In eight months, the system accumulated approximately 10 gigabytes in the total corpus of news. The ZWrap system can keep augmentations fully integrated to within approximately 20 minutes of the time that news enters the system. Finally, the current system is distributed across five desktop machines. That the system can maintain the approximate 20-minute performance on understanding with five machines working together argues that the multiple blackboard approach allows processing that is efficient enough to warrant its application to real systems.

Flexibility

The strength of a blackboard system is in the ease with which new components can be added to the system, and existing ones can be upgraded and improved upon. Two pieces of anecdotal evidence support this observation.

First, when developing the Panorama system, a full version of the system was implemented in roughly five days. This included the central blackboard, experts to post articles to the blackboard, a single augmentation expert (the stemmer) to test this portion, and the graphical user interface and article-selection structure. The speed with which enough of the system was developed for experimentation to begin was encouraging as it indicates that even on smaller projects, the overhead of including a blackboard approach should not be too burdensome.

The next observation is the ease with which new experts can be added to the system. While developing the technologies used by an expert to understand things may very well be a life's work, actually grafting them into the system is quite painless. A "food spotter" expert was created that, aside from problems in getting an account on the machine, took an afternoon to integrate. Likewise, a "colour spotter" expert was implemented in less than an hour. This low overhead for including specialized understanding experts is heartening, as it encourages their development whenever a particular observation is needed to select articles correctly.

Scalability

The ability to add more hardware as needed is one feature that makes blackboard architectures attractive. Since all the components of the ZWrap system communicate over a network, adding more computational resources is accomplished by adding additional hosts to the network and reassigning services from one host to another. In general, changing hosts caused little impact.

At some point, it becomes impossible to realize performance improvements simply by segregating tasks to machines-the system becomes bound by the performance of the slowest expert running on a single machine. In these cases, it is usually possible to run more than one instance of an agent. Then the bottleneck moves to the database. Fortunately, extensive work has been done on allowing databases to handle large numbers of transactions, including multiple-node (e.g., Beowulf-type) structures and serial-storage architectures.

These considerations aside, a five-machine cluster easily handles the loads discussed here and is sufficient to allow research on much larger dynamic real-time corpora than are traditionally contemplated.

Precognition

One constraint on any system that interacts with users is the need for short response times. This requirement limits the amount of computation that can be done while servicing a request and thus would seem to limit the complexity of the understanding that can be attempted.

The ZWrap system addresses this constraint by precognition, i.e., "thinking" about the articles before requests arrive. (Cognition here is meant to be the processing associated with human or machine augmentation. These "thoughts" are stored along with the article and can be quickly recalled as needed. Since much of the work is precomputed, complex operations can be executed without an adverse impact on response time.

Machine Understanding in Support of Statistics

There is extensive literature on feature spotting as an adjunct to traditional information-retrieval methods. The ZWrap system extends this, allowing domain-specific "spotters" to be added to the mix whenever it appears they will be helpful. New features can be added when required by the task at hand. (In the ZWrap system, all cases are treated as special cases if they are sufficiently important.) As is the case with most traditional information-retrieval methods, the ZWrap system can simply ignore those annotations (tokens) that are not helpful, although they may cause small amounts of confusion for limited corpora.

The Reuters-21578 dataset was used in an experiment to evaluate the impact of feature augmentation on statistical classification as implemented in the ZWrap system. A typical set of activation-channel-selection rules for a ZWrap topic were created using both augmented and unaugmented articles as a training set and the results compared.

An experiment was performed to evaluate the impact of machine understanding informing statistics. The experimental procedure was to:

   (1)    construct a dictionary of all terms in the training set;

   (2)    construct a normalized vector for the entire training corpus;

   (3)    construct a normalized vector for the training set;

   (4)    identify the ten terms whose presence is most indicative of the training set as compared to the corpus norm;

   (5)    identify the ten terms whose presence is most indicative of the corpus norm as compared to the training set;

   (6)    use a projection onto these 20 dimensions to generate a cosine distance between each test article and both the "corpus-norm" point and the "training-norm" point, assigning each test article to the bin associated with whichever point is closest (i.e., select for topic or not).

The results of an experiment that was tuned for a South American topic are shown. (South America is not a standard Reuters category. Country names and their mapping to continents were generated by the country-and region-spotter experts. A design feature of the ZWrap system is that specialized topics can be crafted when there is sufficient need.) It is not surprising that both precision and recall for the rules generated from augmented features were more than three times as accurate as for the rules generated without augmented features, since there is a nearly "perfect" feature that the system can use for classification. However, there is no reason not to add experts for a classification whenever possible.

Statistics in Support of Machine Understanding

The approach of using statistics on observations to develop rules for a knowledge base date back to at least Drescher, where an expert made observations about the results of its actions in a simulated world and developed rules that it could later use to perform tasks. This is a goal of the ZWrap system but it is too ambitious a goal to implement in its entirety. One difficulty is that the ZWrap system cannot influence the news, but rather must make its observations based on the news. This limits the ability of the system to design experiments to fill the gaps in its understanding.

Rather than abandoning this approach altogether, the ZWrap system seeks to identify potential causality and brings this to the attention of a person or expert with the broader understanding to "fill in the blanks" and decide whether the observation is indeed valid.

A data-mining experiment was performed to evaluate the impact of statistical classification on knowledge-base construction as implemented in the ZWrap system. Association-rule data mining was applied to proper-noun features and those features with high co-occurrence rates. (Both human knowledge engineers and deep machine-understanding processes are treated as expensive, limited resources, to be used sparingly.) By looking for implications among high-occurrence features, the system seeks to focus development on those areas that will have substantial impact. The experiment was performed on proper nouns occurring in a two-week period of news in February 1999. The association rules that were identified had a minimum support of 20 articles and a confidence of at least 50 percent.

Conclusion

This work was motivated by four observations:

   (1)    the general lack of an efficient, flexible way to deal with large, evolving corpora in a nontrivial manner and the general notion that large corpora require simpler techniques than small corpora;

   (2)    the perceived hard division between machine-understanding approaches to information retrieval and those developed from a purely statistical basis;

   (3)    the tendency of systems that perform any understanding of their text to quickly move to representations that are opaque to human comprehension; and

   (4)    the extent to which information retrieval systems fail to share any of their understanding with their human users.

The consequence is that the user has little opportunity to enhance the development of meaning, although we have found that representations that allow discretionary use of human judgment are of great value. From the ZWrap architecture, developed to address these issues, two test applications were constructed.

The architecture overcomes the traditional deficiencies of the blackboard architecture and uses this approach to build rich representations of large, dynamic corpora. In doing so, the architecture provides a framework in which a "society of agents" approach can be scaled up and applied to large text-understanding problems. Experts are allowed to interact in a controlled way through the blackboard and can be distributed over available computational resources. In addition, the architecture provides a light-weight, reusable structure.

The architecture allows computationally intensive investigation of articles to be performed ahead of time, and the resultant structures stored. This allows more in-depth examination of articles at search time without the need for the user to wait for the results.

Linking statistical and machine-understanding systems, the ZWrap system demonstrates the suitability of frame-type techniques for very large (i.e., millions of documents) collections of information. It exemplifies the use of data-mining statistical methods to assist in the creation of knowledge bases for machine-understanding systems and it exemplifies the use of machine-understanding feature identification to assist in statistical clustering. The ZWrap system also demonstrates that such a system can maintain a human-readable internal representation and yet still perform efficiently.

Finally, the task of an editor is to assess both the news and its context. The augmented-frame model used in the ZWrap system offers some help with this task by providing a structure for the sharing of information that it develops with the user. But, as the ZWrap system currently uses only a cursory model of the user, editorial questions such as "What would the reader like to know about?" are difficult to answer with any precision. Still, the ZWrap system fosters a collaboration between the system and the user, and like all collaborations, the better the communication, the better it works.

A distributed but structured approach to on-line news brings the possibility of more participants in the editorial process, each adding value to the whole. This might result in a reversal of roles-the reader becomes the editor. It will certainly result in a new relationship between readers and editors.

 9

Fast Facts about Editing

Profs, Professionals Agree about Students' Editing Skills

Professors and professionals agree that text editing, headline writing and design are fundamental and crucial skills. Professors, however, think students need a wider variety of skills.

News editing has undergone several waves of substantial change in the last 25 years. The most obvious has been technological. Computer editing, pagination and digital imaging, which were barely a dream 30 years ago, are tools of the trade today.

Organizational change is a more recent development. Among its manifestations are design desks, newsroom teams and maestro approaches, as well as increased awareness of the need for better leadership and people skills.

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The growth of online media has spawned a third area of considerable ferment, one that has quickened in the last year or two. Aspects of this change are the integration of print and Web staffs, the introduction of multimedia coverage by newspapers and convergent newsroom experiments.

Journalism educators who prepare students to enter the world of news editing have been watching these changes for decades with a mixture of fascination and trepidation. Hitting a moving target is always a challenge, but to stretch a metaphor, journalism educators feel they have to hit the old targets at the same time they're shooting at the one or more in motion.

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How should journalism education address these changes? The continuum is broad-from retreating to the basics of copyediting and headline-writing and letting industry handle the rest to going one better than industry and experimenting with new curricular forms to meet a multimedia world. Courses already are jammed with training in traditional skills, skills that most would agree remain crucial.1 The questions are fairly simple but the answers complex: How much technology should we teach or expect students to learn by themselves? A lot, a little or none? What does the industry want, and is it appropriate to expect journalism programs to provide it? Do journalism programs have the resources-human and financial? Can they go too far too fast? If journalism programs jump wholeheartedly into multimedia education, are they running the risk of creating the 21st century equivalent of a Videotext curriculum?

Another way to phrase the question is as follows: Where should journalism educators focus when they design editing curricula? Should they teach skills from the past and present, should they try to predict and prepare for the future or all of the above? There has long been a belief that the industry is closer to the cutting edge of innovation because it has access to more expertise and the latest technology. Is that belief supported by data? Which group, for example, is more inclined to say multimedia skill is important?

This study, which is based on a survey of ACEJMC-accredited programs, examines what professors say is important for students to know about editing. It also compares what professors at accredited programs say about necessary skills with what professional copy editors say is important. The issue that lies beneath the surface of many such discussions is where the academy should be. Should it lead the industry or follow? It is difficult to begin to answer that question without a clear sense of where the academy is now in the teaching of copy editing skills.

Background

For some in the academy, the question of which skills to teach is overshadowed by another: Should journalism and communication programs continue to emphasize professional skills that prepare students for jobs in traditional media industries, or should they focus their energies elsewhere? This criticism takes different forms; one version holds that journalism and communication programs should pay much less attention to practitioner skills training because of its vocational nature. Instead of ensuring that students will have industry-specific entry-level skills, schools should concentrate on conceptual and critical issues. The University of North Dakota's School of Communication, for example, "abandoned a subservience to career tracks in favour of a curriculum organized around significant communication issues." Blanchard, Christ and others have made similar arguments in favour of an integrated curriculum that focuses far less on practitioner skills and more on communication issues and critical-thinking abilities.3

Others disagree. Medsger, for example, argues that professional coursework remains crucial and itself is liberal in focus because it emphasizes critical thinking and other hallmarks of a liberal education. A recent study by Dickson and Brandon found that professionals and professors disagreed that journalism programs should move from industry-oriented sequences to more general mass media studies. Christ and Hynes, in a study of mission statements collected in late 1995, indicated that many, if not most, journalism and communications programs attempted to strike a balance between professional preparation and liberal arts education. "It is clear," they wrote, "that many programs embrace the idea that media education involves preparing a liberally educated professional."

A second broad criticism of skills training is that it typically is too narrowly focused for a changing media world. Some media educators look to the idea of media convergence to support an argument that industry-specific training is anachronistic and that students need to develop skills they can apply in various media environments.

In 1993, for example, Rakow said that "technologies, media industries and careers are changing so rapidly and in such unpredictable directions that preparing students for today's media occupations is shortsighted and ill-advised." More recently, Pavlik argues that new digital media present "a fundamental challenge to journalism education" and that to work effectively in the new media era, journalists will need to be comfortable with text, audio, video and interactivity. Outing, who writes a popular online column about the online news industry, says that because newsrooms of the future will publish to different media, "Reporters, obviously, will have to master using new devices to communicate, collect news and do research." But, he adds,"...It's editors whose jobs will change the most... tomorrow's editors will foremost have to understand how content must be presented appropriate to each medium."

In October 2000, the first of five recommendations of the subcommittee on educational technology of the AEJMC task force on journalism and mass communication at the millennium took a similar position with respect to journalism education. It said that programs should "work toward reconceptualizing and re-organizing their curricula to emphasize cross-media JMC education, rather than media-specific education." The report also points out that "a growing number of leading JMC educators and JMC professionals are increasingly convinced that the approach proposed here makes sense and will likely produce the types of JMC professionals the industry will need in the years ahead."

It is clear that the development of online journalism has created a demand for newsworkers who have new skills, particularly in HTML and digital image processing. It is less clear whether much demand exists in online news media for convergence skills such as video. Within the last five or more years, many universities have created new-media classes or even new curricula that attempt to provide students with a more broad-based set of skills. Recent reports of convergence experiments within traditional news media industries also have raised suggestions that traditional training of journalists may not meet industry needs for long. Recently, The New York Times publisher Arthur Sulzberger Jr. added his voice to those preaching convergence:

"Whether it is the printed pages of the paper or the digital realm of the Internet, in magazines or books, on television or radio, we have become single-minded in our efforts to reach this knowledge-hungry audience, regardless of the means of distribution." Several newspapers that have experimented with multimedia reporting and editing have been featured in trade journal articles.

The experiments of several major news organizations to create linkages between print and television stations within a common newsroom have been widely reported, though the level of actual integration of staffs has not been great. Such experiments also have been the focus of much discussion at professional and academic conferences, such as AEJMC, prompting calls for multimedia training of students.

On the whole, though, beyond anecdotes, speeches at conferences and position statements, there has been little evidence to suggest that journalism students are ill-served by traditional sequence-based curricula, much less to support the idea of a wholesale turning-away from industry-specific education. Indeed, there is evidence many online journalists have been drawn from the ranks of print, and online startups have done well luring talent from traditional newspapers.

In the academy, this debate about sequence separation vs. integration is likely to continue against the backdrop of the continuing development of online journalism and other forms of media convergence.

Newspaper Industry Issues

Focusing more narrowly on the newspaper industry, several studies have indicated that industry-specific skills remain in great demand, particularly for editors.

A study by Auman and Alderman found general agreement between editors and educators on what skills were important for new copyediting hires to have. Both groups ranked traditional word editing skills most important. Auman reported in an earlier study that editors did not believe that new hires had adequate preparation; they felt entry-level hires were deficient in traditional editing skills, page design and general knowledge.

Technology skills appear to have grown in importance throughout the 1990s, which is no surprise, given the increasing reliance on computers for page design and photo handling in the mid-1990s. Russial found a substantial discrepancy between what skills editors said were important in an APME survey and what skills newspapers sought in job advertisements. Editors ranked technology skills relatively low and critical thinking abilities very high in the APME survey, but job descriptions for copyeditors were largely silent about critical skills and made it clear that very specific skills, such as Quark pagination, were quite important and becoming more so.

There is additional evidence that technology skills have become important in newsroom hiring. In a survey of photo editors in 1998, Russial found that specific technology skills, such as knowledge of Photoshop and negative scanning, were considered nearly as important for new hires as traditional photography skills but that convergence skills, such as video, were considered extremely unimportant. Have technology skills become as important for copyediting hires?

Besides facing technological upheaval, many newspapers have experienced other institutional changes in the last decade, and some of those changes may mean that editors will need to develop new skills. These include the movement to newsroom teams and team-like structures, cross-training of editors, the growth of design desks and a general re-emphasis on management, leadership and working together. These issues have been discussed in trade journals and in several academic studies, and they remain popular topics at national conferences, such as those of the American Copy Editing Society and Society of News Design. Taken together, these innovations suggest that new hires may need new organizational competencies and people skills. Are these newer skills as important as traditional skills?

Professors of editing know about these organizational changes in the industry, but they already are puzzling over how to cram traditional and technological skills into their classes, not to mention training in multimedia. Editing teachers can perhaps be forgiven if they occasionally wonder just which of the many aspects of editing they need to teach and how much time they need to spend on them. Previous research has indicated that there's a need for more than one editing course-one basic and one on advanced skills, such as layout and design, visual journalism and coaching writers. Schools that have added this course or one in design have taken some of the pressure off the basic editing course, but with convergence, the pressure is on again to figure out how to incorporate editing for the Web and Web design skills.

Research Questions

    How much time do copy editing professors spend on traditional editing, headline-writing and design skills, which one might think of as skills from the past (though still necessary for the present and presumably for the future)?
    Is there much time for other types of training, such as technology and organizational skills, the need for which has been articulated in the trade press more recently?
    Are professors responsive to future trends relating to media convergence?
    Is there overall agreement between professors and professionals on necessary skills?
    Advertisement: Do the skills break into discrete bundles, and if so, do professors and professionals place the same skills in the same bundles?
    If not, what are the key differences? Is there a difference based on size of paper?

Method

Surveys targeted the principal editing instructors at 109 accredited journalism programs in the United States. Potential respondents were identified by telephone and e-mail contacts. The first mailing was made in early spring 2000, and a follow-up mailing was done three to four weeks later. Sixty-nine surveys were returned for a 63 percent response rate.

Questions addressed how much time is spent in the copy editing course on traditional tasks, such as grammar, spelling, punctuation and style; text editing (other than grammar); headline writing; design and other.

Survey questions included 39 Likert-type scale items addressing a variety of proficiencies editing professors might expect students who had taken copyediting courses to have developed. These questions were scaled 1 to 5 (1=very unlikely to be proficient to 5=very likely to be proficient). Broadly speaking, the proficiencies cover text editing, headline and caption writing, teamwork and organizational abilities, technology and multimedia.

Another set of questions asked how important it is for graduates to have a more limited set of 16 editing skills. These were included to provide a basis for comparison with a national survey done in 1999 that asked the same questions of copy editors and copy editing supervisors.

The national survey used a modified random-sampling procedure for papers of more than 15,000 circulation. They were divided into four circulation categories, with each group accounting for 12 million to 14 million daily circulation. Papers were asked to return either two, three or four surveys, depending on circulation size.

An initial mailing was sent in early 1999. Follow-up phone calls or e-mails were made within the next four weeks to newspapers that had returned no surveys. A second mailing was made to contacts at those papers. Additional follow-up contacts were made to non-responding papers in the smallest circulation category, which was underrepresented in returns. The overall response rate was 174 returned surveys or 59 percent of the sample of 295. Of the 117 newspapers, 88 returned at least one survey, representing about 75 percent of the sample.

Results and Discussion

Time Spent on Traditional Skills

More than 60 percent of the time in the basic class is spent on text editing-on grammar, spelling and punctuation (29.3 percent) and on other editing skills (31.3 percent). Headline writing and design account for a total of about 30 percent in the basic class. In advanced editing classes, which are taught by fewer than half of the programs that returned surveys, more emphasis is placed on design (33.8 percent), the same on headline-writing (16.5 percent) and considerably less on text editing issues (about 37 percent total). Time spent on "other" skills is less than 15 percent in basic and advanced classes.

These percentages suggest that traditional skills remain the core of copy editing classes. They also indicate that not much time is available during editing classes for anything beyond the basics of text editing, headline-writing and design.

Proficiencies

The 39 item responses to the question "How likely are typical editing students at your school to become proficient in the following at the time they graduate?" produced a complex picture. Grouping the proficiency items into broad sets of skills yields a somewhat clearer picture. In general, text-editing skills and computer competencies (including knowledge of the widely used design program Quark) were ranked most important. Headline writing was about the middle, and new media skills were at the bottom.

Sprinkled throughout are organizational skills (meeting deadlines, thinking independently, planning coverage with others and coaching). Proficiencies that would appear to reflect media convergence (designing Web pages and knowledge of multimedia) generally rank at the very bottom, even lower than earlier production proficiencies such as character-counting headlines, which has not been done at most newspapers since the late 1970s, and cropping and scaling photos by hand, which is done rarely given the near ubiquity of digital imaging in U.S. daily newsrooms.

The message here seems to be that students are graduating with traditional editing and headline-writing skills and knowledge of the typical computer applications used in newsrooms. To a lesser degree, they are graduating with organizational skills. And to a much lower degree, Web production and multimedia skills.

Skills on the Job

Another way to look at the issue of competencies is through factor analysis of skills copy editors need on the job. Sixteen skill items were factor-analyzed using principal components analysis and Varimax rotation to see whether ostensibly related skills vary together. In the analysis of the professors' responses, four factors emerged. The first was a versatility factor, with high loadings on a range of technical competencies: Photoshop knowledge (.927), Quark pagination (.794) and graphics (.802) and on reporting ability (.927).

Factor 2 also reflects a variety of skills but centered more on critical thinking (.842), solid background knowledge: current events (.714) and general knowledge (.664) and time-management skills (.698).

Factor 3 appears to be an organizational factor, with high loadings for coaching (.805), teamwork (.800) and interpersonal skills (.594).

Factor 4 is a production factor, with high loadings on headline and caption writing (.761) and page design (.577). It also had a high negative loading for video skills.

In a similar analysis of professionals' responses to the same 16 items based on the earlier survey, four factors also emerged, though the makeup of the factors was somewhat different from those shown in the analysis of professors' responses. Factor 1 was similar to Factor 2 in the analysis of professors, loading highly on critical thinking, background knowledge and word editing skills. But headline writing (.788) also loaded highly on Factor 1, which suggests that professionals think of headline writing as part of the same skill set as editing while professors may associate it more closely with design. Factor 2 was a technical versatility factor, similar to the professors' Factor 1, though not as broad-based as in the professors' survey. Page design and Quark pagination did not load highly on this factor, but reporting skill did (.856), as did video skill (.715). Factor 3 was similar to that in the first analysis, and Factor 4 was a design-production factor (page design (.886) and Quark (.879).

Professors, however, rank coaching, reporting, page design, Quark pagination, Photoshop, graphics and Internet skills fairly or very important, too. Neither group reports that video/audio skills (perhaps the key skills in a media convergence environment) are very important.

The t-tests show that many of the differences are significant, though some of the differences are not very large. Charts put the differences more in perspective. Professors' responses and those of the professionals across all circulation categories. The lines are essentially similar in the categories that reflect traditional skills in word editing and headline writing, background knowledge and organizational skills. They diverge in page design, graphics and reporting skills as well as in a variety of technology skills, such as knowledge of Photoshop and Quark. The differences between page design and Quark ability practically disappear, and the differences between professors and professionals on the need for copy editors to have coaching and reporting skills decrease, too. The lines converge further when the analysis is limited to papers of less than 50,000 circulation.

Conclusion

Professors at ACEJMC-accredited programs appear to believe that traditional skills, reflecting text editing, headline writing and design, remain fundamental, which should come as little surprise. The need for those skills, particularly those involving word editing, is long established, and whatever form news presentation takes, those skills no doubt will remain crucial. Headline writing and design, too, are considered very important skills, though less time is spent in class on them.

The data on proficiencies students are likely to have and the skills they need for jobs also indicate that those traditional skills are important, but skills that have emerged in recent decades also have become essential. Those include technology competencies, such as ability to use Quark and the Web, and organizational abilities, such as interpersonal and teamwork skills. Looking at the range of possible proficiencies that can be taught and the time that is now devoted to traditional skills, one might conclude that anecdotal reports are correct-there aren't enough minutes in the class to do everything that professors think should be done.

Comparing professors and professionals on skills shows that there is considerable agreement on a number of traditional and technology skills and disagreement on the need for a number of others. The data show that, unlike professionals, professors seem to feel their students need it all-editing, reporting, technology, organizational and a variety of Web skills. The professors appear to reflect the view of professionals more closely at smaller papers, where copy editors often do need to have it all. Larger papers have larger staffs and can afford greater specialization in jobs. In effect, then, professors seem to be closer to professionals at papers that are more likely to hire students out of college. Perhaps instructors also are more likely to encourage flexibility in their students to better prepare them for the job market.

One interesting finding is where headline skills fit into the picture. To the professors, headline writing falls into a design factor; to professionals, it goes with story editing. The difference might in effect be a "Quark effect." In many classroom situations and at many small papers, copy editors do most of their work in Quark-design, headline writing and sometimes even text editing. At larger papers, copy editors tend to edit and write headlines on front-end systems, and designers spend their day designing pages on Quark or other systems.

This study suggests that professors and professionals are largely in agreement about how to prepare students for traditional print newsroom technology. The data also suggest that neither group feels that preparation for a multimedia future is particularly crucial at this point, though professors appear to be more comfortable with one key convergence skill-video-than so their counterparts in print newsrooms. One is tempted to conclude that the professors are actually closer to the cutting edge. The data here are merely suggestive, though. A different picture might well emerge if professors were compared with professionals in online newspaper newsrooms.

It would seem to be good news that professors and professionals are largely on the same page. Whether it is the right page is a different issue, somewhat beyond the scope of this study, but the results suggest a few observations about the future. For example, the great importance both groups place on traditional skills of editing and presentation should serve students and the industry well no matter which direction it moves. Even converged media will need editors who have a love for language and the ability to improve writing and present stories in compelling ways.

The importance placed on technology skills needed for news production in the short term, while an understandable concern for professors and professionals, could prove to be shortsighted in the long term if it becomes a straitjacket. Copy editors who are facile with Quark, for example, are versatile in today's newspaper world. Whether such training will help them much if media change to different forms of delivery is an open question. Perhaps it will. An openness to learning one system is often the key to learning others. A greater problem may be the relative inattention currently paid to the conceptual tools needed to shift gears to new forms of news delivery. Knowing when to use which forms to tell which stories may be as valuable a skill tomorrow as knowing how to import a photo into a Quark page is today. One might say that students are in good shape as far as the past and present go in copy editing but that the future is somewhat cloudy.

 10

Copy Editing

Introduction

Copy editors perform quality control for publications. Within the industry, they are known as "the last line of defense."

Although copy editing is concerned with style, there is no universal form for the term itself. In magazine and book publishing, it is often written as one word. The newspaper industry writes the expression as two words or hyphenates it. The terms "copy editor" has a similar division between one word or two.

The job is called "sub-editing" in the United Kingdom.

Overview

Copy editors correct mechanical errors, such as with grammar, spelling, punctuation, and style, and otherwise polish the writing.

Copy editing is an essential task for newspapers, magazines, and other publications. It involves the review and correction of journalistic articles submitted by writers.

This process includes checking for factual and content errors, as well as spelling, grammar and punctuation errors. "Copy" is a journalist's term for text.

Copy editing is performed by copy editors, whose job is to read copy, look for and correct obvious errors, and question the writer concerning ambiguities and possible factual errors.

Preparation, Traits and Skills

Many copy editors have a college degree, often in journalism or communications. Copy editing is often taught as a college journalism course, although the name of the course varies. News design and pagination are often include in such classes.

The Dow Jones interns receive a couple of weeks of training before going to their newspapers.

Besides an excellent command of the language, copy editors should have broad general knowledge (to be able to suspect inaccurate information), good critical thinking skills (to spot inconsistencies), and diplomacy (mainly to deal with writers).

In the United States, midcareer training for newspaper copy editors and news editors (who supervise news copy desks) is offered at the American Press Institute, the Poynter Institute, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and conferences of the American Copy Editors Society.

Tests and Try-outs

Most U.S. newspapers and many other publishers give candidates for copy-editing jobs a test or a tryout. These vary widely. They may be timed or not, they may last an hour to a week, some are "take-home" tests. They may include questions, and usually include copy to edit. The length of the copy may be anywhere from single sentences to many articles.

Tests and tryouts may include items on:

   • acronyms

   • Associated Press style (for U.S. newspapers)

   • critical thinking

   • current events

   • fairness

   • general knowledge

   • geography

   • grammar

   • headline writing (for newspapers)

   • infographics editing

   • math

   • news judgment

   • punctuation

   • skepticism

   • spelling

   • taste

   • usage

External links:

   • Test question examples, compiled by the American Copy Editors Society

The Work

Copy editors also try to prevent more serious problems, such as with accuracy, clarity, fairness, logic and taste.

They also write headlines and captions, known as "cutlines" in the industry.

In the late 20th century, copy editors at many publications were given more production work because of the advent of pagination. This has expanded with the Internet.

Most copy editors work nights, weekends and holidays.

Miscellaneous

The Texas Daily Newspaper Association gives the John Murphy Award for Excellence in Copy Editing. The award alternates each year between copy editors at large and small newspapers, with daily circulation of 100,000 being the dividing line.

In days before computers, most newspaper copy editors worked together at large U-shaped tables or desks. References to that era survive in the jargon terms "rim" and "slot," indicating where they sat. A senior copy editor would sit in the slot and check the work of those on the rim.

Top Ten Reasons Why Editing Is COOL!

Compiled by Jane Harrigan, University of New Hampshire

   (1)    It's like solving a puzzle.

   (2)    You find a whole world of other people who go crazy over the"10 items or less" sign in the grocery store. (Or, as one new editor put it, "I can constructively satisfy my obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive tendencies and get paid for it.")

   (3)    Your job changes constantly; you're never bored.

   (4)    You become a more interesting person. You can talk about Arafat, Albright, Agassi or Aguilera and sound like you know what you're talking about--because you do.

   (5)    You have responsibility and power. You decide how readers will perceive the news, how they'll perceive the world.

   (6)    Catching a dumb mistake before readers see it is a rush. Helping someone make a story better is the best drug there is.(Or, as one person wrote, "It's a close as an English major can come to being a doctor, or God.")

   (7)    Newspapers never ask writers to edit, but they love it if editors write.

   (8)    You could be the world's best quiz show contestant because you're a dictionary of useless information.

   (9)    You can move anywhere and find a job.

   (10) You never have to wear decent clothes.

Balance and Fairness

Be alert for accusations, statements or characterizations that cast another person or a group of people in a bad light.

Beware of stories that use only one source. Even if it's a speech by someone, make sure you try to provide some background or context.

News Value

Ask yourself, What's the news here? Is it worth this much type? Worth the front page?

Diversity, Stereotypes

Be alert for phrases or descriptions that seem rooted in stereotype: e.g., a feisty senior.

Taste

It's a weird, wacky, sometimes ugly world out there. We shouldn't sugarcoat it. But we do need to keep our readers in mind. If it makes you go "Ewwwwww!" maybe it doesn't belong in the story.

Overwrought Prose

Not every story needs a dramatic, narrative lead. Like the courts' definition of pornography: You'll know it when you see  it.

Buried Lead

Be aware of how long it takes to get to the nut graph. Anything further than five or six paragraphs down needs to be discussed.

Skepticism

Be aware of poll stories or medical breakthroughs or wonder drugs. Watch the language. Flowery adjectives and adulation, or biting criticism, is a big tip-off.

Clarity

It goes without saying: Check the math. Follow the logic. Make sure the example is correct.

Dissonance

Make sure the story's tone matches the news.

Quotes

Make sure your paper has a policy about when you clean them up (if ever) and when you leave them alone.

Sensitivity

Sometimes details can illuminate. Other times, they can risk offending readers. Sexual assaults, gruesome accidents, descriptions of living conditions-all have potential for going just over the line (and maybe sometimes way beyond).

Keeping the Public's Trust

John Carroll had 'em rolling in the aisles... well, ethics demands I admit I'm speaking metaphorically... during the session on ethics and standards he presented at the American Copy Editors Society's national conference.

Carroll took more than a dozen questions from participants and touched on the usual ethical suspects of anonymous sources, credibility, balanced coverage, gifts and oh-sooooo-much more during his 90-minute session in Houston. He also spoke about the Jayson Blair fiasco at the New York Times and defended his own paper's coverage of the groping allegations against then-gubernatorial candidate Arnold Schwarzenegger.

What it all boiled down to, Carroll said, was that such incidents as the Blair scandal are betrayals to the readers the newspaper serves.

"It was an unthinkable breach," he said.

But he also tempered his criticism by finding a silver lining in the media's collective despair, pointing out that despite the glaring failure of editors the newsroom found strength in its recovery and a re-dedication to not let it happen again.

"There will be ethical breaches, but we also have staffs who see those ethical breaches like a dagger to the heart," he told nearly 100 editors during his late-morning session. "That tells you how strong those newspapers are. That feeling doesn't always exist at some news organizations."

Ethics and Standards

Of course, he said, he was referring to Fox News, which was the first quip that drew laughter and a smattering of applause from the audience.

"There is in America a whole galaxy of organizations that have the trappings of news, but are not news organizations because their ethical core is a whole different genre," Carroll said.

"They are into marketing. They are into politics, and a truly pernicious subset of politics that we know as attack politics. They use data when they have it. When they don't, they use falsehoods," he said.

An example of that genre, Carroll said, were the radio talk shows, attack Web sites and other "pseudo media" that picked up the "fabrications" written by a self-employed columnist regarding the series of stories the L.A. Times ran about Schwarzenegger. The Times' editors knew the stories would be controversial, they knew they would be criticized, and they knew there would be anger and angst. But Carroll said they didn't know they would face attacks that questioned the paper's integrity.

Carroll said that if he were responding to such criticism again, he wouldn't let 24 hours go by until the next news cycle; he would respond immediately by e-mail and copy it to every news Web site.

"If someone says something false that attacks your integrity, you should attack that like a lion. You have to kill these things before the attacker becomes a national celebrity," Carroll said.

The so-called dead tree media does not have to suffer in silence, in other words.

Among the other topics he covered:

--Anonymous sources: In Washington, D.C., and Hollywood, using anonymous sources are the coin of the realm, and each news organization has to decide how to handle the situation. But the L.A. Times is trying to tighten up its use.

--Balance coverage with community standards: Newspapers run controversial stories and pictures all the time. The trick is to remember that complaints are a sign of vitality.

"A newspaper without complaints is a newspaper near death," Carroll said.

--Gifts: The Times doesn't accept gifts from people its reporters cover. At the same time, Carroll said he doesn't see a need to issue a blanket statement outlawing every type of gift.

"I believe in treating our journalists as if they are adults who understand these things," he said.

--Credibility: In a wide-ranging set of issues on the topic, the Times strives to maintain its integrity. Sounds like a no-brainer, right? But what about the political reporter whose spouse or partner puts political signs on their front lawn? Well, it's a no-no.

"You can't do both," Carroll said. "At the Times we want to take a reportorial stance rather than advocacy."

--Role of the copy editor: Simply put, the copy editor must establish the same relationship with a reporter as he or she does with the reader. The copy editor should be an advocate for the reader, to insist that the reporter tell the story simply and cleanly. And sometimes that may mean be assertive--but diplomatic.

That means, of course, that the copy editor who is used to putting time in front of a computer screen rather than caring about the overall package in the paper, who cares more about the speed of copy flow than the readers, has to rethink the job.

"I urge all of you to be good advocates in your newsrooms," Caroll said. "Get back to being part of the whole process rather than sit at your tubes."

11

Editing

Introduction

The last decade has seen significant shifts in the roles of editors in the newsroom. Pagination has moved page composition from the backshop into the newsroom, placing additional responsibilities on copy and design editors. Newsrooms have become more collaborative, with emphasis on cooperation between various departments, and between editors and assigning editors. The biggest change is the growth of the Internet as a medium for news delivery. Most newspapers have accompanying Web sites, where breaking news can be posted for audiences long before the next print edition goes to press. In a sense, it's a return to the days when newspapers published multiple editions throughout the day--only now, it's done online.

One of the most important and exacting jobs on any publication is that of written copy being given the final professional touch of accuracy. This job of catching and correcting inaccuracies before they can be printed and distributed is called editing.

Readers may have a high regard for a newspaper that is carefully edited, but they quickly lose respect for one that is sloppy and full of errors.

Editing is the business of polishing. Awkward structure is fixed. Facts are checked. Missing information is questioned. Spelling and grammar are repaired. The editor of a newspaper represents the last line of defense against incorrect copy reaching the reader. It is the editor’s job to make sure copy is not printed unless it meets certain standards. The editor is the guardian of both style and accuracy. Always on the alert for questionable facts, ambiguous statements and violations of office policy, the editor must catch errors in grammar, spelling, syntax, punctuation, capitalization, and so forth; cutout words or sentences that are not needed; and add copy when necessary for clarity, emphasis or continuity.

Another responsibility of the editor is to restore objectivity to a story in places where a writer may have editorialized, quoted out of context or inserted an opinion without attribution to a source or pertinent authority. Also, the editor is constantly alert for statements of a libelous or slanderous nature. The editor of a civilian newspaper has an additional function of assigning headlines for the edited stories. They could hardly be expected to know the styles, formats and individual editorial needs of all the newspapers that receive news releases from a public affairs office.

It is, however, sometimes appropriate to put a brief heading on a story to identify its subject readily. Like any typical, beginning newswriter, the neophyte journalist is dismayed to see his “literary masterpiece” chopped up, pasted back together again and scored with the editor’s pencil. Nevertheless, two minds are usually better than one. Most experienced writers will admit that the final result, despite its mangled appearance, is a better piece of writing.


EDITING PROCEDURES

Copy editing follows a set system of procedures. To be absolutely accurate, you should read each story in the following manner:

Read the story quickly to grasp its meaning and note its arrangement.
Read the story more slowly and more thoroughly to correct every mistake and to add or delete material as necessary.

Read the story again to check the editor’s own corrections.
The final check is also intended to make sure that no new errors occurred in copy editing and that the story reads smoothly. If the story contains too many mistakes and it appears obvious that editing will not improve it, the story goes back to the originating journalist for rewriting, or in the case of copy received from outside sources, to a rewriter.



Preparing the Rough

The original copy of a story is known as a rough. Normally, it is typed double-spaced on only one side of the paper. In general, a typist follows the same format in typing a rough as in preparing a finished news release. It does not have to be as neat, however, and may include Penciled-in corrections, additions or deletions, as necessary. The rough obviously does not need the letterhead information usually carried on a release ready for dissemination. It is a recommended practice in large offices for the author’s last name to appear on the rough. This, of course, enables the editor to identify the writer.



Using Symbols

The following marks are standard proofreading and editing marks. A professional proofreader puts a mark (usually a line or a caret) in the line and writes the correction in the margin. An editor makes corrections within the line rather than in the margin (in part because an editor’s changes are typically more extensive), which is why editors prefer to work with double-spaced copy.

Some of the more frequently-used are the following.

            SYN: faulty syntax

            GR: faulty grammar

            AWK: awkward wording or awkward expression of idea.

            SP: faulty spelling

            PRON: missing or faulty pronoun.

            AGR: faulty agreement (grammar.)

            T: incorrect tense (grammar.)

            M: incorrect mood (grammar.)

            //: lack of correct parallelism

            ¶ : faulty paragraph structure

            CAP: capitalise

            MM: mixed metaphor

            NO CAP: don't capitalise

            WDY: excessive, roundabout or unhelpful wording that obscures the argument.

            ARG: argument required.

            DEV: faulty development of the argument

            D: faulty diction (e.g. use of jargon or informal idiom.)

            PASS: passive (usually adjectival rather than adverbial) form

            WC: faulty word choice

            WW: wrong word

            RELEV: irrelevant remark.

            PETITIO: a petitio principii ('begging the question')—assuming as a conclusion that which needs to be established as a premis. Often in essay argument, a statement delivered as a proof which itself is as yet unproven.

            UNCL: unclear expression of an idea

            REP: repetitive wording or repetition of a previously-presented idea.

            REL: faulty relation of idea or no clear relation to surrounding idea.

            TRUISM: statement of the obvious: unnecessary.

            P: faulty punctuation.

            ITAL: italicise this text.

            DEL: unnecessary text requiring deletion

            PLEON: pleonasm

            REPORT: book report--i.e. absence of argument.

            CIT: missing citation

            DANGL: dangling modifier.

            STR: faulty or absent argument structure.

            R-O: run-on sentence.

            FRAG: sentence fragment

            THESIS: misplaced thesis-level sentence

            X: false statement.

            SS: faulty sentence structure





To prepare copy for reproduction in its final form, the editor uses a special set of shorthand symbols to indicate any required changes.

For example, if the writer forgets to capitalize a letter such as the “M” and “P’’ in mr. jonathan, the editor, using a soft lead pencil (the tool of the trade), would inscribe three horizontal lines under each letter that needs to be capitalized. The copy will then appear as follows:

mr. jonathan

When the copy is corrected, the editor’s shorthand indicates that the final work should read as follows:

Mr. Jonathan

Most of the editing symbols described in figure above are standard to the commercial media. There will be only minor variations from one newspaper to another. You should learn these symbols and use there to make changes in your own copy and copy others submit to you.



Applying Basic Rules

What follows are the basic rules you should remember when editing stories:

            Use a soft, black lead pencil.

            Make corrections above or within the lines where mistakes occur.

            Place the necessary editing symbols at their correct points of insertion.

            Write legibly. Your longhand corrections will not do any good if they cannot be understood.

            Use scissors and either paste or a stapler to move a paragraph from one position to another in a story.

            If you want to add a new paragraph to the story, do not write it out in longhand in the margin or on the back of the original story.

            Type it out, then insert it where it belongs, using scissors and paste or transparent tape. After you copy edit a story, you should have a finished product.

            Any obvious mistakes that slip by will be attributed to the editor, not the writer.



EDITING ELEMENTS AND USAGE

The editing guidelines covered in this section are as follows:

            Style

            Editorializing

            Contradictions

            Incompleteness

            Names

            Numbers

            Spelling

            Punctuation

            Capitalization

            Abbreviations

            Religious

            terms

Style

Everyone in your office should be acquainted with the locally accepted stylebook, but it is up to the editor to catch any violations of good style. It is annoying for an editor to pick up a story and find, for example, the word “avenue” spelled out one time, abbreviated as “ave.” a second time and written as “av.” a third time. An office that is careless or inconsistent about little things may eventually become careless or inconsistent about big things. Once a news medium loses respect for you, you might as well close shop. No newspaper will take the chance of publishing sloppy or carelessly prepared material.

Spelling, punctuation, capitalization, abbreviation and other mechanical aspects of grammar are details of writing that have a tremendously important impact on the clarity, readability and effectiveness of your copy. Once your office gets away from using a set stylebook, your news copy will slowly become a hodgepodge of inconsistencies.



Editorializing

Editorializing happens when a writer consciously or unconsciously expresses doubt, censure or praise in a news story. The only persons permitted to express an opinion in a straight news story are the persons in the story itself. Even then, the opinion quoted must be attributed to the person who gave it.

News stories should be written in the third person. The writer’s personal opinions should never be injected into a news story. Facts should be reported as they are found, without personal pronouns referring to the writer.

Editorials are articles in newspapers or magazines in which the views of their editors or those in control of the periodicals are intentionally presented. However, such articles are clearly identified and purposely set apart from the publications’ news and features.

The electronic media also offer editorial opinions, but they, too, take care to keep them separate from their regular newscasts. Editorials require a very specialized style of writing — the fundamentals of which will not be covered in this training manual. The focus of this section is the inclusion of personal opinions in your newswriting through carelessness or by design.

Consider the following examples of editorializing in straight news copy, then note the following suggestions offered to eliminate the implied opinions:

            Poor: Lt. Post is exceptionally well qualified for the position.

            Improved: Lt. Post, with a degree in law, has eight years of experience as a Navy legal officer.

            Poor: An interesting program is planned for tonight at the Officers’ Club.

            Improved: Here is tonight’s program at the Officers’ Club.



Contradictions

Sometimes, a writer makes contradictory remarks in a story without realizing it. When contradictions occur, the editor should delete them or rearrange the facts more logically.

Incompleteness

As an editor, you should have “news sense” — a quality that tells you which facts to collect and use and which facts to ignore. But if you do not have this ability or if you lose it momentarily, the editor must stop stories that are incomplete or inadequate and return them to you for amplification. This will save you the trouble of answering phone calls from news media representatives who want more detailed information.

Names

“Names make news,” but they also make headaches for the editor. Is the man’s name Haufman, Hoffman or Haufmann? Did the writer accidentally leave the “h” off the name Smit, or is that how the name is actually spelled? How about the name Frances Jones in a news story? The writer implies it is a he, but males usually do not spell their names that way.

The names Pat, Carol, Marion, Jean, Gale, Merle and Terry can be either male or female. Therefore, the use of such a name without the knowledge of the person’s gender could lead to some embarrassing situations. And what do you do when you run across a name like Stanley Wozniawirsbinski? You may not be able to pronounce it, but you had better make sure that it is spelled correctly. To eliminate confusion for the typist or word processor when a name like Ppandrwske or Wozniawirsbinski is correct as written, simply draw a box around the odd but properly spelled name.



Numbers

Numbers do not lie,” but a good editor frequently proves them wrong. Always be wary of numbers involving money, ages, dates, addresses, distance, performance records, statistical data and other compilations. If a number looks questionable, always refer it to the writer for verification.

The beginning of a story may say that seven men were killed or injured in a plane crash, yet the casualty list may contain the names of only six. Readers will want to know what happened to the seventh name. A story may announce the opening of a new commissary on Monday, January 18. A check with your calendar, however, indicates that Monday, January 18 is Martin Luther King Jr. Day, and commissaries are not normally open on federal holidays.

Watch for the logic in statistical data. Double-check league standings to be sure the numbers of wins and losses balance. Do not use postal box numbers for addresses. People receive their mail in boxes. However, they do not live in them.

In general, spell out all numbers from one to nine, and use numerals for 10 and above. Numerals are used exclusively in tabular and statistical matters, records, election returns, times, speeds, latitude and longitude, temperatures, highways, distances, dimensions, heights, ages, ratios, proportions, military units and dates. Fourth of July and July Fourth are exceptions as are Fifth Avenue, Big Ten and Dartmouth Eleven. Times are 6:30 p.m. Monday or 6:30 Monday evening. (Never use 6:30 p.m. Monday evening. Evening and p.m. are synonymous.) In a series of numbers, apply the appropriate guidelines: There are three 10-room houses and 40 four-room houses in the development. He has six suits, 14 pairs of shoes but only one tie.

Casual numbers such as in the following examples are spelled out: A thousand times, no! Gay Nineties. Wouldn’t touch it with a ten-foot-pole. However, numerals are used when using an exact measure as in the following example: The flag hung from a 10-foot pole.

Spell out fractions when used alone as in this example: Three-quarters of a mile. For amounts more than one, use numerals as follows: Her shoe size is 6 1/2. Convert to decimals whenever practical.

Spelling

If you think you know how to spell well enough to get along without a dictionary, try spelling the following 10 words (chances are, you will misspell a few of them):

            innoculate or inoculate

            embarrass or embarass

            supercede or supersede

            larnyx or larynx

            interfered or interfered

            indispensable or indispensable

            laision or liaison

            diphtheria or diptheria

            harass or harrass

            accommodate or accommodate

If you selected inoculate, embarrass, supersede, larynx, interfered, indispensable, liaison, diphtheria, harass and accommodate as the correct spelling, throw away your dictionary. But, if you misspelled one or more words, start using your dictionary regularly. These are only 10 examples of troublesome words in the English language. Of course, there are thousands more. Undoubtedly, you have your favorites when it comes to misspelling words. So, compile your own list of frequently misspelled words and start eliminating them from your list.

In mastering words, there are certain basic rules for spelling that will help you. Unfortunately, for every spelling rule there are numerous exceptions. Some spelling rules have so many exceptions that they can just barely be classified as rules. The point to remember is that your dictionary is the final authority.

The most useful of the spelling rules and some examples and exceptions are listed as follows:

            When a one-syllable word or a longer word that keeps the accent on the last syllable ends in a single consonant preceded by a single vowel, double the final consonant before adding a suffix beginning with a vowel.

Examples:

            Clan, clannish

            Plan, planned, planning

            Control, controlled

            Refer, referring — but, reference (because the accent has shifted away from the last syllable of the basic word)

            Occur, occurred, occurrence

            Words ending in a silent e generally retain this e before a suffix beginning with a consonant. When the suffix begins with a vowel, the silent e is usually dropped. Examples:

a. Excite, excitement; late, lately

b. Tide, tidal; shape, shaping

            When the final sound of the word is a soft c, g or ng, the final e is retained before some suffixes beginning with vowels.

Examples:

a. Peace, peaceable

b. Advantage, advantageous; courage, courageous

c. Change, changeable, but changing

            Words ending in y preceded by a consonant usually change the y to i before a suffix. Words ending in y preceded by a vowel do not change the y before a suffix.

Examples:

            Icy, iciest;

            Mercy, merciless;

            Modify, modifies, modifiable;

            Pity, pitiable, pitiful;

            Obey, obeying;

            Joy, joyful, joyous

            When the sound is c, remember the rhyme, “i before e except after c ...”

Examples:

a. Believe, belief, relieve, relief

b. Receive, conceive, perceive, conceit

Exceptions:

Weird, seize, neither, leisure, financier, inveigle.

            The previous rhyme ends “ . . . or when sounded as a as in neighbor or weigh.”

            Verbs ending in ie generally change ie to y before ing.

Examples:

Die, dying; lie, lying

Learning to spell is more a matter of establishing a correct image of each word than of applying rules. Usually the image is a visual one. Knowing the correct pronunciation often helps, but in the English language we have many words for which pronunciation is no guide to spelling (e.g., duty, beauty, grew, blue), so we must rely on the way the word looks. While you are looking up an unfamiliar word, make an effort to fix its spelling in your mind along with the meaning and pronunciation.



Punctuation

Punctuation in writing serves the same purpose as voice inflection in speaking. Roper phrasing avoids ambiguity, ensures clarity and lessens the need for punctuation.

Period

The period (.) serves the following functions as shown in each example:

            To mark the end of a sentence

            Example: Close the door.

            To accentuate most abbreviations

            Example: U.S., c.o.d.

            To separate integral and decimal numerals

            Example: 3.75 percent, $5.50, 9.85 meters

Ellipsis

The ellipsis (…), three periods and two spaces, is used for the following functions as shown in each example:

            To indicate omitted material.

            Example: “I pledge allegiance to the flag … and to the Republic. …”



Comma

The comma (,) serves the following functions as shown in each example:

            To separate various elements within a sentence and to indicate a slight pause

            Example: When lightning struck, David fainted.

            To separate clauses

            Example: They fought the battle, but no one won.

            To separate a series

            Example: Neither snow, rain nor heat could ruin the building.

            To set off attributions

            Example: “The work,” he said, “was exacting and satisfying.”

            To set off apposition or contrast

            Example: Wilson, the favourite, won handily.



As used in the following examples, the comma is omitted before Roman numerals, Jr., Sr., the ampersand (&), the dash, in street addresses and Social Security numbers.

            Example: Louis XIV, Joe James Jr., Smith &Co., 54321 Pine St., 123-45-6789.

Newspaper usage has, inmost cases, eliminated the comma before “and” and “or” in a series, but a comma is still required before “and,” “or” and other conjunctions in compound sentences. Note the following example:

            Example: Fish abounded in the lake, and the shore was lined with deer.



Semicolon

As used in the examples that follow, the semicolon (;) separates phrases containing commas to avoid confusion, separates statements of contrast and statements closely related.

            Examples: The party consisted of E. E. Wright; R. J. Kelly, his secretary; Mrs. Jordan; Martha Bowen, her nurse; and three accountants. (Without the semicolons, that could read as nine persons.) The draperies, which were ornate, displeased me; the walls, light blue, were pleasing. Yes; that is right.



Colon

As used in the following examples, the colon (:) precedes the final clause and summarizes previous material; introduces listings, statements and texts; marks discontinuity; and takes the place of an implied “for instance.”

            Examples: States and funds allotted were as follows: Alabama $6,000, Arizona $14,000. The question came up: What does he want to do?

The colon also is used in the following reamers and examples:

                   In clock time

            Examples: 9:20 p.m., 10:30 a.m.



Question Mark



The question mark (?) follows a direct question. Occasionally, it is used to indicate uncertainty, as with some dates or identifications. In the latter use, it is enclosed in parentheses. Note the following examples:

            Examples: What happened to Dean? Columbus, an Italian (?) sailing for the Spanish crown, discovered America...



Exclamation Point



The exclamation point (!) is used to indicate surprise, appeal, incredulity or other strong emotion as in the following examples:

            Examples: You are wonderful! What! He yelled, “Help!”

Apostrophe

The apostrophe (’) indicates the possessive case of nouns, omission of figures and contractions. Usually, the possessive of a singular noun not ending in “s” is formed by adding the apostrophe and the “s” as in the example that follows:

            Example: The boy’s ball, but the boys’ bats.

The apostrophe is used in the following instances and examples:

            After plural possessives

            Examples: the girls’ coats; the marines’ rifles.

            In contractions

            Examples: I’ve, isn’t, don’t.

            In omission of figures

            Examples: ’90s, Class of ’22.

The “s” is omitted and only the apostrophe used in “for conscience’ sake” or in a sibilant double or triple “s” as Moses’ tablet. As in the following examples, the apostrophe is not used to form plurals unless it is in the context of the exception shown:

            Examples: MiGs, P-3s, B-52s, ABCs.

            Exception: When a single letter is made plural, as in “mind one’s p’s and q’s,” the apostrophe is required.



Quotation Marks

Quotation marks (“ ”) enclose direct quotations, phrases in ironical uses, slang expressions, misnomers and full titles of books, plays, poems, songs, lectures, speeches, hymns, movies, television, and so forth.

As in the next example, use quotation marks around nicknames when a person’s full name is used.

            Example: Paul “Bear” Bryant.

Note the following examples in which the comma and period are placed inside the quotation marks.

Other punctuation is placed inside quotation marks only when it is part of the matter quoted.

            Examples: Why call it a “gentlemen’s agreement”? He asked, “Is the interview completed?”



Parentheses

Parentheses ( ) serve the following functions as shown in each example:

            To set off material not intended to be part of the main statement or that is not a grammatical element of the sentence, yet important enough to be included

            Examples: It is not customary (at least in the areas mentioned) to stand at attention. “That proposal,” he said, “and one by (Prime Minister John) Major are being studied.”

            To facilitate further identification that is not part of the official name

            Example: The Springfield (Virginia) Historical Society.

            To set off letters or figures in a series

            Examples: The order of importance will be (a) general acceptance, (b) costs and (c) opposition. The water is (1) tepid, (2) muddy from silt and (3) unpalatable



Dash

As shown in each example, the dash (—) is used in the following cases:

            To indicate a sudden change and interjection

            Examples: The commander—do you know who I mean? — approved it. If that man gains control— God forbid — our troubles will have just started.

            After dateline and before the first word of a story

            Example: NEW YORK — five people were injured. ...

Note that a dash consists of two strokes of the hyphen (or minus sign) key on your computer keyboard.



Hyphen

The hyphen (-) is used to separate compound words, figures, abbreviations and figures, double vowels in some cases and to divide a word at the end of a line.

The general rule for hyphens is that “like” characters take the hyphen; “unlike” characters do not.

Note the following examples

            Examples: Secretary-Treasurer (compound word); 20-20 vision (figures); bell-like (use a hyphen to avoid tripling a consonant).

Other uses of the hyphen and examples are as follows:

            Adjectival use of hyphens must be clear.

            Examples: The 6-foot man eating shark was killed (the man was). The 6-foot man-eating shark was killed (the shark was).

            Ordinarily, in prefixes ending in vowels and followed by the same vowel, the hyphen is used.

            Example: pre-eminent. (Check dictionary for exceptions ‘such as cooperate, coordinate, etc.)

            The hyphen also serves to distinguish between meanings of similarly spelled words.

            Example: recover (from illness), re-cover (couch).

            The hyphen separates a prefix from a proper noun.

            Examples: un-American, pre-Christian era

Do not use a hyphen between “vice” and “president” or other such titles, or with adverbs ending in “ly.” Note the following examples:

            Examples: badly damaged car, frilly informed public, newly elected official.



Capitalization

In newswriting, capitalization is correct in the following cases, examples and exceptions:

            The first word of a sentence

            Example: Good grammar is essential.

            Titles and ranks (rates) followed by a proper noun, but lowercase titles standing alone or following a name

            Example: Secretary of State C. R. Dryden, but C. R. Dryden, secretary of state.

            Exception: The President of the United States is always capitalized.

            Pope and the titles of foreign religious leaders, when used as a formal title before a name, but lowercase when titles stand alone or follow names.

            Exception: Dalai Lama is capitalized in all usages, since that title is used instead of the name of the person holding that office.

            Months and days, but not seasons

            Example: Last summer our vacation began on the first Thursday in August.

            All holidays, historic dates, religious holidays, special events, military exercises, hurricanes and typhoons

            Examples: Christmas, Father’s Day, Washing- ton’s Birthday, National Safety Week, Operation Desert Storm, Typhoon Gay, Hurricane Andrew.

            All proper nouns or names

            Examples: Marty Martin, Bangkok, Hudson River.

            All names of countries and their languages, unions, republics and colonies

            Examples: He learned to speak French in France. India is a former British colony. Other examples are Union of South Africa and Republic of Korea.

            Specific regions

            Examples: Middle East, Midwest, Southern California, Panhandle, Arctic Circle, but lowercase antarctic or arctic in reference (arctic wind).

            Appellations

            Examples: Buckeye State, Leatherneck Project Apollo.

            All decorations and awards

            Examples: He was awarded the Medal of Honor. His father received the Nobel Peace Prize. She was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal for professional achievement.

            All nouns referring to the deity of all monotheistic religions

            Examples: God the Father, Holy Ghost. Also capitalize Satan and Hades, but not devil or hell. Lowercase gods and goddesses in reference to the deities of polytheistic religions.

            Names of races

            Examples: Indian, Chinese, Caucasian. Lower- case yellow, white, black (Identification by race should be made only when it is pertinent.)

            The first letter of each word, except articles, conjunctions and short prepositions that are not the first word, in titles of books, plays, hymns, poems and songs

            Examples: “All the Ships at Sea,” “Damn Yankies,” “O’ Come All Ye Faithful.”

            U.S. government and state government agencies, branches, committees and departments when the full name is used

            Examples: Federal Communications Commission Interstate Commerce Commission. In addition, always capitalize U.S. Congress and U.S. or state Senate, House, and Legislature when referring to a specific body.

            Examples: the Florida Senate, the Texas Legislature and the Senate, when clear reference is made; the word government, when used alone or with an adjective, is lowercase.

            Example: She works for the government.

            Ideological or political areas

            Example: East-West relations are at a stalemate.

            Use lowercase when referring to direction.

            Example: Some say the western part of Florida has nicer beaches than the eastern part.

            Names of organizations, expositions, and so forth

            Example: The Boy Scouts will visit the World’s Fair. Lowercase “scout” and “fair” when they are standing alone.



Abbreviations

To abbreviate is to make a word or phrase shorter by leaving out or substituting letters. Some military and civilian terms are so long that abbreviation is almost a must. However, always spell out the name of organizations or groups on its first use. If a name does not have a commonly known abbreviation, the abbreviation should be parenthesized after the first spelling. Thereafter, you may use just the abbreviation as in this example: The guidelines of the Civilian Health and Medical Program of the Uniformed Services (CHAMPUS) have changed. ...

The abbreviations that follow and those used throughout this TRAMAN are basically those standardized for civilian and military newswriting by The Associated Press and United Press International.



In newswriting, abbreviate the following and note the examples of each:

            Time zones, aircraft and ship designations, distress calls, military terms, and so forth

            Examples: EDT, MiG-17, SOS (but May Day), USS John F. Kennedy, SS Virginia.

            Business firms

            Examples: Warner Bros., Brown Implement Co., Amalgamated Leather, Ltd.

            If “and” is in the firm name, use the ampersand (&).

            Examples: Sims & Sons, AT&T.

            Street, avenue, boulevard and terrace in addresses when using a numerical prefix, but not point, port, circle, plaza, place, drive, oval, road or lane

            Examples: 30 E. 28th St. (single “E” with period), 16 Quentin Ave. NW (no periods in “NW”), 27 Sunset Blvd., but Main Street, Fifth Avenue, and so forth

            Versus to read vs. (with period)

            Example: The case of Johns vs. New York.

            Most states when used with cities, towns, bases, Indian agencies and national parks

            Examples

Ala.

Ariz.

Ark.

Calif.

Colo.

Conn.

Del.

Fla.

Ga.

Ill.

Ind.

Kan.

Ky.

La.

Mass.

Md.

Mich.

Minn.

Miss.

Mo.

Mont.

N.C.

N.D.

N.H.

N.J.

N.M.

N.Y.

Neb.

Nev.

Okala.

Ore.

Pa.

R.I.

S.A.

S.C.

S.D.

Tenn.

Va.

Vt.

W.Va.

Wash.

Wis.

Wyo.

Do not abbreviate Alaska, Hawaii, Idaho, Iowa, Maine, Ohio, Texas or Utah. Never abbreviate the name of states when they are used alone.



            Names of provinces and territories are set off from community names by commas, just as the names of U.S. states are set off from city names

            Example: They went to Halifax, Nova Scotia, on their vacation.

            United Nations and United States when used as adjectives, but spell them out when used as nouns. In texts or direct quotations, U.S.A., U.S. and U.N. maybe used as nouns

            Examples: He is a former U.S. Olympic champion. She is a member of the U.N. Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). While visiting the United States, she toured the United Nations Building in New York. “When last I was in the U.S.A., the U.N. was in its infancy.”

            All religious, fraternal, scholastic or honorary degrees, and so forth, but lowercase when spelled out

            Examples: J. J. Jones earned his bachelor of science degree at Princeton. J. J. Jones, Ph.D., will be guest speaker at 2 p.m. tomorrow.

            Titles (and capitalize) Mr., Mrs., Mile., Dr., Prof., Sen., Rep., Dist. Atty., Gov., Lt. Gov., Gen., Supt., and so forth, when they appear before names but not after

            Examples: He introduced Lt. Gov. J. F. Petty. J. F. Petty, the lieutenant governor, will arrive at 10:15 a.m.

            In first and subsequent references and in group names, use “Miss” before the name of an unmarried woman and “Mrs.” before the name of a married woman, or “Ms.” if preferred by the individual.

            Example: Those attending were, Miss Alice Jones, Mrs. Helen Jones and Ms. Gladys Jones.

            Months when used with dates, but spell out otherwise

            Example: The battle started Oct. 10, 1967, and ended in January 1968. Abbreviations for months are Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec. Do not abbreviate March, April, May, June or July except when used in tabular or financial routine; then use Mar., Apr., Jun. and Jul. and spell out May

            Mount when referring to a mountain but spell out when referring to a city

            Examples: Mt. Everest, Mount Vernon, N.Y.



            Fort when it is an Army post, but spell out when it is a city

            Examples: Ft. Sill, Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

            In the following cases, do not abbreviate and note the accompanying examples and exception:

            Days of the week except in tabular or financial matters. In these cases use Mon., Tues., Wed., Thurs., Fri., Sat., Sun.

            First names unless the person does

            Examples: William, not Wm.; Frederick, not Fred; Benjamin, not Benj.

            Measurements — The one exception to this rule is the word millimeter, which maybe abbreviated as mm (no space) when used with a numeral in first or subsequent references to film or weapons. Miles an hour and miles per hour are abbreviated in subsequent reference only and must have a numerical prefix

            Examples: He used a 35mm camera. She was driving 60 miles an (per) hour but slowed down to 30 mph in the housing area.

            Port, association, point, detective, department, deputy, commandant, commodore, field marshal, secretary-general, secretary or treasurer

            Christmas or use Xmas

            Cities

            Exception: Saint is abbreviated to St., when it is part of a city name. Example: St. Augustine, Fla.

These well-known cities are used without a state suffix:

Atlanta

Baltimore

Boston

Chicago

Cincinnati

Cleveland

Dallas

Denver

Detroit

Honolulu

Houston

Indianapolis

Las Vegas

Los Angeles

Miami

Milwaukee

Minneapolis

New Orleans

New York

Oklahoma City

Philadelphia

Phoenix

Pittsburgh

Salt Lake City

San Antonio

San Diego

San Francisco

Seattle Washington

St. Louis















Religious Terms



There is only one way to refer to confessions of faith, their members and officials — the correct way. While general usage and correct titles of some of the faiths are listed below, many are not. When in doubt, consult your chaplain’s office. Members of communions of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America (official title, which may be shortened to National Council of Churches) are as follows:

            African Methodist Episcopal Church African

            Methodist Episcopal Zion Church

            American Baptist Convention

            American Lutheran Church

            Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America

            Armenian Church of America

            Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)

            Christian Church of North America, General Council

            Christian Methodist Episcopal Church

            Friends United Meeting (Five Years Meeting)

            Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of North and South America

            Hungarian Reformed Church in America

            Moravian Church

            National Baptist Convention of America

            National Baptist Convention U.S.A. Inc.

            Orthodox Church in America

            Polish National Catholic Church of America

            Presbyterian Church in the U.S.

            Progressive National Baptist Convention Inc.

            Protestant Episcopal Church

            Romanian Orthodox Episcopate of America

            Seventh-Day Adventist

            Southern Baptist Convention

            Ukrainian Orthodox Church of the U.S.A.

            United Church of Christ

            Lutheran Church in America

            United Methodist Church

            United Presbyterian Church in the U.S.A.

Other communions include the following:

            Churches of Christ

            Church of Christ, Scientist

            Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints



COMMON SENTENCE STRUCTURE ERRORS



The sections on spelling, capitalization and punctuation have all contributed to the construction of good sentences. However, to be effective, sentences must be grammatically correct. In addition, they should be well-chosen and effectively combined with a goal of clarity, emphasis and interest. These goals are often thrown off target by any one of a variety of common errors in sentence structure.



Sentence Fragments



In terms of grammar, writers are frequently at fault for writing incomplete sentences. For a sentence to express a complete thought, it must contain two necessary parts — a subject and a predicate, or verb. It is possible, of course, for the subject to be understood, rather than stated, but you should be sure in such cases that it is clearly implied.

Some examples of incomplete sentences include the following:

            The sightseeing tour, which was arranged for the liberty party. (There is no main verb. The relative clause has a verb, “was arranged,” but what appears to have been intended as a statement with “sightseeing tour” as subject has not been completed.)

            A tall, thin man with owlish spectacles and a bald head. (The verb is omitted.)

            Floated toward the beaches. (Here the subject is omitted. What floated?)

            Just as the searchlight swept across the harbor. (This tells when something happened, but the main statement is still incomplete.)

            Bailey, the new striker, looking as if he would burst-with pride. (There are modifiers here for the subject, “Bailey,” but no main statement about that individual.)



Often an incomplete sentence results from the writer’s failure to recognize that a modifying phrase or clause is really part of the preceding sentence. For instance, a comma should be used instead of the first period in the following example:

            The cruiser was headed for the canal zone. Steaming eastward through the Caribbean.



The result in this case is one complete sentence instead of a sentence followed by a fragment.

You should not be misled by the fact that some writers deliberately construct incomplete sentences at times. As the late Emily Post once said about etiquette:

            ‘Well-bred persons sometimes break some of the rules; but to break them and getaway with it, you first have to know them.”

It is true that fractured sentences may occasionally produce the desired effect, but be sure you know why they are being used and that they are suitable to what is being written. Many regard a sentence that begins with “but,” or another connective, as incorrect, largely because the connective standing first seems to indicate a fragment. In this instance, the rule may be ignored occasionally, if by doing so you achieve a more effective statement.



Run-on Sentences



Another common error in sentence structure is the punctuation of two or more sentences as if they were one. This usually occurs with sentences that are closely related in thought. Note the following examples:

            Poor: The ship held its first swim call, the water was 4 miles deep.

            Improved: The ship held its first swim call. The water was 4 miles deep.

Often a run-on sentence is the result not only of faulty punctuation, but of the writer’s failure to think the construction through and recognize the relationships of the various ideas. Consider the following examples:

            Poor: Detailed decontamination is a lengthy process, it is usually carried on at a home base or rear area. Improved:

            Detailed decontamination is a lengthy process, usually carried on at a home base or rear area.

            Poor: An emergency tourniquet can be made from something like a neckerchief, it is wrapped once around the limb and tied in an overhand knot.

            Improved: To apply an emergency tourniquet made from something like a neckerchief, wrap the material once around the limb and tie an overhand knot.



Dangling Modifiers

A writer’s misplacement of a modifier can confuse the meaning of the sentence, often with ludicrous results. Modifiers should be positioned close to the words they modify; otherwise, they may seem to modify something else. Haste, carelessness or lack of understanding of grammar may cause a writer to use a construction without thinking exactly what a particular word is supposed to modify. This kind of error is fairly common in using participles with other adjectives or with adverbial modifiers, as in the following examples:

            Dangling Participle: Returning to the ship, the package was found on his bunk.

            Improved: Returning to the ship, he found the package on his bunk. (It was he who returned to the ship, not the package.)

            Dangling Participle: Entering the halon- flooded compartment, the gas overcame him.

            Improved: Entering the halon-flooded compartment, he was overcome by the gas.

            Dangling Participle: Running rapidly out from the windlass, he caught his foot in the anchor chain.

            Improved: He caught his foot in the anchor chain, as it ran rapidly out from the windlass.

            Misplaced Prepositional Phrase: At the age of two his father died.

            Improved: He was two years old when his father died.

            Misplaced Prepositional Phrase: Baker saw the driver of the car that had hit him in the theater.

            Improved: In the theater, Baker saw the driver of the car that had hit him.

            Misplaced Relative Clause: The chief mess management specialist discovered that old baking powder had been used in the biscuits, which caused all the trouble.

            Improved: The chief mess management specialist discovered that the trouble with the biscuits was the use of old baking powder.

A frequently misplaced word is “only.” By moving this one word around in a sentence, you can change the meaning entirely. Study the following example:

            Only he could read the strange dialect. (Nobody else could.)

            He could only read the strange dialect. (He could not write or speak it.)

            He could read only the strange dialect. (He could read nothing else.)

            He could read the only strange dialect. (Only one dialect was strange, and he could read it.)

Misplaced Correlative Conjunctions

Correlative conjunctions, (such as not only — but also and either — or) are often misplaced. Their correct position is just ahead of the words or groups of words they connect. Consider the following examples:

            Misplaced: The Navy letter form not only omits the salutation but also the complimentary close. (The words that should be connected are “salutation” and “complimentary close”:)

            Correct: The Navy letter form omits not only the salutation but also the complimentary close.

            Misplaced: Either secure lines to the arresting hook or the hoisting sling. (As this sentence stands, the words that should be connected are “arresting hook” and “hoisting sling.” The sentence will be better, however, if two complete prepositional phrases are used instead.)

            Correct: Secure lines either to the arresting hook or to the hoisting sling.

Other frequently used correlative conjunctions are “both — and,” “neither — nor” and “whether — or.”



Split Infinitives



Splitting an infinitive means placing one or more modifiers between the “to” and the verb form. You will hear people say that a split infinitive is no longer regarded as incorrect, but that is only a partial truth. Some writers consider that splitting an infinitive is desirable at times for the sake of emphasis; for example, “To deliberately disobey an order is a serious offense.” Even this sentence will grate on some ears, and generally, it is better for you to keep the adverb outside the infinitive construction. That is especially true when you have more than one adverb or a phrase.

            Awkward Split: The only way for a person to win against afire is to regularly and thoroughly practice the rules of fire prevention.

            Better: The only way to win against a fire is to practice rules of fire prevention regularly and thoroughly.



Errors in Agreement



You probably have no trouble, most of the time, with agreement of verb and subject. You are not tempted to write: “The propellers was damaged.” But how about, “The propeller and shaft was damaged”? Wrong, to be sure, but it is an easy mistake to make when you are thinking of the two parts of a compound subject as belonging together. It should, of course, read “The propeller and shaft were damaged.”

In a compound subject with “or” or “nor” as a connective, the verb should agree in number with the last noun in the subject.

            Incorrect: Neither the propellers nor the rudder are damaged.

            Correct: Neither the propellers nor the rudder is damaged.

You probably have no trouble, most of the time, with agreement of verb and subject. You are not tempted to write: “The propellers was damaged.” But how about, “The propeller and shaft was damaged”? Wrong, to be sure, but it is an easy mistake to make when you are thinking of the two parts of a compound subject as belonging together. It should, of course, read “The propeller and shaft were damaged.”

In a compound subject with “or” or “nor” as a connective, the verb should agree in number with the last noun in the subject.

            Incorrect: Neither the propellers nor the rudder are damaged.

            Correct: Neither the propellers nor the rudder is damaged.

When a parenthetical expression beginning with words such as “together with,” “with” or “including” comes between the subject and the verb, there is a temptation to make the verb plural as if the subject were compound. Consider the following example:

            Incorrect: One mast, together with a spar running athwartship, are used for flags.

            Correct: One mast, together with a spar running athwartship, is used for flags.

Disagreement between subject and verb sometimes occurs because, in a complicated sentence, a nearby noun is mistaken for the subject. This is the case in the following example, in which the plural nouns “officers” and “commands” seem to have confused the writer. The subject of the sentence, however, is “duty.”

            Incorrect: The primary duty of such staff dental officers serving in these commands are very similar to those of a district dental officer.

            Correct: The primary duty of such staff dental officers serving in these commands is very similar to that of a district dental officer.

            Correct: The primary duties of such staff dental officers serving in these commands are very similar to those of a district dental officer.



Gerunds

A gerund is a verb (verb form) used like a noun.

            For example: Running is good exercise.

A gerund retains some of its verb qualities, however, such as taking a subject or object, or being modified by adverbs. Only one of these verb qualities — taking a subject — differs from what would be used with the same verb if complete. The subject of a gerund is in the possessive case instead of the nominative.

            For example: Had you heard about his passing the test?

“Passing” is a gerund with “his” as the subject and “test” as the object. The complete phrase is used here as the object of the preposition “about.”



Error in Noun Clauses

The pronoun that introduces a noun clause is sometimes given the wrong case because of the writer’s failure to recognize the structure of the sentence. The case of any pronoun is determined by its use in the clause of which it is apart. Note the following examples:

            Incorrect: The award will go to whomever submits the best entry.

            Correct: The award will go to whoever submits the best entry.

“Whoever submits the best entry” is a noun clause. The whole clause is used as the object of the preposition “to.” “Whoever” is the subject of the clause and therefore nominative.

Editing a news story is perhaps one of the most important jobs within a publication. Without proper editing skills, articles could potentially hit the page with disastrous spelling and grammatical errors.

First, read the entire story over at least once. Get a basic idea for what the message of the story is before deciding if any changes need to be made to the overall structure. Once everything is properly organized and in the correct format, begin to look it over again for any sort of grammatical or spelling errors. Punctuation and AP style should be taken into consideration as well. Read the story over again at least twice once the appropriate corrections are made. Make sure the copy reads smoothly and there are no further errors anywhere within the story. Create a headline for the story if one has not already been provided.

12

Ethics and The Responsible Journalist

Introduction

Media Ethics or journalism ethics is a branch of philosophy concerned with actions that are morally permissible and those that are not. Media ethics assist media workers in determining what is right, and how to choose the best from several alternatives. Media ethics constitutes a normative science of conduct and must therefore be applied voluntarily.

 Ethics should set guidelines, rules, norms, codes and principles that will lead journalists and all other media workers to make moral decisions. They should not be forced to do so because ethics is applied voluntarily. There are teleological ethics and deontological ethics. Teleological ethics is the acceptability of an action is measured in terms of its consequences - only after consequences have been noted is the rightness or wrongness determined. While deontological ethics is when the rightness or wrongness of an action is dependent on the action itself and not on the results or consequences it produces.

The media ethics are so broad but this site will mainly focus on normative media ethics. Normative ethics is concerned with what people and institutions ought to do and how they should conduct themselves. Media workers are part of society and therefore, function within the parameters set by the expectations prevalent in a society at a particular time. Apart from society, the government of the country also informs expectations of what the media ought to do. Consequently, a nation’s media, more than any other kind of institution is shaped by the prevailing political power.

CLASSICAL THEORIES

There are four normative media ethics theory but I will only touch two theories and you will decide the theory that your country practices at the moment.

Authoritarian Theory

 In this theory, the press was seen as a very powerful tool, and those in power used it to convey only information they wanted the public to have. In this theory, the rulers controlled the press and reserved the right to license publications and censor content. The emphasis here is on the control of the press to ensure the promotion of the interests of those in power.

 According to this theory; media is expected:

            Not to undermine the interests of the vested power.

            Not to contravene the prevailing moral and political values because deviation could lead to censorship, formulation of stricter laws if the media contravene regulations.

            License is provided on conditions that must be adhered to as well as criminal charges against the media that criticize the authority.

 Social Responsibility Theory

 The emphasis of this theory is evidently on self-control. Due to development of the media, policy makers had to ensure that the media optimally contributed to the democratic process, while simultaneously providing the envisaged social benefits to media users. Apart from ensuring press freedom, social theory had to make provision for obligations of the media.

 These obligations led to formulation of the social responsibility theory. In terms of this theory the media should:

            Accept responsibilities towards society including setting professional standards for supply of information i.e. truth, accuracy, objectivity, privacy and balance of their reporting.

            Avoid publishing information that could lead to violence or social disruption.

            Expect societal intervention if the media fail to meet professional standard.

            Collectively reflect a diversity of content to ensure public access to a variety of viewpoints, and their right to react to these viewpoints.

Ethics is a system of principles that guides action. While the law establishes what you can and cannot do in a given situation, ethics tells you what you should do. It is based on values – personal, professional, social, and moral – and springs from reasoning. Ethical decision-making simply means applying these values in your daily work.

The credibility of the press is linked to its commitment to truth, to the pursuit of accuracy, fairness, and objectivity and to the clear distinction between news and advertising. The attainment of these goals and the respect for ethical and professional values may not be imposed. These are the exclusive responsibility of journalists and the media. In a free society, it is public opinion that rewards or punishes.

Ethical lapses do occur in journalism. Reporters have invented information. Editors have accepted payments from sources. News organizations have published advertisements in the guise of news. When this happens, the public has a right to question everything that appears in the news media. All journalists, and all news organizations, suffer when journalists behave unethically because that behavior calls the profession’s credibility into question. When credibility suffers, so does a news organization’s ability to survive economically.

Ethical Principles

Ethical journalists do not put words in people’s mouths or pretend to have been somewhere they have not. And they do not pass off the work of others as their own. Fabrication and plagiarism are violations of basic journalistic standards the world over. But not all transgressions are so clear.

Journalists face ethical dilemmas every day, under pressure from owners, competitors, advertisers, and the public. They need a process to resolve these dilemmas, so that the journalism they produce is ethical. They need a way of thinking about ethical issues that will help them make good decisions, even on deadline.

This way of thinking is grounded in the principles journalists rely on. These are the basic principles of the Professional Journalists:

            Seek truth and report it. Journalists should be honest, fair, and courageous in gathering, reporting, and interpreting information.

            Minimize harm. Ethical journalists treat sources, subjects, and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect.

            Act independently. Journalists should be free of obligation to any interest other than the public's right to know.

            Be accountable. Journalists are accountable to their readers, listeners, viewers, and each other.

On the surface, it may seem easy enough to abide by these principles. Of course, journalists should seek the truth and treat their sources with respect. But oftentimes, the principles themselves are in conflict. Journalists who seek the truth may discover information that will be hurtful to the family of a person involved in wrongdoing. A reporter’s membership in a non-governmental organization may allow her to learn more about a story the group is involved with, but her association with the group may also compromise her independence and be difficult to justify to the audience. In many cases, making an ethical decision means choosing not between right and wrong but between right and right.

How, then, can journalists possibly make good ethical decisions? Some situations are best dealt with by avoiding them in the first place. For example, reporters may choose not to belong to any outside groups, or they may disqualify themselves from covering stories involving any groups they do belong to. In other cases, a journalist must seek the best possible balance between conflicting principles, always keeping in mind the primary importance of seeking the truth and serving the public.

Ethical Decision-Making

Some newsrooms deal with ethical quandaries from the top down. Whenever an issue or dilemma arises, a senior manager decides what to do. This approach has the advantage of being quick, but it can be arbitrary. It does nothing to help journalists make good decisions when they are out in the field or when the manager is unavailable. For that reason, many newsrooms have adopted an ethical decision-making process that is more inclusive and that helps all journalists make good decisions under a variety of circumstances.

The first step in the process is to define the dilemma. Most people recognize when they are facing an ethical quandary. An internal alarm goes off. Something does not feel quite right about a situation. When that happens, it’s important to spell out what’s bothering you. What are the values that may be compromised? What journalistic issues are at stake? Often there is tension between a journalistic goal and an ethical stand. The reporter who has an exclusive story may want to rush it into print before any one else gets it, but he also needs to consider the possible consequences. What if the story turns out to be wrong? Journalists should not sacrifice their ethical values to achieve other objectives, such as beating the competition.

The next step after defining the problem is to collect more information to help you make a good decision. Consult newsroom policies and guidelines, if any exist, and talk to others about the dilemma. Begin with colleagues and supervisors in the newsroom, but don’t stop there. It’s often useful to include other voices, people who are not directly involved in the story but who are knowledgeable about the circumstances.

It’s important to note that journalists, unlike doctors, are not expected to promise to do no harm. Many truthful and important stories will hurt people’s feelings or reputations. It’s inevitable. But journalists do try to minimize the harm by not putting people at unnecessary risk.

Let’s say a reporter has discovered a factory where boys under the age of 12 work 10 hours a day, six days a week, and are paid less than half the country's minimum wage. The country’s constitution prohibits employers from hiring anyone under 14 and it is illegal for anyone to work more than 45 hours a week. Finding the factory means the reporter has proof of child exploitation, but what more does he need to know before publishing or broadcasting the story?

Telling the truth about the factory would certainly have consequences, and some of them could be hurtful. When faced with this kind of story, it can be helpful to create a list of people and institutions that might be affected by the story and to consider the impact the story might have. The story about the factory would affect the boys directly, of course, but it would also affect their families and the factory owner. Knowing the possible consequences, journalists can begin to look at alternatives for presenting the information so the story remains truthful but does not cause as much harm. In the case of the factory, the journalist might decide to use photos of the children but not to name them, in an effort to limit the potential harm the story could cause.

That’s just one example of a journalistic decision that can have ethical consequences. Others include the type and placement of the coverage, as well as its tone. The impact of a front-page story with a banner headline and a large photograph is considerably greater than a smaller story that runs on an inside page. A television story that is promoted multiple times before it airs would have more impact, and therefore greater ethical consequences, than a story told once in the middle of a newscast.

Going through a process to make good ethical decisions puts journalists and news organizations in a position to justify their actions clearly. By explaining what was done and why, journalists are able to bolster their credibility and justify the public’s trust in them.

Newsrooms that value ethical decision-making make sure these kinds of issues are discussed, and not just when a dilemma occurs. Some newsrooms hold regular meetings to discuss what they would do in hypothetical situations. Journalists who practice listening with an open mind and who keep their emotions in check and avoid becoming inflexible about their positions are able to put these skills to work when facing a real ethical concern.

ETHICS CODES

Journalism associations and federations around the world have established codes of ethics to guide the work of member journalists. Ethics codes can cover everything from plagiarism to privacy and from corrections to confidentiality. Some are brief and vaguely worded, while others are lengthy and quite explicit. Ethics codes include these three basic elements:

            Fundamental values, including respect for life and human solidarity;

            Fundamental prohibitions, including not to lie, cause needless harm, or appropriate someone else’s property;

            Journalistic principles, including accuracy, fairness, and independence.

These codes are sometimes voluntary in nature, with no clear consequences for violators. But the expectation is that peers and employers will hold journalists who behave unethically accountable. In some countries, press councils hear complaints against journalists and can recommend action to correct mistakes. Journalism review magazines also serve a corrective function by exposing the behavior of unethical journalists. Some news organizations have a staff person, commonly called an “ombudsman,” who watches out for errors and ethical lapses and serves as the public’s representative inside the newsroom.

In countries where journalists are required to belong to a union or association, ethics codes often include an enforcement provision. For example, the Australian Journalists Association has judiciary committees that investigate charges of unethical behavior brought against journalists. A journalist found in violation can be rebuked, fined, or expelled from the group.

Codes of Conduct

In addition to national and regional codes of ethics, many news organizations have their own codes of conduct or standards of practice that they expect their journalists to follow. These codes may spell out specific actions or activities that are either encouraged or prohibited, or that require the approval of a manager.

Many news organizations limit what journalists can do both on and off the job. The main reason for these limitations is to protect the credibility of news organizations. Reporters and photographers may be told explicitly that they cannot manipulate or “stage” the news by asking people to do something for a story that they would not do ordinarily. Reporters may not be allowed to conceal their identities to get a story, unless there is a clear and compelling public interest in the information and it cannot be obtained any other way. A television station may explicitly forbid the use of hidden cameras or surreptitious recording in gathering the news, unless a manager approves it for public-interest reasons.

With the advent of digital photography, new standards have been added to prohibit altering photographs or video in a way that could mislead the audience. Many of the regulations in newsroom codes of conduct address issues of journalistic independence. To avoid even the appearance of a conflict of interest, reporters may be forbidden to own stock or have a personal interest in companies they cover. Journalists may not be allowed to take a public position on a political issue or openly support a candidate for office. The news organization may prohibit journalists from having a business relationship with any news source, or from doing any outside work for pay unless approved by a manager.

It may not be possible to avoid every potential conflict, but journalists need to be aware that their conduct can reflect badly on the news organization. When they sense that a conflict might arise, they should be expected to notify their supervisors. A reporter with a personal connection to a story may ask that a different reporter take on the assignment. Many news organizations have made it their practice to have reporters disclose relationships in their stories that could even suggest a conflict of interest, even if none exists.

Codes of conduct are typically internal documents, but more and more news organizations are posting them on their Web sites so the public knows what to expect and can hold the newspaper or station accountable if its standards are violated.

Community Standards

News organizations often face conflicts between newsworthiness and community standards, and resolving them requires the skilful practice of ethical decision-making. Suppose an elected official has used a racial slur in discussing a member of the opposition party. Some newspapers might print the exact words the official used. Others could use a few letters followed by dashes to indicate what he said without spelling it out. And some newspapers would likely report only that the official had used offensive language. Newspaper editors choose different solutions depending on what they feel the readers would be willing to tolerate. But sometimes they go ahead with a decision they are certain would offend some readers. Editors face similar difficult choices when it comes to shocking photographs or video the audience may find distasteful, but that may be the most powerful way to tell an important story.

To minimize the harm such a choice might cause, many news managers now choose to explain why they made the decision they did, either in the text of the story or in a separate “editor’s note” alongside it. For example, a photograph of a mother holding the emaciated body of her son who died of starvation would certainly be disturbing. Instead of waiting for angry phone calls and responding to each individual complaint, the editor’s note might say that this picture of suffering tells the story of famine much more clearly than words alone. By explaining their decisions to the public, journalists can live up to the guiding principle of accountability.
ETHICAL DILEMMAS
Facts and opinion

Journalists are constantly faced with problems of reporting facts and opinions. They must be able to distinguish between them. This is important in both gathering and writing news. It affects how you deal with anything you are told and also how you pass the information on to your readers or listeners.

We will explain shortly why it is so important for journalists to be able to recognize certain kinds of facts and opinions and distinguish them from each other. However, first we will explain what facts and opinions mean in the world of the working journalist.
Facts

A fact can be defined as something said to have happened or supposed to true. However as a journalist, you need to know how reliable statements are before you can report them as facts. This determines how you present them to your readers or listeners.

There are three kinds of facts which you have to deal with as a journalist. There are facts which have been proved to be true; facts which are probably true though they have not been proved; and facts which could be true, although they appear to be lies.
Proven facts

These are facts which are proved and accepted as true by everyone. They include such statements as "The world is round" or "Barack Hussein Obama is President of the United States". You could check these facts yourself, but they are so universally accepted as true that you do not need to. Of course, facts can change. It is a proven fact that Barack Obama is President at the time this paragraph is being written, but he will one day be succeeded by somebody else. When he is, the fact will become untrue, but for the moment it is a proven, accepted fact.

You can rely on proven facts and report them to your readers or listeners with confidence. They do not depend for their truth on who said them, so you do not need to attribute them.
Probable facts

These are statements which it seems reasonable to believe are true, but you are not able to prove yourself, either because you do not have access to the information or because you do not have time to dig for proof (but not because you are too lazy to check). Probable facts include statements by people who are in a position to know the truth and who have no obvious reason to tell a lie. If the Finance Minister tells Parliament that $10 million was raised from taxes last year, you can treat this as a probable fact.

These are not, however, the same as proven facts. Although they are probably true, there is a chance that they might be wrong, either because a mistake has been made or because someone lied. Because this doubt exists, we must attribute probable facts to the people who provide them.
Probable lies

People occasionally make statements which seem on the surface to be untrue, but which might just be true. A claim that "The Prime Minister has secretly married a sixteen-year-old fashion model" may seem highly unlikely, but it just might be true.

You must always check such statements before using them, and never use them without confirming them first. Once you have checked that they are true, you do not need to attribute them. They have become proven facts. Of course, if you find they are untrue, you must not use them.

If you have to report a known lie – for example, when reporting evidence presented in a court case – you must attribute the statements and you should also present the alternative counter view where and when it is given. We will talk more about this shortly.
Opinions

Opinions are different from facts. An opinion is a conclusion reached by someone after looking at the facts. Opinions are based on what people believe to be facts. This can include probable facts and even probable lies, although few people will knowingly give an opinion based on a proven lie.

One person's probable fact can be seen by another person as a probable lie. This is one reason why people have differences of opinion.

Although an opinion can be any statement of what a person believes to be true (as distinct from a proven fact), for journalists there are two main categories of opinions.
Verifiable opinion

These are conclusions which can be verified (shown to be true) or shown to be false. People who predict the results of horse races draw conclusions from what they know about horses and racing. They may say that Golden Arrow will win the coming race. It is their opinion. Once the race is over, that opinion is proved to be either correct or incorrect, depending on whether Golden Arrow wins or loses.

Although people usually base their opinions on facts, there is always a danger that they can reach the wrong conclusion. They might have based their opinion on facts which are themselves untrue (such as Golden Arrow's fitness); they might have failed to consider a relevant fact (the ground was muddy and Golden Arrow runs best on firm ground) or they might have reached the wrong conclusion because of a gap in the logic they used to think it through (Golden Arrow had a strong name, so was bound to win).

You must always treat verifiable opinions as if they could be wrong. You must always attribute them to the person who gave them.
Expert opinion

It is worth mentioning here a special category of opinion we call expert opinion. Experts can give their opinion on an issue, based on their special knowledge of the facts. A pathologist gives an expert opinion when she tells an inquest that she believes a person was killed before being thrown in a river. She has examined the body and found very little water in the lungs. Unless there is proof of what happened, this must remain an opinion and be attributed to the pathologist. The opinion may later be verified when the killer confesses and describes what happened.

The best kind of expert opinion is one in which the expert keeps their own personal feelings out of their conclusions. They look at the facts as they see them, and draw a conclusion based only on those facts.

However, even opinion from an impartial expert must be attributed, so that your readers or listeners can judge the likely truth or otherwise of what they say.
Personal opinion

Personal opinions are the conclusions someone reaches based partly on facts and partly on what they already believe.

Personal opinions can be given by people just because they are asked. If you conduct a vox pop with people on the street, asking what they think about capital punishment, they will give you their personal opinion.

Personal opinions which are based on beliefs or values which a person already has are called value judgments.

These are opinions of what is good or bad and advice on what other people should do about something. For example, a socialist might give the opinion that a new tax on the rich is a good thing; a rich person might give the opinion that it is a bad thing. To understand value judgments, your readers or listeners need to know who is making them and why. Such opinions must be attributed.

As a journalist, you are likely to encounter a lot of people who want to express their personal opinion in order to impress people and to affect other people's attitudes. They will see your newspaper, radio or television station as a useful way of getting their personal opinions across to people. The most obvious examples of this are people such as politicians, who believe they know what is right or wrong for others. They need to get their opinions to the people, to gain their support. The prime minister who says that his government is good for the people is expressing a value judgment. If he says it often enough, people will believe that it is true, whether or not it is based on fact.

Even experts can make value judgments, although this is quite distinct from an impartial opinion based only on known facts. An expert who gives a personal opinion may be better informed than many other people on that topic, but their opinion is still just a value judgment, based on their own beliefs.
Why distinguish facts from opinions?

We have talked so far about what facts and opinions are and how you must attribute certain facts and all opinions to people. Now we will briefly discuss why.

People use information in all sorts of ways. The most important way is to learn about the world around them and their place in it. They can then decide on what to do. They can use information on a tin of fish to choose whether to buy that brand or another. A villager who learns new facts about hygiene can build a proper toilet and so safeguard both his own health and that of the people around him.
Facts

In order to do something with information, people need to know whether or not it is true. They use facts to reach conclusions about things, to make their own opinions. The villager needs to know the facts about the different materials he can use for his toilet and where to place it.

Of course, he also needs to know how reliable the information is. The villager might believe advice on building a toilet if it is given by an expert in health, but would reject similar advice given by a four-year-old child. If you attribute the advice in your story on building toilets, the villager can decide what information he can trust.
Opinions

Reporting people's opinions is useful to your readers or listeners. Hearing an opinion on an issue might stimulate them to think about the issue themselves. If they hear a variety of different opinions, they can use this information to build up their own ideas.

They can also use other people's opinions as models for their own. If they read of someone expressing an opinion they agree with, they might adopt that opinion for themselves. It is not your job as a journalist to decide whose opinions can be used as models and whose cannot. You must report newsworthy opinions for your readers or listeners so that they can make up their own minds.

People use both facts and opinions when they are making decisions. They may choose to buy Kleeno washing powder because it costs $1 a kilo whereas the other brand, Whito, costs $1.50. Kleeno is cheaper; that is a fact. Or they may decide to buy Whito because the advertisers say "Whito is better" - which is an opinion. Both facts and opinions have value, but they must never be confused.

Whereas we generally accept facts whoever states them (assuming, of course, that they trust the person to speak honestly), we judge an opinion by the person who expresses it. In our soap powder example, we would accept that Kleeno is cheaper no matter who says it, because we simply compare the evidence (the prices). However, we would judge the claim about which is "better" by looking at who says it. When the makers of Whito say their product is better, we might be suspicious. But if the makers of Kleeno also say that Whito is better, we would tend to believe them.
Presenting facts and opinions

Your readers or listeners will find both facts and opinions useful, but they need to be shown which is which. Here we will discuss briefly how you can present them to avoid confusion in your newspaper or programs.
Comment columns

Newspapers often tell their readers what is a writer's personal opinion by the way they present it in the paper. Most newspapers, for example, have an editorial or leader column where they present their own comments on the day's major events. Regular readers know where that column can be found in the paper.

The column might be headed "Opinion" or something like "The Herald says". It might appear under a smaller version of the newspaper's page one masthead. Some readers turn to the leader column first to find out what the paper thinks.

The leader column is usually written by either the editor or by a specialist senior journalist employed for the job. Within the leader column, opinions are not usually attributed to the writer - it is taken for granted that this is the comment of the people in charge of the newspaper.

Readers also expect to find opinions in review and commentary columns. Again, these are usually in a specific part of a paper, perhaps the feature section. They may be published on the same day each week in the case of daily papers.

Commentary and review columns are usually by-lined, which means they have a line of type saying who wrote the article. In some cases this can simply be the author's initials at the end of the article.

Comment and leader columns do not have a close equivalent on radio and television. Although some stations use short comment segments stating the station's policy on an issue, this is not good journalism. This is mainly because listeners or viewers may not be able to distinguish between news programs and editorial inserts if they tune in once the editorial has started and they miss the attribution. Unless they know that a certain person at a certain time always gives the editorial opinion, they may think they have tuned in to a current affairs program.

Some stations compromise by inviting guest speakers in to give expert opinion at certain times on certain days. Unless this is done with great care, once again there is the danger that listeners or viewers may miss the attribution. Besides, journalism is always at its best when people's opinions are challenged, even the opinions of experts.
Letters to the editor and talkback radio

The letters page and talkback programs on radio are opportunities for ordinary readers and listeners to express their opinions on issues of the day. Many newspapers specifically state on the letters page that the views expressed are not necessarily those of the newspaper.

Letters to the editor are almost always straight opinions, and most newspapers have special pages or distinctive layouts for them. Some radio and television stations have programs when listeners can express opinions. These are either structured feedback programs, when they read out letters from listeners or viewers commenting on what they have seen or heard, or talkback programs when listeners call in and their opinions are broadcast live on air.

All of these are valuable opportunities for people to have access to the media. However, if you are in charge of letters pages or talkback programs you should remember that you are legally responsible for the material you include. If it is defamatory, you can be prosecuted as well as the writer of the letter.

Radio talkback or phone-in programs usually make use of a studio delay system to prevent defamatory or offensive comments going on air. This is equipment in the studio which stores seven seconds of program in memory before sending it to the transmitter. Delay is usually switched on for phone-ins and talkback programs so if a caller says something that should not go on air (e.g. defamatory comments), the presenter can press a "dump button" which effectively deletes the preceeding seven seconds and returns the program to real time transmission. It is usually the job of the producer or presenter to switch the delay system on and off for programming.

Whether it is letters to the editor or radio talkback, you should give people a fair hearing. They might write or say things which are legally safe but which you personally dislike. You should not censor their comments for personal reasons. Their letters or calls may express an opinion about you, perhaps criticizing a program you presented or a report you wrote. You should remember that you have already had your say and it is now the chance for your readers or listeners to give their opinions. It is unfair for journalists always to have the last word by adding footnotes to readers' letters or making the final comment on a talkback program.
Rumor and speculation

You should now have some reasonably clear guidelines on how to present facts and opinions in the news. However, ordinary people do not operate by journalism's rules of checking accuracy and finding proof. In day-to-day conversation, most people are not so careful about the accuracy of facts.

Take the example of a man who runs into your newsroom shouting: "The Acme Building has fallen down! Hundreds of people have been hurt!" He most certainly has not stopped to survey the extent of the damage or count the number of people injured. It may turn out that one wall has collapsed into the street and has injured six people. That is news. What the man was giving us was speculation. When other people repeat such speculation without checking its accuracy, we have the spread of a rumor.

It is part of the journalist's job to separate fact from speculation and rumor. The only time you should mention a rumor is when you are writing a story about its effect and you need to identify the source of the effect. For example, if there is a widespread rumor that there will be a shortage of sugar, your first step should be to find out whether or not it is true by contacting the major importers, the government department concerned and a sample of store-owners. Then you can write a story based on facts. Sometimes rumors are so strong that they make people behave in a certain way, even when the rumor is not true. So, if people are panic-buying sugar because of the rumor, you can mention that fact and the rumor, but be sure also to mention whether or not the rumor is true.
Lies

Even the best journalists can be tricked by lies into presenting misleading news.

Sometimes the lies are unconscious. Informants can think they are telling the truth but are really fooling themselves. They may report seeing what they wanted to see: for example, they report seeing a policeman arresting a youth when he was, in fact, giving the youth directions.

You must check the facts, both for your own sake and for the sake of your informants, who would not wish to appear foolish.

Sometimes, however, the informant is deliberately trying to trick you for his or her own reasons. Perhaps it is to cover up a mistake, perhaps to avoid appearing ignorant, occasionally to give false information for more sinister reasons, such as creating ill-feeling between groups or tricking people into giving money. How can you uncover such cases of lying?
Reputation

Look at the person's reputation. If the person telling you something has a reputation for dishonesty, everything they tell you should be treated with suspicion. You should be extra careful if they have fooled you or a colleague before.

If you have any doubts about the honesty of a potential interviewee, do a bit of background checking before the interview. Anything suspicious should make you more critical of what they say. You can then ask more probing questions.
Their story

Most people find it more difficult to tell a lie convincingly than to tell the truth. When we tell the truth, we can rely on our memory and fit all the facts together. With a lie, we have to use our imagination. The more complicated the lie, the more difficult it is to think up ways of linking all the pieces together. Holes will start to appear in the story and it will begin to show gaps in the logic.

Once you have the slightest suspicion that this is happening, probe deeper. Ask more searching questions, especially those which will allow you to cross-check with something else the person has said. For example, if someone is describing something they allegedly saw, ask them to describe the surroundings. They should be able to do it if they were there. If you are still suspicious, you can then visit the scene yourself to check out the truth of what was said. You can ask yourself: "Was there mud on the ground at that point? Could he have seen round the tree as he claimed?" Good journalism can be very much like detective work.
Check

It is always good journalism to cross-check what people say with at least one independent source, even if cross-checking means approaching their opponents for confirmation of details. You should do this anyway in most cases, to achieve balance in your story.

If someone comes with a story that they have been robbed of the wages they received that morning, you could check with their employer how much they got paid and when. Check with the police that the crime has been reported. Check with anyone who may have witnessed the event - not only the people the victim says were witnesses.

You should also cross-check the credentials of people who come to you saying they represent a certain group or organisation. Check the telephone directory, business guides or Who's Who? Get in touch with a reliable source within that group. You do not have to say that you disbelieve them: there are much more subtle ways, such as ringing up to check the spelling of their name then asking a few discreet questions.
Fairness

There are three basic qualities which should guide the work of a good journalist - it must be fast, fair and accurate:

Speed comes from increasing knowledge, confidence and experience.

Accuracy comes from constant attention to details and from hard work in finding, checking and re-checking details.

Fairness is the hardest to define, but it has a lot to do with avoiding bias, treating people equally and allowing people to have equal chances to do things or express themselves.
What is fairness?

Even if you are not able to put it into words, you may have a natural understanding of fairness if you care about other people and are sensitive to their needs.

Fairness is made up of two parts:

Objectivity, which is not forcing your own personal opinions on the news. The opposite of objectivity is subjectivity.

Impartiality, which is not taking sides on an issue where there is a dispute. Impartiality also includes presenting all sides of an argument fairly, what we call balance.

Even if you have strong feelings about an issue, you must not use the news to put over your own arguments; you must not try to give extra time or better coverage to people you agree with and less time or worse coverage to those you disagree with.

For the good journalist, objectivity and impartiality are two sides of the same coin. If you can be objective and control your personal feelings on an issue, you can also be even-handed in your treatment of all sides.

Although impartiality or bias can enter all areas of journalism, the greatest dangers lie in reporting politics, industrial disputes, religion, race and sport. Any area in which people have very strong feelings can lead to conflict and to bias in reporting the issue.

The same general principles which govern objectivity can also help you to be impartial. Forget your personal preferences while working on a story, stand back from it and try to look at the issues through the eyes of people both for and against. That may not change your personal opinion that something is wrong, but it will help you to be fair.

If you do believe very strongly in a particular cause, you must develop two personalities - the You-at-Home and the You-at-Work - and keep them separate. Many journalists in democratic countries support one political party or another. They may vote for a party or even be a member. But to keep a reputation as an unbiased journalist, they should not allow their party loyalty to influence their news judgment. The party supporter must be kept to the You-at-Home; the objective, impartial journalist is the You-at-Work.

Being objective is only part of the battle against bias. The other part involves recognizing when one side in a dispute is applying unfair pressure to get their case in the news (or another side is not getting its fair share of coverage). This can be obvious and easy to correct, or more subtle and much harder to put right.
Practising fairness

There are several ways you can allow personal bias to destroy objectivity and impartiality in the way you handle news. You should be aware of the dangers at each stage of the process of news production, from the first decision to cover a story through to its presentation on a page or in a bulletin.
Selection of news

Busy newsrooms are constantly having to make decisions about which stories to cover and which to ignore. The selection of stories can introduce a very basic bias if it is not done objectively. Simply because you disagree with a government, a group or an individual does not mean that you can suppress all stories which show the good side of them and cover only those which show them unfavorably. You should be even-handed. This is particularly important at such times as election campaigns.

Your decisions on which stories to cover should be made on the principles which govern what makes news. News should be new, unusual, interesting, significant and about people.

The exact balance of these criteria may vary depending on your audience. If you work for a scientific magazine, you may select different stories to a journalist who works in the newsroom of a pop music radio station. You must develop an accurate understanding of what is news to your audience, then be fair and consistent in the selection of every story.
Choice of sources

Even if you have to overcome a personal prejudice and decide to cover a story you find disagreeable, you must still take care that you are fair in your choice of sources of information. It is not fair to choose to interview an attractive personality for a cause you support but an unattractive or muddled person for a cause you oppose.

There is also the danger that, if you are asked to cover a story you dislike doing, you will fail to put enough energy into finding interviewees and arranging to talk to them. For example, someone you dislike may not want to talk to you. You must not say: "Oh well, let's forget him." You should try your hardest to get an interview or at least a comment.

If you want to be a good journalist, you should put your best effort into every story. That way you produce a good product and help objectivity.
"No comment"

In some cases people will be unwilling or unable to give an interview. Maybe they are just too busy, maybe they hate the sound of their own voice. Of course, you should try your very best to convince them they should do the interview, but if that fails you should not say: "Ah well, they had their chance and they missed it. I'll just give the other side."

You should still try for balance, even if it means finding someone else to speak for them or writing about their previous position on the issue. (Be careful, though, that your story makes clear that this is not a response to the present issue.)

Many journalists take the easy way out by writing: "Mr Rahman was not available for comment." They occasionally write: "Mr Rahman refused to comment", but this is unfair because it implies that everyone has a duty to speak to reporters. You can only "refuse" if someone is ordering you to do something. If you ask Mr Rahman for a comment and he will not give one, you should write: "Mr. Rahman declined to comment." This tells your audience that you offered Mr. Rahman the chance to comment, but he did not take it.

Always try to get some comment because using phrases like "declined to comment" shows that you are unable to present a fair and balanced report. If this happens too often, your reputation as a fair and honest reporter will suffer. But remember this: To maintain balance, you do not need to present both sides of an argument in one story, even though it is preferable. Balance will be achieved if you give an opposing view in the follow-up story.
Interviewing techniques

Do not abandon objectivity when you conduct the interview. It may be difficult to interview someone who stands for something you oppose or who has done something you dislike, but you must continue to be fair and accurate.

For example, if you are interviewing a drug addict or a thief, remember you are not there as a policeman or prosecutor. Do not demand answers in an aggressive tone. Keep your temper. The golden rule of all interviewing is to be polite but persistent.

Questions should be fair and you must take as much care when taking notes or recording as for any interview. If accusations have been made against the interviewee, do not make them sound like your accusations. Instead of saying: "You ran away from your responsibilities, didn't you?" you should say: "Critics say that you ran away from your responsibilities. Did you?" The outcome is the same, only the tone is fairer.

This advice applies particularly to broadcast journalists, some of whom like to ask aggressive questions for dramatic effect - the so-called tough interviewer. If that is your style, you must use it with everyone, not just the people you dislike.
Selecting material

Having conducted your interviews, you now have to put your material together into a story. Whether working for newspapers, magazines, radio or television, you have to select which facts and quotes to include and which to leave out. You will probably write your story in the usual inverted pyramid, with the most important things at the start.

Here again, you must be fair in choosing material. There are usually two sides to every argument, so do not be one-sided in choosing what facts to include or which words to quote. If your interviewee has said: "I support the present government, but with some serious reservations", it would be wrong to use only the quote: "I support the present government." Be fair and quote accurately, making sure that the meaning of each comment is put in context with what else is being said.

If the person you have interviewed stressed the importance of one particular aspect, do not omit it simply because you disagree with what was said. You should judge each comment independently under the criteria for what is news. That way you maintain objectivity.
Language

The language you use to write your story is very important. It is quite easy to change the whole of a sentence by adding one or two words loaded with a particular meaning. For example, your interviewee might have made some remarks quite forcefully. It would be wrong to describe them as "firm" simply because you liked him, or "harsh" because you did not.

Stick to facts. If he moved his finger as he made certain remarks, you can mention it but remember that there is a lot of difference between such words as "waved" (which some people do with their fingers naturally while speaking), "wagged" (which people usually do while telling someone off) and "jabbed" (which is used to make a forceful point or accusation). In fact, it is better to keep such descriptions out of news stories, although they can be used when writing features to show something about the person involved.

Any words you use instead of the verb "said" when attributing facts and opinions can add a bias to your reporting. Journalists often like to find alternatives for the word "said", because they think that repetition becomes boring. If you do use alternatives, you must recognize that some imply that you believe the person quoted while others imply that you do not believe them.

See the table below. The left column is words which imply disbelief, the right column words suggest belief, while the centre are reasonably neutral:

DISBELIEF:
claimed
alleged
inferred
   

NEUTRAL:
said
spoke of
stated
   

BELIEF:
announced that
pointed out
emphasized that

Many journalists use a thesaurus to find alternative words to enliven their copy. A thesaurus should only be used if you have a very good understanding of the language. It is much better to use a dictionary to find the exact meaning of a word. If you use clear and simple language and leave out as many adjectives and adverbs as possible, you will limit the chance of bias entering into your copy.

Once again, if your interviewee accuses someone, you must make it clear that they are the interviewee's words, not your own. For example, if he says that the regime in Tilapia is brutal, attribute the remark to him, either in reported speech or in a quote. Do not allow it to be seen as your own comment. Remember, one man's regime is another man's government. One man's cabinet is another man's junta.

There are also good legal reasons for choosing your words carefully. In most countries you can be prosecuted for making false statements about someone which causes them harm.

You should not blemish a person's name without a special reason, even though what you say is factually correct. There is no need to call a person who kills his daughter "a beast". If he has not been tried it is for the courts to decide his guilt or innocence. If he has been found guilty, your story will be stronger if you carefully and accurately record the facts without gory details and personal judgments. It will also keep your reputation as an objective journalist.

Compare the following and see which is both more objective and more powerful:

RIGHT:
At four o'clock on Christmas morning, Manuel Ortez walked quietly into his baby daughter's room and plunged a carving knife five times through the heart of the sleeping child.     
   

WRONG:
In the heavy dark of Christmas morning the fiendish beast Manuel Ortez slunk into his innocent daughter's room and, in a bloody frenzy, hacked the child to death with a gleaming knife.
Predictions

There is danger of introducing bias in the tenses which you use when writing. When you describe what is happening or what has happened, it is natural to use present or past tenses. However, when you use the future tense to predict what you think may happen, remember that this is speculation. It may be well-informed and extremely accurate speculation, but it is not yet a fact.

It is safer to use words like "may" and "is expected to" when writing about events yet to come. If someone says they will do something, quote them as making the promise, do not let it seem that the prediction is yours. For example:

RIGHT:
The Finance Minister says he will reduce income tax before the end of the year. 
   

WRONG:
The Finance Minister will reduce income tax before the end of the year. 
Placing the story

If you are a sub-editor in a newsroom, you should be fair where you place a story in the paper or bulletin. Do not let personal feelings interfere with your news judgment. Just because you are strongly opposed to whale hunting, you cannot choose to lead with that and put the story about the Prime Minister's assassination further down if they are both new. There is no excuse for hiding a story down the page or bulletin simply because you do not like what is said.

Your readers or listeners may disagree with you over the order in which you rank stories because they also have special likes and dislikes. But if you are fair and follow the guidelines of news value, you will be able to defend your news judgment against all sides.
Comment columns

There are opportunities in the media for journalists to give their personal opinions - in writing reviews and in the commentary columns of newspapers and magazines. Journalists usually write under their own name or use a pseudonym (a made-up name). A special column called the editorial or leader column is where the paper gives its own opinion on specific topics such as a new foreign policy or a harsh prison sentence.

Any commentary column should clearly show that the statements are the personal opinions of the columnist or the opinion of the newspaper itself. This is normally shown by placing the column in a regular slot on a specific page. The title of the column or the inclusion of the author's by-line usually indicate that the column is that person's own comments. Some newspapers even use a small block saying "Comment" at the top of such columns.

Unfortunately, many journalists allow their own comments to spill over into genuine news reports. Well-educated readers can tell where fact ends and personal opinion begins, but less educated readers can be confused.
Commentary on radio or television

There is really no place in radio or television for newspaper-style commentary columns. If you think it will help your listeners to understand an issue by giving them some expert comments, it is better to bring in experts rather than do it yourself. This is best done in an interview in a news or current affairs program. If a politician wants to express an opinion on an issue which the newsroom does not regard as newsworthy, they should apply to buy air time for a party political broadcast, if these are allowed.

Occasionally an editor will ask people like foreign correspondents or specialist reporters to give an analysis of an event. Such segments should be kept factual and free of personal bias.

Radio and television stations may also allow their journalists to express personal opinions in reviews, perhaps reviewing a film on an arts program or judging a recipe on a food program. Such reviews should be kept separate from news bulletins and should be clearly identified as the personal views of the journalist concerned.
Campaigning journalism

Sometimes journalists come across things which affect them emotionally. These can be injustices, cases of cruelty or simply people who need the help of the media. In such circumstances journalists take one side of an issue and fight for that side. For example, journalists have campaigned against bad prison conditions, against political oppression or against street crime. Clearly they are not being totally objective, and in such cases the reader or listener understands why.

However, campaigning for a cause should not stop you attempting to be as objective as possible in your treatment of a story. You should still prefer facts to opinions and give people a chance to answer any allegations made against them. If the situation is really as bad as you believe it is, simply giving people the facts will be enough to convince them. Let your audience judge the rights and wrongs of the issue.

The purpose of campaigning journalism is to make other people feel deeply about something, just as you do. The best way to do this is to ask yourself what made you feel the way you do: what did you see or hear which convinced you? Whatever it was, that is what you should present to your readers or listeners, so that they might have the opportunity to feel about the issue, just as you do. If you want somebody to know what it is like to have a pin stuck in them it is a waste of time standing next to them crying in pain. It is much more effective to stick a pin in them! Similarly, saying how deeply you feel about injustice will not convince your listeners; put the injustice in front of them to see for themselves.

Campaigns often take a long time and journalists can become so involved in them that they lose sight of the original issue. It is a good idea occasionally to stand back from the issue and assess objectively. Ask yourself: "Am I still being fair and accurate? Have I exaggerated my case?"

The golden rule about objectivity is to be honest about yourself. If you recognize personal prejudice in your work, fight against it. At the end of the day, your reputation as a journalist who can be trusted is at stake.
Contacts

Journalists rely on contacts to tell them what is happening or give them hints on stories which might be worth covering. Contacts can range from an official within the government to the boy who keeps his eyes open for stories while selling newspapers.

Some contacts will tell you things simply because they like you or they like the idea of being involved in the media in a small way. They are not part of the story and have no particular interest in giving you one side against another.

Others, however, will tell you things because they want the news covered in a certain way. These people can be politicians who expose an opponent's wrong-doing to score political points; company public relations officers who want to sell a particular product; activists who want to highlight what they see as an injustice; a criminal who wants to get even with a corrupt policeman by "telling all". The list is endless. They all have one thing in common - they are not interested in balance, they will not help you to give the other side of the story. You can use such contacts to give you story ideas, but must go to other sources as well for balance.
Public relations

It is easy to be drawn into taking the side of contacts, for all sorts of reasons. Businesses, governments, politicians and police forces in particular have recognized the value of employing special people to present their case to the media and the public. Whether they are called public relations executives or press officers, they still owe loyalty to the person who pays them. They are not there to help the media, they are there to protect and promote their employers.

The clever public relations officer or PR will be very pleasant to deal with. He or she will always try to be available to journalists, even at home. They will call you by your first name and share jokes with you. They will arrange interviews for you and issue press releases to keep you informed. They will, in effect, do everything they possibly can to make your job easier and save you digging for a story. They know that journalists who dig often find more than they were originally looking for.

They also recognize a basic fact of human nature, that if journalists can get news more easily from one side than the other they will favour that side over the other, either consciously or subconsciously. It is difficult for young journalists to have a very friendly chat with a helpful PR then write something critical about his company or organisation. How much easier it is to take their side against the opponent who angrily accuses you of trying to stir up trouble then slams the telephone down!

As well as finding the good PR more pleasant to deal with, journalists may also find them better informed and better communicators. Many companies, political parties or pressure groups now either employ professional journalists as public relations officers or send their PRs on special courses to learn how to handle the media.

So beware of the temptations offered by public relations officers. It is much easier today for a busy reporter to ask the PR manager of a shipping line to get a comment from his chairman than it is to go out and track down the opposing union official who also works full time "down on the dockside somewhere". To be a good journalist you must accept that some tasks are easy, some are difficult. Do not allocate the same amount of time to getting each side of the story - aim for the same level of achievement.
Conflicting news sources

Whenever you are getting news from a number of independent sources, whether they are wire services, contacts or witnesses, you may find conflicting information. In some cases these may be small variations, in others major differences.

For example, you may have been given two different days when strike action is due to start. By checking back, double checking and cross checking sources, it may be possible to find where the difference lies and deal with it easily. Often a phone call is all that is needed.

In other cases, where your access to information is limited, you may never be able to find out exactly who is correct. In such cases you should attribute the facts in doubt to the individuals, groups, companies, organisations or governments which gave them. For example, if one army claims to have fired three missiles and their enemy says they only fired two, quote both sides and let the reader or listener judge from experience who to believe. If you are still unhappy about that solution in really controversial areas, leave out the details in question.

Sometimes you may receive conflicting details from two usually-reliable news agencies. For example, Reuters may say that 1,000 people have been killed while Associated Press says 2,000. If you cannot see an obvious reason for the different figures (such as the AP story being more up-to-date than Reuters), contact the agencies themselves, perhaps by telex. If you cannot determine which is correct, you may have to quote both of them - as long as you are sure that this will not confuse your audience. You must, of course, clarify the situation as soon as possible. The alternative is to wait until the situation is clearer before running the story.

Whenever there is conflict between two reports from the same agency, look for reasons why (such as one report being more up-to-date or from a bureau nearer to the event). Again, if you cannot find an obvious reason, contact the nearest branch of the agency for an explanation.
Favors

As a journalist, you must never accept a favour or a gift if you suspect that it is being used as a bribe. They can quite easily affect your credibility as a journalist.

If you accept any gift on the understanding that you will write favorably about the donor - whether they offer a carton of beer, a car or a trip abroad - you have said that there is a price on your honesty as a journalist. You can be bought. You are no different from the corrupt policeman who publicly defends the law but privately commits crimes.

Even the smallest gift or favour destroys your credibility as a fair journalist. By breaking down your protection of honesty, it also makes it easier to accept the next bribe, then the next.

Even if the gift does not make you act any differently, you might find it difficult to convince other people of this. The donor might also try to blackmail you over the issue to get your support.

If someone offers you anything free, such as a sample of their product or a free holiday to try their hotel or airline, you should tell the news editor or director of news immediately. They will then decide whether or not you can accept it. It might be possible to accept it, but only on condition that everyone involved knows that it will not influence your judgment. If the car you test drive is bad value, you will say so. If the airline is unpunctual, dirty and overcrowded, you will write that too. Very few public relations officers would offer you a direct bribe, but they might wrap it up in an innocent-looking offer.
Elections

You must be especially careful about being unbiased during elections. What you write could alter the outcome.

It is the journalist's duty in a democratic society to keep the people well informed of the choices available to them at election time. You should report who the candidates are, what their policies are and what are the main issues of the campaign. You should also tell people what is happening in the campaign generally, who is saying what, where and to whom. Only if the electors are well informed can they make wise decisions about voting.

Journalists usually have plenty of material at election times. The politicians and their parties make sure that the media are told about what they are doing and saying. Many politicians and parties now employ press officers to feed the media information which shows the candidate or party in a good light.

Poorer politicians and smaller parties may not be able to employ specialists and have to do such work themselves. An independent media should make sure that no-one gets an unfair advantage because they have more money to spend on campaigning.

Often the best way of ensuring fairness and balance is to set guidelines at the start of the election on how the candidates and parties will be treated.

Some newspapers and broadcasting stations try to give each a fair share of publicity by counting the number of column centimeters or amount of air time each one gets. This would only include stories which can be seen as campaigning. For example, you could count stories about campaign trips, appearances, speeches, policy statements, predictions about polling and attacks on opponents. You would not count hard news stories about the candidates, such as an appearance in court on a driving charge. Because such hard news stories are usually bad for the person concerned, one cannot argue that they are helping his or her campaign.

This approach has a number of variations, such as allowing space in proportion to the size of parties or number of candidates they are fielding. Thus in a situation where there are two major parties and one minor party and a few independents, the paper or station may decide to allow the major parties 35 percent of the election coverage each, the minor party would get 20 percent, and the independents would get 10 percent divided equally between them.

In practice, this should not mean censoring news, simply keeping a daily or weekly check on how much the parties and candidates get and adjusting them to get a balance over a period of time.

Your country may have laws governing how much time or space you must give each candidate or party to maintain balance. In many countries, broadcasting laws state that balance must be maintained and records kept throughout the campaign period. You must check what the law says in your country.
Reporting court cases

It is especially important to be fair when reporting court cases. The whole point of a court case is for the law to decide guilt or innocence. It is not your job to take sides and either condemn or clear someone in print or over the airwaves.

Not only is it very unfair and undermines the impartiality of the legal system, it is often against the law. If a court thinks that you are trying to do its work for it, you may be prosecuted for contempt.

In some countries, such as the United States, journalists can make all kinds of comments about current legal proceedings. This is because the American Constitution has to balance the individual's right to a fair trial against the First Amendment protecting free speech. In countries which have based their laws on the English legal system, the balance is in favour of a fair trial; free speech has to be limited to protect the individual's right to a fair trial. The judge or jury must not be influenced by what they read or hear on the news.

All reports of court cases should be fair and accurate giving time and space to both prosecution and defence. Any comments on the case must wait until the case is over.
Public displays of support

It is often difficult for journalists not to get involved in some issues. Your everyday work brings you into contact with injustices and cruelties of all sorts. Some journalists feel the need to do something, not only to write about it. There are also others who become journalists because they support a particular cause. Although they may try hard to be objective and impartial at work, they may continue to be a member of a political party, organisation or pressure group in their free time.

If you take sides on any issue, as a journalist it is not wise to show the fact. Opponents may use it as a weapon to attack your reporting, even though you feel that you are being entirely objective.

So avoid wearing T-shirts or badges which show your support for a particular group. Certainly never wear them at work or when conducting an interview. Even the smallest badge or sticker can lead people to think that you are biased. For example, a tiny anti-nuclear badge will be noticed if you are sent to interview a visiting admiral of the United States Navy.

As long as you are a reporter, you should avoid taking a leading role in public demonstrations, speeches or rallies. You should also avoid taking a public role in any controversial organisation. For example, being a Scout or Guide leader is acceptable, but giving a speech supporting a political candidate is dangerous.

Once you are publicly seen to be taking sides, you will never convince people again that you are impartial, even though professionally you may be.
PRESSURES ON JOURNALISTS

Journalists are professional people, trying to work within a code of professional ethics. As we saw above this includes the need to be fair to all parties involved in any news story.

However, journalists cannot operate in a vacuum, doing what they think is right without pressures being put on them. Journalists face pressure from a variety of sources, all trying to make the journalist behave in a way which is not the way the journalist would choose.

It is important that you try to resist all these forms of pressure, as far as possible.

Of course, you will sometimes fail. This is an imperfect world, and journalists are also imperfect. Nevertheless, you should always try to resist the kinds of pressure which we shall discuss here.
Employer

Your employer pays your salary. In return, they expect to say how you will do your job. This can lead to ethical problems for journalists.

If you work for a government-owned news organisation, then your government will be your employer. This could make it very difficult for you to report critically on things which the government is doing.

Ministers will often put pressure on public service journalists to report things which are favourable to the government (even when they are not newsworthy) and not to report things which are unfavorable to the government. They can enforce public service discipline, to make journalists do as the government wants. This is especially difficult to resist in small developing countries, where there may be little or no alternative employment.

It is not only government-owned media where such pressure exists, though.

Commercial media are paid for by a mixture of advertising and sales. To increase sales, newspapers, radio and television stations sometimes sponsor sporting or cultural events, and then publicize them. Your boss may demand more coverage for the event than it is worth, in order to promote the event as much as possible. You will need to persuade them of the danger of this - that other events will have to be neglected to give extra coverage to your sponsored event, and that this will risk losing readers or listeners.

Advertisers can also bring pressure to bear upon owners and editors. A big advertiser may threaten to stop advertising unless you run a news report of something good which the advertiser has just done; or, much worse, it may threaten to stop advertising unless you ignore a news event which is unfavorable to the advertiser.

Ideally, any news organisation should dismiss such threats, and judge each story only on its news merits. However, this is easier in a large community with a diverse and developed economy than it is in a small country with a developing economy. When a commercial news organisation is operating on a tiny profit margin, it will not be easy to turn away a big advertiser, and its owners may feel forced to give in to the pressure.

In some cases, the advertiser may even be the government. In many countries the government is the biggest advertiser - with job advertisements, calls for tenders, public announcements and so on - and this can be a way in which governments bring indirect pressure to bear upon commercial news media.

What should you do about this kind of pressure? The first thing which any junior journalist should do is to report it to their editor. It will be for the editor to decide what to do. He or she will need to resist the employer as far as possible, pointing out the dangers of failing to report the news fully and fairly.  The main danger is that readers or listeners who already know of the event which is being suppressed, realize that it is not being reported and so lose confidence in the newspaper, radio or television station involved. This may, in the long run, result in more serious problems for ministers than some short-term embarrassment, and may do more long-term damage to your organization’s finances than the loss of one advertiser.

The truth is, though, that your power to resist pressure from your employer is limited. You can only do your best, and accept that the rest is beyond your control.
Authority

Both government-owned and commercial news media may face pressure from authority - the government, the police, customs, or some other branch of authority.

Governments can threaten, or make, laws to force all news media to be licensed. This would give them power to grant licences only to those news organisations which please the government. Even the threat to introduce such legislation may be enough to frighten journalists, and to make them afraid of criticizing the government too much.

The best way to resist such pressure is to stimulate public debate on the issue of media licensing. As with any proposed legislation, the news media should encourage public debate before it comes in, so that leaders have the opportunity to judge public opinion.

If society generally is opposed to licensing of all news media, then a democratically-elected government will think very seriously before introducing such a thing. On the other hand, if society wants news media to be licensed by government, then it is something which journalists will just have to accept, however much they may disagree with it.

Other forms of authority may bring pressure to bear on you in less official ways. Police may attempt to confiscate your camera when you are taking photographs which the police do not like; or they may deny you access to a court room or a public meeting; or they may order you not to report certain things. Junior journalists should always report such incidents to their editor.

The editor will best resist this kind of pressure by knowing precisely what he is allowed to do, and what he is not allowed to do. If he knows that the police are acting outside their powers, he can politely approach a very senior police officer, or even the Police Minister, and report the incident. They can then handle it. If the police act outside their powers and no action is taken, even though it has been reported, then the editor can publicize the fact in a major news story. It is wise, though, to try to sort out such problems quietly first, since in this way future relations may be more positive.
Threats

Many people think they can avoid bad publicity by threatening journalists with violence, or with legal action. Such threats should always be resisted (unless you are advised by a lawyer that you are legally in the wrong).

Junior journalists should always report any threat which they have received to their editor. If the threat was a threat of violence, then the editor should seriously consider informing the police. It is usually a criminal offence to threaten violence against somebody, and journalists are protected by such a law as much as anybody else.

If the threat is of legal action, then the editor's response will depend upon the facts of the case. The editor should know the law well enough to judge whether or not to take the threat seriously. If he suspects that there may be grounds for legal action, he should consult a lawyer. Then, if he finds that he or his reporter is in the wrong, of course he should immediately set things right. If, however, he finds that there is no basis for legal action, then he and his reporter can happily ignore the empty threat.
Bribes

Journalists do not usually earn big money. You may therefore be vulnerable to bribery - somebody offering money (or goods or services) in return for a favourable story being written, or an unfavorable story being ignored.

To accept a bribe is dishonest. Your honesty is like virginity - it can only be lost once. Once you have accepted a bribe, you can never again be trusted as a professional person.

Journalists who are offered bribes will usually be offered them in private. This is so that the person attempting the bribe can later deny that it ever happened. If this happens, you should immediately invite somebody else into the room, and then ask the briber to repeat their offer. They are unlikely to do so but, if they do, you will have a witness.

In any case, report the matter to your editor.
Gifts and freebies

Commercial companies sometimes try to buy journalists' friendship by giving them small presents or by giving them the opportunity to travel at the company's expense (sometimes called freebies).

Often this travel is legitimate. An airline which is introducing a new route to and from your country may well offer you a free seat on the first flight. You will then have the opportunity to write from first-hand experience about the service and about the destination. If the airline is confident that its service is good, and that the destination is interesting, they will be satisfied that whatever you write will be good publicity for them.

As long as it is understood that you are free to write whatever you like, without the company that provides the free travel having any influence, such an arrangement is acceptable. However, if you are offered a ticket in return for writing "something nice" about the company, this is not acceptable. Poor newspapers, radio and television stations may be grateful for charity to top up inadequate travel budgets, but they should never be so poor that they sell their professional honor.

In any case, such offers should never be accepted or negotiated by a junior journalist. Only the editor should do so, and any offers must be referred to the editor. The editor can judge whether or not the terms of the offer are acceptable.

Gifts are a difficult area. Small gifts, such as a tie or a bottle of whisky, may be acceptable, but the gift should not be so big as to buy your loyalty. The golden rule for each journalist is whether they would care very much if the company decided not to offer another gift like this in the future. If you do not care whether they offer you such a gift again, then you have not been bought. If you deeply desire another similar gift, you are in danger; remove the temptation by telling the company not to send any more.

The former editor of the Hindustan Times, Khushwant Singh, once said that he would accept a bottle of whisky from anybody, because he would still feel free to criticize them; but he would not accept a case (12 bottles) of whisky, because he was afraid that might influence the way he did his job.

In any case, all gifts, however small, should be declared to your editor. If your editor considers that any gift is too large or too generous to be accepted, you will have to return it, politely but firmly. People need to know that you and your news organisation have moral and ethical standards, and are prepared to live by them.

Sometimes, executives in companies or government departments will devote a lot of time and energy to making you into their friend. They may take you out for meals, buy you drinks or invite you to their home. Beware of this. If it is genuine friendship, there may be no problem; but it may be an attempt to win your loyalty. It is as bad to run a story which is just a free advertisement, or to suppress bad news, as a favour to a friend, as it is to do the same thing in return for a bribe.
Family

In many societies, a person's first loyalty is to members of their extended family, or clan, or tribe. This is expected to take priority over all other loyalties, including their loyalty to the ethical standards of their profession. Thus, a doctor who saved the life of a traditional clan enemy could meet with disapproval from his own relatives.

Journalists, too, face conflicts of loyalty like this. It may not only be pressure from your family, clan or tribe; it may also be from members of a club or association or church to which you belong.

For young journalists in small societies, this is often the hardest kind of pressure to resist. They understand that they should have a loyalty to their professional ethics, but deep down they are certain that they must not offend the family. To do so, and to be cut off from the family, would be unthinkable.

It is important, therefore, that you avoid such conflicts of interest whenever possible. If you are told by your editor to cover a story which involves your own extended family, or clan, or tribe, you should point out to the editor this conflict of loyalty and ask that the story be assigned to another reporter.

The hardest job is that of the editor himself. He cannot avoid the clash of responsibility in this way, and must make the decision either to please his family and sacrifice his organization’s credibility; or to maintain his professional standards and cut himself off from his family. Neither decision will be easy, but it is to be hoped that senior journalists in such situations will be able to set an example of professional and ethical courage to their junior colleagues.
Tradition

In societies which are in rapid change from traditional to modern Western ways, there is often a clash between the way in which things were done in the past and the way in which the profession says they should be done now.

For example, freedom of speech may itself be a recent imported concept. Traditionally, it may be that only men of a certain rank had the right to express their views; or that certain clans had the right to express their views on certain subjects; and it may have been the case that very few people had the right to question a chief.

All this is very different to a Western-style free Press, in which everybody is encouraged to speak on every subject, and journalists, however junior, are encouraged to cross-examine leaders, however senior.

Tradition will often be used as a weapon to pressure journalists into patterns of behaviour which go against their professional ethics. Junior journalists should always report such instances to their editor, and seek guidance.

The way forward will require careful thought. The professional ethics of journalists in your country may still be developing. They will be influenced by professional journalists' ethics in other countries, where journalism is more established; but they will also be influenced by the traditions of your society. Out of a clash of cultures, a new culture may develop, suitable for your society in the modern world. Only you, and other journalists in your society, can form these new ethical standards for your society; and you must be prepared both to listen carefully to other points of view and to act according to your judgment, while these new standards are emerging.
Personal conviction

Journalists may come under pressure from their own strong beliefs.

For example, a journalist who is deeply opposed to capital punishment may be writing a story about crime. In the course of gathering the information, they may interview somebody who calls for the death penalty as the answer to increasing crime. The journalist may be tempted not to report these comments, and to leave the question of capital punishment out of the story. This would clearly be unethical.

It is as bad to censor the news to suit your own views as it is to censor the news to please your family, or clan, or tribe. This is contrary to the most fundamental principle of free speech - that we may disagree with what somebody says, but that we must fight to defend their right to say it.

It is not only the things you really believe in which may cause problems. Some journalists accept contracts to advertise products, as a way of earning some extra money. You must think carefully before you do this.

If you are seen by your readers or listeners to be in favour of a particular product, they will not believe that you are impartial if you later report a story about that or any rival products.

It is important for journalists to be impartial. You may know that you have no special liking for the product which you advertised - you only did it for the money - but your readers or listeners will not know that.
Codes of ethics

In many countries journalists try to work within a professional code of ethics. This usually lays down in simple, straightforward terms the kind of things they should and should not do. Typically such codes contain rules about issues such as honesty, fairness, independence and respect for the rights of other people such as interviewees, victims and readers or listeners.

In most free press democracies, journalist codes of ethics are usually voluntary, perhaps monitored by a professional association or journalist union. In such cases, the only real sanctions against journalists who breach the codes are criticism from colleagues and perhaps loss of membership of the association or union. In some cases media employers might use the journalist code of ethics to set standards for journalists they employ, in which case breaches of the codes might lead to discipline or even sacking.

In some countries where the media are suppressed, the government may try to control what is written or broadcast by imposing a code of ethics backed by law and policed by the authorities. These are like any other laws in such countries; breaking them may lead to punishment, so it is up to journalists themselves to decide whether to obey oppressive codes or follow the higher principles of journalistic ethics and risk the consequences.

Respect for truth and the public's right to information are fundamental principles of journalism. Journalists describe society to itself. They convey information, ideas and opinions, a privileged role. They search, disclose, record, question, entertain, suggest and remember. They inform citizens and animate democracy. They give a practical form to freedom of expression. Many journalists work in private enterprise, but all have these public responsibilities. They scrutinize power, but also exercise it, and should be accountable. Accountability engenders trust. Without trust, journalists do not fulfill their public responsibilities. The members engaged in journalism commit themselves to

            Honesty

            Fairness

            Independence

            Respect for the rights of others

            Report and interpret honestly, striving for accuracy, fairness and disclosure of all essential facts.  Do not suppress relevant available facts, or give distorting emphasis.  Do your utmost  to give a fair opportunity for reply.

            Do not place unnecessary emphasis on personal characteristics, including race, ethnicity, nationality, gender, age, sexual orientation, family relationships, religious belief, or physical or intellectual disability.

            Aim to attribute information to its source.  Where a source seeks anonymity, do not agree without first considering the source’s motives and any alternative attributable source.  Where confidences are accepted,  respect them in all circumstances.

            Do not allow personal interest, or any belief, commitment, payment, gift or benefit, to undermine your accuracy, fairness or independence.

            Disclose conflicts of interest that affect, or could be seen to affect, the accuracy, fairness or independence of your journalism.  Do not improperly use a journalistic position for personal gain. 

            Do not allow advertising or other commercial considerations to undermine accuracy, fairness or independence.

            Do your utmost to ensure disclosure of any direct or indirect payment made for interviews, pictures, information or stories.

            Use fair, responsible and honest means to obtain material.  Identify yourself and your employer before obtaining any interview for publication or broadcast.  Never exploit a person’s vulnerability or ignorance of media practice.

            Present pictures and sound which are true and accurate.  Any manipulation likely to mislead should be disclosed.

            Do not plagiarize.

            Respect private grief and personal privacy.  Journalists have the right to resist compulsion to intrude.

            Do your utmost to achieve fair correction of errors.
The South African Press Code

Preamble

Whereas:

Section 16 of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa enshrines the right to freedom of expression as follows:

(1) Everyone has the right to freedom of expression, which includes:
(a) Freedom of the press and other media;
(b) Freedom to receive or impart information or ideas;
(c) Freedom of artistic creativity; and
(d) Academic freedom and freedom of scientific research.

(2) The right in subsection (1) does not extend to
(a) Propaganda for war;
(b) Incitement of imminent violence; or
(c) Advocacy of hatred that is based on race, ethnicity, gender or religion,
and that constitutes incitement to cause harm.

The basic principle to be upheld is that the freedom of the press is indivisible from and subject to the same rights and duties as that of the individual and rests on the public's fundamental right to be informed and freely to receive and to disseminate opinions; and

The primary purpose of gathering and distributing news and opinion is to serve society by informing citizens and enabling them to make informed judgments on the issues of the time; and

The freedom of the press allows for an independent scrutiny to bear on the forces that shape society.

Now Therefore:
The Press Council of South Africa accepts the following Code which will guide the South African Press Ombudsman and the South African Press Appeals Panel to reach decisions on complaints from the public after publication of the relevant material.

Furthermore, the Press Council of South Africa is hereby constituted as a self-regulatory mechanism to provide impartial, expeditious and cost-effective arbitration to settle complaints based on and arising from this Code.

Definition
For purposes of this Code, “child pornography" shall mean: “Any image or any description of a person, real or simulated, who is or who is depicted or described as being, under the age of 18 years, engaged in sexual conduct; participating in or assisting another person to participate in sexual conduct; or showing or describing the body or parts of the body of the person in a manner or circumstances which, in context, amounts to sexual exploitation, or in a manner capable of being used for purposes of sexual exploitation."

Reporting of News

            The press shall be obliged to report news truthfully, accurately and fairly.

            News shall be presented in context and in a balanced manner, without any intentional or negligent departure from the facts whether by:

            Distortion, exaggeration or misrepresentation;

            Material omissions; or

            Summarization.

            Only what may reasonably be true, having regard to the sources of the news, may be presented as fact, and such facts shall be published fairly with due regard to context and importance. Where a report is not based on facts or is founded on opinions, allegation, rumor or supposition, it shall be presented in such manner as to indicate this clearly.

            Where there is reason to doubt the accuracy of a report and it is practicable to verify the accuracy thereof, it shall be verified. Where it has not been practicable to verify the accuracy of a report, this shall be mentioned in such report.

            A publication should usually seek the views of the subject of serious critical reportage in advance of publication; provided that this need not be done where the publication has reasonable grounds for believing that by doing so it would be prevented from publishing the report or where evidence might be destroyed or witnesses intimidated.

            A publication should make amends for publishing information or comment that is found to be inaccurate by printing, promptly and with appropriate prominence, a retraction, correction or explanation.

            Reports, photographs or sketches relative to matters involving indecency or obscenity shall be presented with due sensitivity towards the prevailing moral climate.

            A visual presentation of sexual conduct may not be published, unless a legitimate public interest dictates otherwise.

            Child pornography shall not be published.

The identity of rape victims and victims of sexual violence shall not be published without the consent of the victim.

            News obtained by dishonest or unfair means, or the publication of which would involve a breach of confidence, should not be published unless a legitimate public interest dictates otherwise.

            In both news and comment the press shall exercise exceptional care and consideration in matters involving the private lives and concerns of individuals, bearing in mind that any right to privacy may be overridden only by a legitimate public interest.


Discrimination and Hate Speech

            The press should avoid discriminatory or denigratory references to people's race, colour, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, physical or mental disability or illness, or age.

            The press should not refer to a person's race, colour, ethnicity, religion, gender, sexual orientation or preference, physical or mental illness in a prejudicial or pejorative context except where it is strictly relevant to the matter reported or adds significantly to readers' understanding of that matter.

            The press has the right and indeed the duty to report and comment on all matters of legitimate public interest. This right and duty must, however, be balanced against the obligation not to publish material which amounts to hate speech.

Advocacy
A publication is justified in strongly advocating its own views on controversial topics provided that it treats its readers fairly by:

            Making fact and opinion clearly distinguishable;

            Not misrepresenting or suppressing relevant facts;

            Not distorting the facts in text or headlines.

Comment

• The press shall be entitled to comment upon or criticize any actions or events of public importance provided such comments or criticisms are fairly and honestly made.
• Comment by the press shall be presented in such manner that it appears clearly that it is comment, and shall be made on facts truly stated or fairly indicated and referred to.
• Comment by the press shall be an honest expression of opinion, without malice or dishonest motives, and shall take fair account of all available facts which are material to the matter commented upon.

Headlines, Posters, Pictures and Captions

• Headlines and captions to pictures shall give a reasonable reflection of the contents of the report or picture in question.
• Posters shall not mislead the public and shall give a reasonable reflection of the contents of the reports in question.
• Pictures shall not misrepresent or mislead nor be manipulated to do so.

Confidential Sources
The press has an obligation to protect confidential sources of information.

Payment for Articles
No payment shall be made for feature articles to persons engaged in crime or other notorious misbehavior, or to convicted persons or their associates, including family, friends, neighbors and colleagues, except where the material concerned ought to be published in the public interest and the payment is necessary for this to be done.

Violence
Due care and responsibility shall be exercised by the press with regard to the presentation of brutality, violence and atrocities.
SOURCES OF INFORMATION

News is happening all the time: People are being born or dying, banks are being robbed, roads are being planned, companies are making profits or losses, storms are destroying homes, courts are sending people to jail or freeing them, scientists are discovering new drugs. Every minute of every day something newsworthy is happening somewhere in the world.

Even if you are a journalist working in a small country, something newsworthy is probably happening in your country at this moment, while you are reading this book. Your job as a journalist is to get information on those events and present it to your readers or listeners. But you cannot be everywhere all the time to see those events for yourself. So you need other ways of getting information on all those hundreds (maybe millions) of events you cannot witness yourself. When someone or something provides you with information, we call them a “source”.

Sources of information can be people, letters, books, files, films, tapes - in fact, anything which journalists use to put news stories together. Sources are very important if you want to report on events or issues and explain the world to your audience. Journalists try to work as much as possible from their own observations, but this is often not possible. Some events or issues are finished before the journalist gets there. Others are like plants which only show their stem and leaves above the ground - the all-important roots are hidden from sight. Journalists who only report what they see can miss much of the news unless they have sources to tell them of more details or other aspects which are out of sight.
Types of sources

Journalists should deal in reliable facts, so it is important that the sources you use for writing stories can give you accurate information about what happened or what was said. But just as there are lots of different news events, so there are many different sources of information. Some of them will give you very accurate information and we call these sources reliable (because we can rely on what they say). Others are less reliable, but still useful, while some can hardly be trusted at all. The main way of judging sources of information is on their reliability.
Reporters

One of the most reliable sources of information (although not completely reliable) are other journalists. They may be your colleagues or reporters from a news agency which supplies your organisation. If they are well trained, experienced and objective, their reports will usually be accurate and can be trusted. However, if there are any essential facts missing from their reports, these will have to be provided. Either they will have to provide them or you will have to find the missing facts yourself. Mistakes can happen. This is why news organisations should have a system for checking facts. A reporter's story should be checked by the news editor then the sub-editor. In small newsrooms, where the reporter may also be the editor or newsreader, the reporter must be especially careful in checking facts.

There is also the danger that reporters misinterpret what they think they see and then present that as a fact. This often happens when reporting such things as the size of a crowd. Unable to count every person in it, they make an estimate, often sharing their guesses with other journalists on the scene. This is just an estimate and any report which says "there were 40,000 people present" should be treated with caution, unless the reporter knows the exact number who came through the gate.

All sources, including reporters, are said to be reliable if we think they can be believed consistently. If a source is always correct in the information they provide, we will believe them next time. If they make a mistake, we may doubt what they say. Reliability is built up over time.

Your personal reliability as a journalist is important. If you have a good record for fair and accurate reporting, you will be believed. If you get a reputation for being careless in your work or biased in your interpretation, your colleagues, readers or listeners will not be able to rely upon you. In all cases it is better only to report what you know and make it clear in your report that everything else is either an estimate, an opinion or the word of someone else, perhaps a witness. You must always try to give precise facts and attributed opinion. If you cannot do that, you can use phrases like "it is believed that ..." or "it appears that ...". It is better to do this than to leave your readers or listeners believing that what you have said is a proven fact.
Primary sources

Often the source is someone at the centre of the event or issue. We call such people primary sources. It might be a man who fell 1,000 meters from an aircraft and lived to tell the tale; or a union leader who is leading wage negotiations. They are usually the best sources of information about their part of what happened. They should be able to give you accurate details and also supply strong comments.

The fall survivor might say: "I saw the ground rushing up towards me and I kept thinking `So this is death'." The union leader might warn: "If the employers want blood on their hands, we are ready to supply it."

Of course, just because a person was present at an event does not mean that they are either accurate or fair. The fall survivor may have injured his head after landing and so be confused. The union leader will want to present his side in the best light. It is vital to double-check and cross-check facts with other sources.

A word of warning here: If any of your sources, however reliable, gives you information which is defamatory, you can still be taken to court for using it. You are responsible for deciding whether or not to publish the defamatory material.
Written sources

Not all primary sources will be spoken. Written reports can make an excellent source of information for a journalist. They are usually written after a lot of research by the authors, they have been checked for accuracy and are usually published with official approval.

However, just because information is printed, that does not mean that it is reliable. With typewriters, computers and modern technology, it is relatively easy to produce printed material. You must look at who has produced the document. Are they in a position to know enough about the topic and have access to the reliable facts? Do they have a reputation for reliability?

This is especially important with information on the Internet. Anyone can put information onto the Internet and unless you know how trustworthy they are you cannot judge the reliability of what they write.

One advantage of the Internet is that you can quickly cross-check numerous sources, but beware: a mistake on one site can easily and rapidly be repeated by people writing on other sites. Even major online references such as Wikipedia rely on volunteers writing the entries and checking their accuracy and there have been numerous cases of people using entries in Wikipedia and other online reference works to spread untruths. In many countries, official transcripts of the proceedings of a court or parliament have some legal protection from actions for defamation.
Leaked documents

You may occasionally be given documents which have not been officially released to the press. They may be given to you by someone in a company or government department who does not want to be seen giving them to the media. We call these leaked documents.

Documents are often leaked by people who believe that the public should know the contents (such as an environmental report), but who are unable to reveal it in public themselves, perhaps because they do not have the authority to do so. In some cases, documents are leaked by a person to gain an advantage over someone else, perhaps someone who is criticized in the report.

Leaked documents are often excellent sources of news stories because they can contain information which someone wants to keep secret. This might be a plan to do something which the public might oppose, such as bulldozing homes to make a new road. It might be a report on corruption within an organisation which the heads of that organisation do not want to be publicly known. Just because a government, company or other group does not want information to be known, that does not mean that you should not report it. If you believe that it is important to inform your readers or listeners of certain facts, you must do that, even if the information was given to you unofficially. Of course, like any information, leaked documents must still be checked for accuracy before they can be used.

There are also legal dangers to consider when using leaked documents. They might, for instance, have been stolen. It is usually an offence to receive stolen property if you think it could have been stolen, even if it is only a few sheets of paper.

Leaked documents could also be covered by copyright, so you could be breaking the law by quoting directly from them. You are on safer ground in reporting the substance of what was said, in your own words.
Secondary sources

Secondary sources are those people who do not make the news, but who pass it on. The official police report of an incident or comments by someone's press officer can be called secondary sources. Secondary sources are not usually as reliable as primary sources.

Most eyewitnesses should be treated as secondary sources for journalists because, although they are able to tell what they think they have seen, they are often not trained for such work and can be very inaccurate, without meaning to be.

You have to assess the reliability of secondary sources and if necessary tell your readers or listeners where the information came from.
Tip-offs

Occasionally someone will call with a story tip-off but refuse to give their name. These are said to be anonymous (meaning "no name"). These are the most dangerous sources of information and should only be used with extreme caution. Although anonymous tip-offs can provide good story ideas, they must never be used without a lot of checking. If they are wrong, you will be held directly responsible unless you have checked what they said with other more reliable sources.

Often people who ring up with a tip-off will tell you their name if asked, but on the promise that you do not reveal their name to anyone else. You must still cross-check what they say because, of course, you cannot quote them as your source if there is any dispute about accuracy, for example if you are taken to court for defamation.
Attribution

When you get information from a source, you normally need to attribute that information to someone. Attribution means to tell your readers or listeners the name and title of the person you interviewed or document you got the information from. You do it, for example, through the verb "to say" or a phrase like "according to ...." There are three levels of attribution, depending on whether your source is happy about being publicly identified or whether they want to keep some secrecy about what they tell you. These three levels (which we will explain in detail) are:

On the record, which means you can use both their words and their name;

Non-attributable, which means you can use the information, but not the source's name;

Off the record, which means you cannot use either the information or the source's name.

All of these terms are only used to describe reporting methods. They should not appear in your finished story. Let us look at these three in detail:
On the record

Most information you are given will be on the record. People will tell you the details openly and allow you to quote their names and titles. The politician making a speech, the witness describing a crash, the police officer reporting an arrest, the company chairman defending an increase in prices, all are usually prepared to be quoted and to give their names. Even if they are unhappy about the story you are writing (perhaps because it makes them look bad), most people will understand your need to report fairly and accurately what they say.

It is always best to get information on the record. You can remain accurate by using the exact words people say. You can also make the story seem more human by using direct quotes (or by using their voices on radio and television). But most important, people judge what they read or hear by the person who says it. They are much more likely to take notice if the Justice Minister says he believes in capital punishment than if the man who sweeps the street says it. On the record comments have an extra level of understanding for people because they know who is speaking and exactly what was said.
Non-attributable

Sometimes a source will give you information on the understanding that you can use the information but not attribute it to them.

Your source may do this for one of several reasons. Perhaps they are not officially allowed to give you the information, but they think it could be made public. Perhaps they do not want to be in the public eye.

Politicians sometimes give non-attributable details of a plan so that they can find out public reaction to it without any risk. If the public likes the plan, the politician can then go on the record and claim the credit. If the public do not like the plan, the politician can abandon it without losing face because his name was never associated with it anyway. The danger for journalists is that, if the politician does decide to abandon an unpopular plan, you will be left looking like a fool for writing about a story which the politician will then deny ever having considered. Politicians occasionally leak document to the media for similar reasons - to test public opinion on an issue unofficially.

If you agree not to use your source's name, there are phrases you can use instead, such as "a spokesperson for...", "a reliable source at..." or "sources within..." These should only be used if you cannot convince the source to go on the record. They are an admission that you cannot tell the whole truth.

If your source refuses to go on the record, ask them if they mind some information being used and attributed to them, but leaving the more sensitive information not attributed specifically to them. They may allow their name to be used for certain parts but not for others.

For example, the Police Minister, Ari Katoa, may tell you about a forthcoming operation against drug growers, but not wish to be quoted on the details for fear of offending his police commissioner. However, he will be quoted on the problem itself. You might then write the story:

Police in East Island are to launch a major offensive against marijuana growers.

Extra police will be drafted in from today and helicopters will be used to search out drug plantations.

Sources within the Police Department say this is the biggest operation of its kind ever mounted on the island.

Police Minister Ari Katoa says drug abuse is a serious menace to the stability of the nation and the lives of young people.

You should try to avoid making any agreement to accept non-attributable information unless it is unavoidable. Your job as a journalist is to pass on news as accurately as possible. Unattributed stories will not seem as accurate to your audience as stories where information is attributed.
Off the record

You will occasionally be given information on the understanding that it is totally off the record. Although you will have to ask your source exactly what they mean by such a phrase, it usually means that you should not even write about what they tell you. And you must certainly not use their name.

People usually give information off the record when they want you to understand the background to something which is too sensitive for them to talk publicly about. For example, you might get a tip-off of a major police operation planned for the next day against the hide-out of a criminal gang. You ask the police chief for more information, but he will obviously not want you to publish anything which might warn the gang. On the other hand, he might not want to say "no comment" because you might start asking questions somewhere else. So he might say he will tell you off the record, on condition that you do not tell anyone else.

Because he is asking you a favour - that is to keep secret something you already know a little bit about - you should expect a favour in return. If you agree not to publish details of the story before the raid, ask him whether, as a sign of goodwill on his part, he will allow you to accompany the police on the raid. You will then beat all your competitors to the story of the raid itself and have a scoop.

One thing to remember about any request to treat information off the record is that it is only a request. You can agree or disagree. If a person says they will only speak to you off the record, you must decide how important their information is - and whether you can get it from somewhere else. If you cannot, perhaps you can agree to their conditions. In any case, you should bargain with them to give it on the record or at least non-attributed.

If a person gives you an interview and only tells you at the end that it was all off the record, argue that they should have said so earlier and not wasted your time. You are in a strong position because you now know what it is they want to keep a secret.
Using assumed names

You occasionally have to protect a source's identity by giving them an assumed name. This arises most often when you are writing about the victims of some kind of abuse, usually in feature articles or documentaries. These people may not mind you telling their story, but they do not want other people to know exactly who they are.

Children especially should be protected, although you can use assumed names for anyone with a good reason to have their identity kept secret, such as alcoholics, drug addicts or battered wives.

It is usual in such cases to give the person assumed name, for example "Tony" or "Juanita", and no surname. You must, of course, tell your readers or listeners that this is not the person's real name, but is being used to protect them. If you use a picture them, make sure they are not recognizable in it. If you use their voice, it is common practice in radio and television to electronically change it so it cannot be recognized.

You may also have to disguise other facts of the story if there is a chance that these will lead people to identify the person. This should only be done after careful consideration and with the approval of your editor.
SOURCES AND CONFIDENTIALITY

As a journalist, you can always decline to accept information from a source unless they agree to be identified. However, once you have made the promise not to identify them, you must never break your word. If you do, people will never talk to you again. This introduces us to the idea of confidentiality, one of the most important areas of journalism ethics.
What is confidentiality?

The words "confidence" and "confidentiality" are based on the Latin word for trust. When you are given information in confidence, this usually means that you promise that you will not tell anyone else where you got it from. Your confidential informant trusts you to keep their identity secret. Agreeing to accept non-attributable information is the most common example of confidentiality.

People usually ask for confidentiality because they are afraid of other people finding out they gave you information. There are all sorts of reasons why they need confidentiality:

• They might fear that their bosses will punish them for giving the information.
• They might be afraid of what other people think about them if certain information is shown to have come from them.
• They might be in a position of power but limited by rules about what they can say officially.

Confidentiality of sources is central to the ethics of journalism. As a journalist, you rely on people telling you things. Sometimes those people do not want their identity revealed to others. Although it is always better to be able to quote someone by name, in certain circumstances you have to quote what your source says without revealing away their identity. If you name a source who has given you information in confidence, you betray their trust. They will probably never give you confidential information again. But more importantly, anyone who knows that you cannot be trusted will probably refuse to give you information in confidence. If people mistrust you, they might carry that mistrust to all journalists. Any journalist who betrays a trust weakens the whole of the profession.

It is important too that you do not give away any clues to the identity of a source who has asked to remain anonymous. This means taking extra care in phrasing the way you describe how your information was obtained. It can also mean leaving out newsworthy pieces of information which would identify the source.

For example, the Prime Minister's secretary may have given you secret information in confidence or off the record. If you write the story attributing the details to "sources on the Prime Minister's personal staff", you risk exposing your source, especially if there are only one or two people on the Prime Minister's personal staff. It might be better to attribute it to "sources in the Prime Minister's department" if it is a big department, or even "Government sources" if you feel that will protect your source better. Of course, your readers or listeners will judge the value of information by how close the source of it is to the event or to the people making decisions. You need to balance the need to show that your sources are close to the centre of the information (and therefore reliable) against the need to protect the identity of a confidential source.

In some cases, your editor will ask who your confidential source is. Editors often want to know so that they can assess how reliable the information is. After all, they too can be sued or sent to jail for what is published or broadcast. You must get approval from your source before you reveal their name even to your editor. Once you do so, your editor must guard that confidentiality as strongly as you do.

This promise of confidentiality is particularly hard to keep in cases where the law may demand that you reveal your sources. In many countries, courts, tribunals, parliamentary committees and royal commissions can order you to reveal your sources of information if they think that this will help them in the administration of justice. If you fail to obey their order you may be fined or imprisoned (or both) for contempt. In some cases, journalists have been jailed for lengthy terms, to be released only when they purge their contempt by revealing the information first demanded by the court. It is more common for journalists to be released from their promise of confidentiality when the source himself comes forward to give his identity.

It is the legal opinion in many countries that journalists have no special protection under law. Lawyers, priests and doctors are often protected by law in their dealings with their clients, parishioners or patients - journalists are not. The journalist's position is extremely unpleasant in cases where confidence comes in conflict with the law. On the one hand you will be accused of obstructing the law by refusing to name your sources. On the other, you will betray one of the central ethics of journalism if you reveal the name of someone who spoke to you in strictest confidence (even though they may be criminals).

Although journalists are always encouraged to work within the law, confidentiality is one situation in which you may have to defy the law for a greater good. Revealing a confidential source may assist the law in prosecuting one case, but you must defend a system of confidentiality which encourages the exposure of many future cases.

Journalists are bound by the law; but they believe it is in the best interests of society to have a way in which injustice, abuse and corruption can be made public. It is not in society's best interests to have only one channel (the legal system) through which wrongdoing can be brought to light. The legal system itself has flaws, so there must be other methods of correcting wrongs; journalism can be one of those ways.

You must not see confidentiality only as protecting one source of information; it is also protecting freedom of speech.

Once you have given your word to a source that you will protect their confidentiality, you must stick to that promise all the way, even if that takes you to prison. Unless the source agrees, you cannot tell the police, the judge, your editor or even your mother.

So if you do not feel that you can go to jail to protect a confidential source, do not give your promise to them in the first place. Tell them at the start of any interviews that you will reveal their names if ordered by a court. They will probably then refuse to give you any more information.
Police requests for media pictures

It is worth mentioning finally that you may have to defy the law to protect someone who did not even ask for confidentiality. This can happen in particular circumstances when you have evidence such as photographs or video footage which the police need in order to prosecute a case. The most usual example of this is when you take pictures of a mass event such as a protest meeting or demonstration. The police may ask you to give them your pictures because they want to see who was in the crowd. Perhaps they want to prosecute some people but need your pictures to identify them.

You may seem no harm in handing over such pictures, but your action could have a bad effect on the whole of journalism within your society. If people believe that you could be acting for the police in any way, even after the event, they might try to stop you recording the event as a journalist. They might ban you from it or prevent you taking pictures, perhaps by force. Unlike the police, you will have very little protection against such actions. You will not be able to do your job properly. More important, they might ban or attack any journalist they see taking pictures. If they know that you have handed pictures over to the police before, they might distrust all journalists. Again, the profession as a whole will have been harmed.
Eavesdropping

A final word on eavesdropping - the obtaining of information without the consent or knowledge of the people communicating it. Good journalist should always keep their eyes and ears open for story ideas, even if this occasionally means listening to someone else's conversation on the bus or in an office. If you do this by accident, people may complain, but they cannot usually prosecute you.

However, if you do it deliberately, such as opening private mail or bugging a telephone call, you will probably be breaking the law.

The problem arises most often in broadcast journalism, when reporters try to record someone without their knowledge. Journalism codes of ethics usually state that you must tell people who you are and who you work for before doing any interviews for broadcast. Further, in many countries the law itself states that you must ask the person being interviewed if you can use the recording on air.

If you believe that you may have obtained information by illegal means, you must be especially careful how you use it. A prosecution will not only mean trouble for you and your organisation - it will often distract people's attention from the main issue for which you got the information in the first place. However, there are many occasions when a good journalist can get confidential information without the need to obtain someone's agreement or break the law.

One enterprising journalism student regularly used to search through waste paper bins next to the university's photocopying machines. He knew that secretaries often threw away poor quality copies of important documents they had photocopied. The photocopies were rubbish to the staff who threw them away, but for the journalism student they were the source of many good stories for the university newspaper.

Media ethics aims at developing a comprehensive set of principles and standards for the practice of journalism in an age of global news media. New forms of communication are reshaping the practice of a once parochial craft serving a local, regional or national public. Today, news media use communication technology to gather text, video and images from around the world, with unprecedented speed and varying degrees of editorial control. The same technology allows news media to disseminate this information to audiences scattered around the globe. Despite these global trends, most codes of ethics contain standards for news organizations or associations in specific countries. International associations of journalists exist, and some have constructed declarations of principle. But no global code has been adopted by all major journalism associations and news organizations. In addition to statements of principle, more work needs to be done on the equally important area of specific, practice guidelines for covering international events. An adequate global journalism ethics has yet to be constructed.

13

The Publicist at Work

INTRODUCTION

A publicist gets press coverage for his client. The publicist is often the middleman between the high-profile personality and members of the media. He usually wants his client to receive positive acclaim, but many publicists surveyed noted the old adage that “the only bad publicity is no publicity.” Politicians and captains of industry require a little more specific spin on their press-they want to be seen as forward-looking and confident-but other professions are less picky, as in the case of the rock star who reveals the sordid details of his seamy nightlife to cultivate a rough image. Publicists also perform damage control, attempting to counteract any undesirable press coverage the client receives. This position as “last line of defense” is what distinguishes the adequate publicist from the extraordinary one. Good publicists can turn scandal into opportunity and create valuable name-recognition for their clients. Publicists don’t only work for the famous. Sometimes they work for a little-known person or industry and create reasons for them to receive press coverage.

In a case where a company desiring publicity is hampered by its esoteric nature or technical jargon, the publicist must translate its positions into easily understandable language. A major part of the publicist’s day is spent writing press releases and creating press packets, which have photos and information about the publicized person or company. Publicists spend a lot of time on the phone. They put in long hours, and most receive little financial reward in return. They operate under hectic conditions and must adhere to strict deadlines which coincide with publicity events, such as the release of a movie or the publishing of a book. They have to ensure that they get the appropriate information to the media in time for the event they are generating publicity for, such as a record release or automotive sale. They must always be available for comment (even when that comment is “no comment”) and remain friends with the media, no matter how demanding the desires of both clients and the reporters on whom they depend. But at the end of the day, they go to the hottest parties in town, the ones for their clients.

THE ROLE OF THE PUBLICIST

Every day, every newsdesk in the newspaper industry is swamped by a tidal wave of media releases, of which very few ever make it to print. Most editors will tell you this is because PR practitioners do not know how to write. But there is more to it. The majority of PR practitioners find themselves in the crossfire between the media and their managements or clients and they do not quite know how to balance these relationships in a way that will keep both parties happy. This is no easy task – but it can be achieved.

Public relations, marketing, and event planning are closely linked to the publicist’s field. The event planner creates events to generate interest in whatever the publicist is promoting. Marketers study the community to determine how the client is perceived and how its members feel his image could be improved. Advertisers and writers often create the materials used by publicists. Programmers determine where and how frequently the company should advertise. Booking agents are responsible for procuring venues for publicity and anticipating the effect the events will have on the client’s image. For instance, he may have to weigh the exposure that comes from being a guest on a major talk show against the potential friendliness or hostility of the host. Information officers perform many of the same duties as publicists, only they respond passively to inquiries and publicity, while the publicist actively seeks an interested audience.

Essentially, the job of a publicist is to increase public interest in his client. However, the type of work a publicist does is dependent upon his client’s needs. For example, a publicist who represents a famous actor or actress may spend a large portion of his time doing “damage control” after an unflattering tabloid story appears about his client’s extramarital affair or recent stint in rehab. A publicist who represents an author may be responsible for arranging book tours, sending out review copies, or placing advertising in relevant publications in an attempt to boost reader interest in the book. If the publicist represents a trendy restaurant, he may be promoting the recent hiring of a famous chef and trying to get celebrity guests to be photographed dining at the establishment.

While some publicists work a traditional schedule, most find that regular weekend and evening work is necessary. Publicists are often expected to travel to attend meetings or deliver presentations about a client’s activities. Depending upon the industry, a publicist may essentially be on call around the clock. In addition, since publicists are typically considered salaried employees, there is no overtime pay given for this extra work.

The vast majority of publicists are employed by large firms based in metropolitan cities of South Africa. However, with the communication improvements created by cell phones, email, and other technology, there are a number of successful publicists based in smaller communities. However, a publicist who isn’t employed by a major metropolitan public relations firm is unlikely to represent high profile clients in the entertainment industry.

Reasons to Hire a Publicist

Publicity has served and still today is the best avenue in getting the word out. Yes indeed, publicity is the most respected and credible way to get your business seen, but the cost of hiring a publicist can sometimes put a real strain on a small business. This is one of the main reasons a lot of businesses have turned to Publicity Agents rather than large PR firms.

            Customized Plan: Create your publicity plan, customized just for your business, not some template used for all other businesses. Each niche is different, each business within a niche is different, and therefore, we all should have a plan customized to fit our needs and our budget.

            Media Savvy: You should learn everything there is to know about the various forms of media and how to get your business noticed by them. You do not have to know everything, but, pick up on those things that you can do by yourself. By doing so, or at least knowing enough, you can more easily weed out PR people who are not right for your specific business.

            Product or Service Leveraging: A good publicist will create the right (or desired) relationships that turn into your clients by leveraging your products or services. Do you know other players within your niche? Do they take you seriously? Do you know how to approach them? If not, your publicist can help you.

            Media Publicity vs. Public Publicity vs. B to B Publicity: Today's internet allows us to incorporate more than traditional media publicity. Small businesses need to be able to incorporate three forms of publicity: Media, Public, & Business to Business. A good publicity agent will never tell all their secrets…but, they will make sure you are informed and that you are meeting the right people for your business, which in turn will help you to leverage your own form of publicity. Learn how to get the most of all 3 kinds of publicity!

            What Can A Publicist Do That I Can’t Do Myself?: Often times we hear people say, that they do all their own marketing. Why do they do it all themselves? Typically the cost of hiring another person or hiring someone without the knowledge of their business are the first two reasons this question is asked. Many times a business owner will know who the other players are in their industry, and will know them well. Relationships and control are two other reasons that people think they can do it all on their own. What some business owners may not realize is that publicists are more than newspaper advertisers or glorified secretary’s. A publicist can help raise the perceived importance others see in you and your business. A good publicist will save you time, which in essence is money.

            Raise Your Street Credibility: Having a publicist who can perform specific PR or publicity functions for your business is more essential than most small companies realize. You don’t have to have a full time $5,000 a month retainer to get key components of your PR functions accomplished. More and more, you will find publicists who have struck out on their own, who have key knowledge in certain areas of publicity. Determine the type of publicity that will best suit the needs of your company, and then build on the services you need and want from there.

            Cost of Keeping a Publicist or PR Firm: This is actually the number one reason why most small businesses never hire a publicist. What most large firms will tell you is that they are all encompassing and a small firm will not be able to service all your needs. What most businesses don’t know, is that you don’t have to start out doing everything. You can start out slow or with only the most important pieces of the puzzle. Hiring a smaller firm or a publicist who does this on their own, can be scary, but with good references and clearly defined roles, you should have no real problems.

WORKING AS PUBLICIST

A publicist must constantly be on the lookout for opportunities to give his or her client company exposure. But this can only be effective if he or she has a clear understanding of what he or she is trying to achieve and why it is necessary.

Exposure
In order to sell something, the public needs to know about it. You have something that you are certain that the rest of the public needs to know about and there is no better way to spread the word about you or your product than with public relations. The amount of encouraging attention that a magazine interview or news article gets cannot compare to that of an advertisement. There is an extra sense of authority when people hear about something from a TV show or radio show. It is notably influential. Although both ads and PR are effective and necessary to properly market you or your product, you really cannot do with public relations. PR efforts can expose you to all kinds of media. With the proper publicist, you will get the chance to tell the world whatever you think they should know, in the most effectual manner. For example, a band can land a radio interview on a hot morning show and discuss about the importance of the message behind their new album. A chef can be featured in a trade magazine and get the chance to tell the public about his new television program. The public’s interest is instantaneously provoked.

Advertising Costs Too Much
Advertisements are influential, important and necessary. Although advertising can be an excellent way to tell the public about why they need your product, it does not come without a significant price. Even ads in local magazines can cost thousands of dollars. Plus, since the public knows that the ads are coming straight from the business, they lose their reliability. Through the use of quality public relation efforts, a publicist can reach the public for a small fraction of the cost of an ad. Considering the cost and credibility factor, PR is much more cost-effective and efficient.

You Can't Do it Yourself, There's No Time!
There are a million things to do before one can achieve true success. Public relations are very time consuming. There are many words to speak, sentences to write and ideas to generate. Very few people have the time to handle an effective PR campaign, market their product and conduct “business as usual.” A publicist can take your mind off of the promotional aspects so that you can do whatever it is that you do best.

Media Kit
Do you know how to pitch a producer? Very few people know what they need to do to successfully launch a powerful PR campaign. The time spent on learning every procedure, tactic and secret in addition to the probability of failing is not worth the money you save being your own publicist. Sure, anyone can write their own press release… but do they know all the rules? Do they understand the proper format? Do they know the tricks of the trade? Can they come up with an effective angle? Publicists can see things from a different point of view—and not just from the company’s perspective. It is vital to try and see everything from the public’s standpoint.

Adds Credibility
“Have your people contact my people.” Believe it or not, having a publicist on staff boosts your credibility. This is basically for two reasons. First, it shows that you are serious about your product. If you did not believe it could be a success, you would not hire someone and pay for them to tell the world about it. Second, it makes you look and feel important, which in turn gives you the confidence you need to thrive.

PUBLICITY STRATEGIES STEP BY STEP

Publicists are likely to work with surprises. Strategies are usually created to promote a particular event, like the publicity strategy. But publicity can also be used strategically when a company wants to address less tangible behaviours which could affect the company’s business.

Know your Audience

An effective PR strategy and PR plan targeting the right people and media to get you results. Ask yourself who matters to you. Consider who has a stake in your success. They may include current or future customers, clients, staff, funders, or supporters. Your audiences are likely to include a few categories:

            Customers or clients and/or supporters

            Staff or employees

            Funders or donors

            Key members of your field or industry

            Field or industry experts or analysts

            Associations / other organizations

            Community leaders and voters

            Public officials and regulators

There may also be other audiences depending on your business, practice or organization. You may also consider reporters and bloggers to be audiences, and in the sense that you are appealing to their interest in you, they are, but see the sections on media. In preparing your media materials and doing your outreach, you will be connecting with them differently than other audiences.

Parts of publicity plan

Your PR plan may include certain or all of these aspects. Think about what is unique or different about you, your business or organization. These insights are nuggets of interesting material for a story about you, and form the beginnings of a PR strategy.

            Your Goals & Objectives

            Your Publicity Strategy

            Insights

            Targeting

            Market Research

            Message Development

            Media Plan

            Tracking & Evaluation

            Training

            Branding

            Integrating PR

            Reputation Management

            Crisis Planning

            Public Affairs

            Tactics

            Creating publicity Materials

            Media Events

            Website Development

            Conferences & Conventions

            Preparing a Media List

            Media Outreach

            Endorsements

            Bylined Articles

            Speechwriting & Speeches

            Crisis Media Relations

            Public Events & Partnerships

            Public Affairs Communications

Your Goals & Objectives
One of the first steps in preparing a public relations plan is figuring out what your objectives are for your business, organization, or yourself if you're working on a project or endeavor, as well as the goals for the media coverage and/or web presence. This helps in targeting the right audiences and developing the right messages. For example, the public relations goals for a business start-up, starting a practice or a product launch may be to create awareness and positive publicity in x number of locations or territories by a certain date. For an organization, whose mission for example is to reduce childhood cancer, the organizational objective may be to increase support and contributions from new parents, including parents who have children with cancer and those who don't.

The public relations goals may be to draw attention to the illness and how the organization helps, and correct perceptions about the illness or organization within a given period of time. Objectives and goals may consist of day-to-day as well as long-term needs. Your day-to-day PR needs may include announcing a grant, award or business won, an upcoming event, or other developments. In terms of public affairs, your goals might be a public relations campaign to change a decision or policy of the government, or to gain traction and support for a policy or proposal at one or more levels of the government.

Insight
What's unique about you, your business or practice, product or organization? Often these facts are nuggets of interesting material for a story or the beginnings of a campaign. Are there stories to be told about what you've established or accomplished, the people you've served or your experiences?

For organizations, businesses or practices, insight also relates to your organization's positioning or that of your service or product. Consider how the organization, service or product differentiates or has differentiated itself from others in the field, industry or category, and the value that brings or has brought to your particular audiences. Sometimes looking at the details or broader, at the bigger picture, gets you the insights to begin telling a compelling story. Details may be a unique idea or the milestones in making that idea or vision a reality.

The bigger picture may come from perspective of what may be interesting to the media or others you're trying to reach. Do some research on what's interesting to the particular reporters or others, for example by reading what they've written or spoken on. Also, go on their website or blog if they have one. Many reporters now blog on the online edition of their publication or media outlet; some are interviewed by another media outlet.

Targeting Strategy
Targeting makes sense not only in terms of cost savings- but to give your messages their greatest impact.
Identify the audiences or stakeholders you want to reach. If an audience is broad, such as potential buyers or clients for your product or service, segment them by objective measures such as geographic area or region, demographics (age groups, income), trade or occupation, and known preferences and attitudes ("psychographics").

Going beyond demographics and psychographics to include beliefs or values should be done particularly if you're targeting international/global audiences, or immigrant audiences where culture and values may influence the interpretation of your messages. On public issues, segment your audiences or stakeholders by known issue preferences, geographic region, demographics, etc., but also by political profile such as political and group affiliations. For controversial issues, also segment according to beliefs and values.

Data exists in various forms, including public databases and public records, as well as reports by research firms, financial or market analysts, organizations and think tanks.

Market Research
For insights on your target audiences, perform research on demographics, preferences, etc. Where no information or research exists that is on point or helps answer your question about an audience or segment, perform primary research such as one-on-one interviewing, polling or surveying, or a focus group. Using one method over another, or a combination of these methods, depends on the type and quality of answers you seek and your budget. Some of these methods can be done remotely such as via mail, telephone or online. For example, you can send a survey with an addressed and stamped return envelope or an emailed survey, or conduct a poll on your website, if appropriate. You can also create or commission a separate website specifically for the poll.

You can get good research done without breaking the bank- what needs to happen is (1) careful planning on what research is needed as well as (2) how it will be done, and (3) coordination of the process including reviewing results as they come in. Often this is an exciting process as it gives you certainty on questions that may have been top of mind for some time. Insights come out of this research that inform your PR plan, but also your understanding of your target customers, clients, or constituents.

Message Development
From insights gleaned and a strong understanding of the target audiences, you are ready to develop messages that matter to your audiences and make an impact. Developing messages is both an art and a science. The science part you've done from learning about your audiences.

The art is preparing messages and statements that get your point across clearly and memorably.
If you've had experience writing for an audience or the media, you have a head start. If you haven't, you can get a handle on the writing style by getting a copy of the AP Stylebook and Strunk & White's Elements of Style for reference. Journalists and PR professionals use these materials to check style, usage and phrasing. Good style makes for more interesting and clearer collateral materials. Your audiences are more likely to read and consider your brochures, reports or pamphlets, and newsletters.

Your messages should be tailored to each target audience's preferences and profile, and present new information and new points of view conscious of that. Whether you are working on a business topic, a social/social marketing topic, or an issue, that will hold true. You can challenge existing views, attitudes and beliefs, but you need to be aware of and anticipate those considerations. This is true for localized or international PR campaigns, as well as national campaigns. A strategy originally designed for one locality or country should be tailored to another. This is analogous in integrated marketing to adapting or tailoring a strategy rather than extending a strategy to new locations without due consideration of local attitudes and influences that affect your audiences.

If your business/organization (or a product, service or initiative) is new to the public, be sure to have a clear positioning. Be clear about how you or what you're doing relates to your audience and is distinguished from what already exists. Doing this will make your messages more newsworthy and relevant to the media as well as your audiences.

Media Plan

A key element of your PR plan is determining which media will best reach your target audiences.

            Media Preferences: Determine the media preferences of each target audience. This data can come from sources such as Nielsen and, for online media, Nielsen/NetRatings. Also, obtain media kits (as distinguished from PR media/press kits) from different media, including online media. In the kit there usually is information on the audience, including demographics and reach. Some media may have an editorial calendar or schedule listing upcoming content or programming, including themes, that will help you determine the best time to reach out to the particular media.

            General Media: For many audiences, your media plan will include general interest publications such as local and national newspapers (includes dailies and weeklies), websites, TV/cable shows or magazines. There are also radio shows, including on XM or Sirius Satellite Radio, and Internet radio.

            Specialty Media: You should also include specialized media such as associational, trade, and nonprofit media. Trade media covers your field or industry. In addition to general nonprofit and philanthropic media, consider what organizations distribute to members- including printed or e-newsletters- as vehicles for your message.

            Online Media: Online there are also various blogs, webcasts and podcasts that can be used to reach your target audience. Videos can also be uploaded to YouTube and sites such as MySpace and Facebook, if appropriate. With the Internet, you have either less, or more, control over your message depending on the online media. For developing your own online presence such as a website, blog or podcast, see Website Development. Also, look at my section on dealing with review sites.

            News Agencies: The Associated Press (AP) and Reuters are among a handful of news agencies that report on far ranging topics, with correspondents and news bureaus around the country and the world. Their reports are used by many media outlets, including local media that do not have a large reporting staff. Whether your outreach is local or national, or international, news agency correspondents and bureau chiefs can be part of your media list.

            Timing Your Outreach: Your media plan should also include a timeline for reaching out and following up with media. Factors that affect the schedule include your business or organizational goals and objectives, and media deadlines. The timeline should also consider holidays, special observances, and events or periods that may impact your schedule. As an example, if you are interested in outreach to business or financial media, periods of market activity (such as quarterly or annual earnings) and local/national or int'l economic reports may occupy the big headlines unless a more urgent story takes precedence. Other media have periods of heavier news activity as well; the period depends on the media's editorial focus.

Media Contacts
Preparing an accurate and thorough media list is a critical step toward executing your PR plan. A media list includes the names and contact info for specific reporters, editors, producers and contributors who cover you, your field or industry. Some reporters and editors are assigned by geographic area or other criteria specific to the media outlet. Your list should also include the areas of focus or beats of each media contact and any notes that you want to have about the contact's work style or preferences.

A media list should also include deadlines and lead times. Keep in mind that your media contact's deadline often isn't yours; you will need to provide materials and do your outreach before their deadline to give your media contact time to prepare and file their story. The prep time is the lead time, which is your deadline for at least submitting materials and beginning your outreach. Research media using past stories, clippings, the latest media directories, and other media resources. It's best to prepare a media list with a database rather than a spreadsheet; office database programs work fine and are convenient for sharing within groups. You want to be able to generate reports from the list easily, as well as find and sort info. Even for commercially available media lists, which can be pricey, you will need to see whether deadlines are up-to-date and get lead times; they change often and many lists do not include lead times. Also verify reporters, editors, producers and contributors, and their contact information, as this info often changes.

Press Materials

Materials can include some or all of these materials and are often provided to the media as a press kit and available separately. If you have a website you can also post your press kit- an online press kit (also known as an electronic or multimedia press kit)- along with video and audio files in the news or press section of your site. Keep in mind that all materials you send to your media contact are considered, along with your statements, to be publishable or "on the record" unless you and the media contact agree that something won't be published/broadcast, or "off the record."

            Press Release that conveys your messages and includes a brief summary or "boilerplate" of who you are or what your business/practice or organization does, as well as your or your spokesperson's contact info.

            Pitch Letter tailors your message or messages to individual reporters or other media contacts. Can serve as an intro letter or cover letter for your press release or press kit. Pitch letters should be brief (a few paragraphs) and catch the media contact's attention, just as the press release does.

            Media Advisory or invitation with details and R.S.V.P. info of an upcoming event such as a press conference, a launch event, tour, or other event to which media are invited.

            Backgrounder or Issue Backgrounder to acquaint the media and audiences on you, your business/practice/organization and products or services. An issue backgrounder can briefly and clearly acquaint your media contacts on the history of an issue and how it has evolved.

            Fact Sheets provide key facts and figures that are often used by media in fact boxes or to summarize the importance of your messages or an issue.

            Tip Sheets can provide audience-focused tips and advice on a topic that editors and reporters can use in their reports or articles.

            B-Roll or video news release (VNR) that contains either moving images only or spoken words as well. These videos may also be posted online. They can be particularly useful for broadcast and online media as depictions of who you or your business/ organization are, or how your product/ service works.

            For some radio stations, an ANR or audio news release can be produced.

            Photos/hi-res images that can be reprinted or rebroadcast to help get the point across visually in print, broadcast media like TV/cable, or online media. Photos of you/key personnel can be included.

            Additional materials can include a published report (if related to the press release), transcript of a speech, speaker or executive bios, a copy of a presentation given, or other materials that add value to the press release and help your media contact.

It's best to get any oral agreement on what's off the record confirmed in writing, such as an email or fax, to avoid any misunderstanding. Also- remember that bloggers and reviewers, if they are not journalists, often do not adhere to usual journalistic protocols. Before giving out confidential info, know who your contact is and agree in writing on what's usable. You can distribute materials by fax, email or other electronic means, depending on timing as well as your media contact's preferences.



NEWS RELEASES

A press release, news release, media release, or press statement is a written or recorded communication directed at members of the news media for the purpose of announcing something claimed as having news value. Typically, they are mailed, faxed, or e-mailed to assignment editors at newspapers, magazines, radio stations, television stations, and/or television networks. One of the main sources of news for journalists is the media release (sometimes called the press release). This is often a news story or feature, written by a press officer or information officer and sent to each newspaper and broadcasting station. It is easy to understand why media releases are so important. Each newsroom may have only a few reporters to find out what is going on in the country. There is a limit to how much news these few people can find. At the same time, there may be a great many press officers, information officers and even marketing staff employed by government departments, by statutory bodies, by universities, by large commercial firms and by many others. If all these people are prepared to tell reporters what is going on in their organizations, it helps the flow of information.

Types of Press Releases

A press release is considered both as a PR writing tool and publicity tool. A press release can fall under one of six types, however, and each type of press release have its own rules and format, and have subtle differences in how a message should be conveyed to media people.

The six types of press release are: general news release, launch press release, product press release, executive or staff announcement news release, expert positioning press release and event release. Each of these are described below:

    General News Release: A general press release is the most common type of press release and the type of press release that come to the most people's mind. This type of press release simply included news that must be disseminated to the media people. The goal of this type of press release is to generate interest, coverage and exposure for the company that distributed the press release. For instance, if your company holds a contest, bags an award or has some news about the company, person, organization or its site, you would create and distribute a general news release.
    Launch Press Release: A launch press release is similar to a general news release in terms of format, but it's intent is much more specific. A launch press releases is more urgent or timely, and its main purpose is to create a buzz regarding a launch -- whether it's about launching a company, organization, website or some sort of initiative.
    Product Press Release: A product press release oftentimes come in a format that is different from a general news release. This is because a product press release typically include product specs. A product press release can be used in conjunction with a launch release if the focus of the latter is, obviously, launching a product. A product press release is the type of press release you would create and distribute if you are launching a new product, if your company's product wins an award, reaches a milestone, have to be recalled, or if a new or upgraded version is released. A product press release is more effective when it includes a photo or several photos of the product.
    Executive or Staff Announcement News Release: An executive or staff announcement news release is what you send out if there are staff changes in the company, particularly if these changes involve high management levels. This type of press release is different from a general news release in the sense that it can contain biographical information to support the information. An executive or staff announcement news release also often include photo or photos of new staff or executives.
    Expert Positioning Press Release: An expert positioning press release is less urgent compared to a general news release. This type of press release can focus on a company report and include statistics or results. It can also include news from another organization and other supporting information. You would create and distribute an expert positioning press release if you want to show an individual's expertise in a subject area with the goal of building him or her up as the person media people would go to in the future.
    Event Press Release: An event press release has a different format than a general news release primarily because it needs to clearly lay out to members of the media the 5Ws -- who, what, when, where and why. An event press release typically looks like a list or outline instead of have paragraphs. An event press release is different from a media advisory in such a way that you would distribute an event press release with the hope that the media will make your event known to the public. A media advisory, on the other hand, is aimed towards getting the media people to attend an event.
    Some journalists, however, believe that media releases should take all the work away from them; they treat media releases as if they were finished stories, ready to be published in the paper or read out over the air.

They are very wrong to believe that. You should never use a media release in the form you receive it, without a great deal of thought and work. Let us consider why not.

Who wrote it and why?

Press officers, who write media releases, are employed by organisations to project a good image - to make sure that good news about them gets told and that bad news about them is kept to a minimum. There is nothing wrong with that, and it does mean that a lot of good news, which might otherwise never get published at all, finds its way to the readers and listeners.

All the same, it does mean that the reason why they wrote the media release was to promote the good image of their employer. Do not imagine that it was written because they were anxious about you having enough stories to fill tonight's bulletin or tomorrow's paper. While the media release should still be truthful, it may not contain the whole truth - it will probably contain a careful selection of facts to show the organisation in the best possible light.

The essential difference between the press officer and the reporter is that, while the press officer represents the interests of his or her employer, the reporter represents the interests of the readers or listeners. Remember that and make sure that the story which you put through to your chief of staff contains answers to the questions which your readers or listeners want answered, not just the things the press officer wants to tell them.

Bear in mind, too, that the clever press officer will send a media release when there is usually not much other news around - on a Sunday, for example, to make it more likely that you will use it in the Sunday evening bulletin or the Monday morning newspaper. Take special care at these times to do a proper assessment of the news value of the media release.

How to handle a media release

Read and visualise

It is not enough to read the first sentence of a media release before deciding whether to use it. You need to read it all and visualise the story. This is the most important skill of journalism, to visualise what happened, when, where, why and how and who was involved. You must do it when you read a media release as much as you do while you are interviewing somebody.

Is it news?

Just because a press officer has sent out a media release, it does not mean that there is a real news story there. They may be trying to impress their employers with how much work they do; they may be trying to get free publicity; they may be so close to their organisation that things seem important to them which are of little or no interest to the rest of society.

Treat the media release in the same way as any other source of news - ask yourself whether the information it contains is new, unusual, interesting, significant, and whether it is about people. If the answer is no, then throw it away.

Does it have the right news angle?

There may be a better news story buried late in the media release than the one in the intro; the press officer's job is to promote his employer, not to pick what is objectively most newsworthy. That is your job, so do it.

What information is missing?

If there are gaps in the story as you try to visualise it, it means that information is missing. If you decide to use the story, you will need to fill in these gaps.

Contact for further information

Good media releases should contain a name and phone number of who to contact for more information - usually the press officer who wrote it. If there are gaps in the story, phone them and put the questions.

If you do not get answers, try someone else in the organisation. While you are talking to them, tell them that the press officer could not help - you will find that they will co-operate better with you next time, to avoid people hearing that they are not doing their job properly.

Write the story from all available information

Only when you have done all these things can you write the story, from the material in the media release and from your notes of your telephone or personal interviews.

All this takes more time than simply publishing a media release as you receive it, but it is time well spent. It will make your newspaper, radio or television station one which the readers or listeners know they can trust, rather than one which just repeats other people's propaganda.

Do not be rushed into publishing a media release before you have assessed it. If it arrives just before your deadline, it may be better to hold it for the next issue of the newspaper or the next bulletin than to use it at once. All the same, you should assess it as quickly as possible, so that it does not lie around the newsroom growing old, while the public would be interested to know what it contains.

Be confident

A media release is not sacred. It is just one source of news (and an imperfect one), so do not be in awe of it. The man or woman who wrote it is probably not a better journalist than you are, so have the self-confidence to question their news judgment and to reject it if you disagree. However, do not reject the facts contained in a media release just because you don't like them; if you are in doubt, check them. You will find, though, that some media releases will need no rewriting. There are some very good, experienced journalists working as press officers. After you have read, visualised and assessed a media release, you may decide that you cannot improve upon it - in that case, don't waste your time. Leave it as it is, give it back to your chief of staff and tell him that it can be used as it is.

HOW TO WRITE A PRESS RELEASE

The ability to write a press release that targets the appropriate readers is vital to the success of a media campaign. In the following article, we will explain how to write optimized press releases for the Information Age. Below is the technique to write the press release, focusing mainly on how to write a press release, with some basic information regarding online journalism ethics.

     Write the body of the article: the press release body should be written in a manner that informs people and does not try to sell them something. A story written like an advertisement is usually ineffective. A very easy way to start off is by summarizing the entire release in an opening 3-4 sentence paragraph. Once you have an opening paragraph, create a separate paragraph for the following questions, "who?", "what?", "when", "where", "why", and "how". Be sure to include quotes from people involved in the story. Quoting a person by name helps readers understand and remember the information more clearly. Always take advantage of the ability to add hyperlinks in your story. When adding links, be sure to select important keywords for optimal search engine optimization (SEO). Keep the total length of the body under 500 words, but at least 100.
    About the company: after the body of the release, include a one paragraph statement containing information about the company. This paragraph is typically taken from marketing materials within your organization. The information should include company history, background, industry, and location. A short discussion of your products and services is allowed. If your company is not a household name, providing company background information helps journalists remember who you are.
    Provide media contact information: In order for members of the media to contact you for an interview, or to quote your story, you must provide contact information such as company name, phone, and email address (at the minimum). Additional contact information includes address, city, state, zipcode, and official company name (not simply Doing-business-as name).
    Optimize the title/headline: the title (sometimes called the headline) of the press release grabs the reader's attention and is the most important search engine optimization factor. Place the most important keywords toward the beginning. Important keywords include company name, city of release, type of product, industry name, person's name, or some sought-after keyword. The title should not contain more than 75 characters. The title should not be written in all-caps either, but rather capitalize the first letter of each word. Despite the effort to grab attention, be sure to only include facts. A professional release will never place a rumor or outlandish statement in the title. Such releases are easy to spot and the company usually placed on a blacklist by journalists and news editors.

Press Release Tips

    Never sound as if you are trying to sell the reader something
    Always sound as if you are trying to inform the reader of something
    Keep the article written in a professional tone and state facts only
    Submit an image or logo with your release
    Avoid excessive use of bolding and uppercase text
    Always spell-check your release before submitting
    Once your release is live, make plenty of copies of the printer-friendly version and fax around to local radio shows or television stations
    Email the story to journalists in your local area
    Include action-items for the readers of the release. For example, if you are describing the release of your new book, include the ISBN number and the URL of a website where it can be purchased
    Never submit duplicate copies of your press release to multiple PR distribution firms - always make slight modifications to each copy to avoid search-engine duplicate content penalties
    Always place a hyperlink on your website to the press release for better search engine optimization and visibility

PRESS RELEASE TEMPLATE

TITLE

Day, Month, Date, Year, Time



City, State (Example: Johannesburg, SA) - This is the introductory paragraph, and it should briefly summarize the entire press release. The paragraph should be approximately 3 to 5 sentences. Be sure to mention whats happening or what happened, the date, time, where it happened, and the important people involved. The 1st paragraph will make or break the story. If it's not clear and concise, most people will not read the rest of the article.

The middle paragraphs go into more detail. For example, explain the importance of the event and why it's taking place. This is a good place to provide detail about the participants, who stands to benefit, who stands to lose, etc. In general, remember that most important information should be placed at the beginning of the article - information at the end is less likely to be read. Be sure to answer who, what, when, where, why, and how.

Another section could discuss the history of the particular event, program, or news event. This is where you'll go in detail about how it got started and what services have been offered in the past. Discuss how things are changing for the better (or worse). Once again, you should keep paragraphs at about 3 to 5 sentences in length.

The very last paragraph is called the "boilerplate." It is usually no more than 3-4 sentences.

###

Media Contact:
Person Name
Phone Number
E-mail
Website
How to Submit a Press Release

Once your article is written and properly optimized, sending a press release with us is very easy. You'll have the option to choose from different distribution plans and media packages. Select the plan that is right for your company's budget.

WORKING WITH MEDIA

Journalists and public relations practitioners play distinct roles in their respective professions. Their roles and paths often cross, creating a situation that has always been viewed as a love-hate complexity, at times symbiotic and with camaraderie, at other times tinged with suspicion and distrust. The survey seems to indicate that public relations practitioners believe more strongly that the information they provide to the journalists enables them to perform more satisfactorily compared to the journalists who think less strongly of the contribution made by the public relations practitioners. The public relations practitioners seem to think that there is more of a symbiotic relationship between the two groups than the journalists.

Generally, the two media professional groups mutually trust one another and think that each is honest in its dealings with the other. Nevertheless, the public relations practitioners believe more strongly than the journalists that the former control news about an organisation and that the journalists tend to report more on what is controversial and negative about an organisation.

Public relations practitioners seem to think that giving gifts to journalists is less of a breach of ethics compared to the journalists. They consider gift-giving as a token of appreciation. In addition, the public relations practitioners seem to believe that journalists expect gifts for covering events more than the journalists do. Nevertheless, neither group agrees that cash gifts are acceptable. However, junior journalists have fewer qualms about receiving cash as a gift compared to senior journalists.

Generally, there are some differences and similarities in perceptions held by public relations practitioners and journalists on satisfaction with contributions made to each other, their interdependence, trust of each other and on ethical practices. Public relations practitioners seem to hold more positive perceptions than the journalists on the various aspects of their symbiotic relationship.

Your business is only as good as the number of people who knows about it. For your venture to grow, you need to start spreading the word about your business. You may have the best products your field, but you cannot expect your business to breach the million-dollar mark in sales if only the people in your street know about it. Some entrepreneurs start doing promotions only when their businesses are up and running, while some market their business even before the products or services are fully launched. There are two ways to get your business noticed: through paid advertising and through public relations. In advertising, you pay to have your message placed in a newspaper, radio or television spot, or your banners displayed in a Web site. In public relations, on the other hand, the article or show that features your story or business is not paid for. Rather, the writer may have come across your story or business through research or references. The writer or media person deems it worthy to mention you or your business to bolster his or her arguments.

Hence, publicity can oftentimes be more effective than advertising. Not only is it cost-effective (oftentimes you are paying for nothing), but also people are apt to remember an article about your business rather than advertising. People find a write-up or special feature about a business more credible and objective than a paid advertising. Publicity also reaches a wider audience: if you are lucky, the national media might even pick up your story.

Even in the online world, free exposure in the traditional media - television, radio or print - can be far more effective than other online marketing strategies. Nina Munk of urbanhound.com wrote in Fuse Magazine that her site saw a dramatic increase in traffic when NBC's Today show mentioned her site - much more than the links from other web sites or postings from message boards. As she wrote in the article, 'Forget the power of the Internet: it's television that counts.'

Since media has a 'herd mentality,' once a program features your business or your story, expect other publications and shows to pick it up and use you for their own stories. The mention of urbanhound.com at the Today show led to mentions in Newsday, Forbes and Ladies' Home Journal. Without paying a single cent, Munk's site was able to reach a wider audience that his business needs.

How do you attract the journalists to use your story? Here are five ways you can do to succeed in generating free publicity for your business.

    Carefully target journalists. Since you are courting them to use your story, don't put them off by sending bulk emails to practically all the journalists you know, no matter how totally unrelated your story is to their beat. Identify the kinds of publication that may be interested in your story, and know who in the publication does your kind of stories. Make a list of the newspapers, TV and radio programs that would be appropriate outlets. Then identify the specific reporter or producer interested in your kind of story. If you want publicity for your bonsai business, for example, send your story pitch to a gardening publication or the home living editor of your local newspaper. Find the journalists (whether print, television or radio) who are most likely to be interested in your story. Send them personal emails or letters.
    Invest time and energy contacting local newspapers, magazines, radio and TV stations. While avoiding becoming pushy, be persistent. Convince the journalists that you are an expert in your field or your story is newsworthy. In the event that their editorial calendar does not include a story such as yours, offer your help to them and let them know that you are available when they need your expertise. Journalists always want a good, well-researched story and will always use every resource available to them. Remember, though, that not everyone will be interested. If your story idea is turned down, try to ask why and use that information to bolster your next story pitch.
    Make sure that you really have a good story to tell. Do not waste a reporter's time. Few journalists will care if you are hiring a temporary worker, or whether you bought a new modular furniture system. Make a list of story pitches that you can offer to your chosen media outlet. Brainstorm with your family, business partners or friends to help you come up with good stories about you and your business. Sometimes, what may be 'normal' for us may be inspiring for other people.
    Have a good angle. Journalists always look for fresh, provocative story ideas. Develop story angles that you yourself would want to read in a newspaper or watch on television. If you are a caterer, for example, one angle could be the increasing number of customers who wants catered food instead of going out to restaurants. If you are a home-based travel agent, you can pitch a story on the preferences of seniors when traveling abroad.
    Make your pitch. Write down your story angle and send it to the journalist in a 'pitch letter.' Your letter may start with a question or interesting fact about your business that could interest your target media's audience. This is called your 'hook.' Then develop your story idea, stressing how it could benefit their audience. Make your sales pitch no longer than one page, and be sure to include your contact numbers.