By Kenneth Rosen
It surprises me how many little mistakes are made when writing anything from a term paper to a simple brief. Emphasis is stressed on “little.”
I’ve been copy editor for two weeks and have edited, or at the very least reviewed, more than 20 articles. It’s the little things that one misses when skimming over their own work that can either be a detriment to their own credibility as a journalist (and I use this term lightly) or to the organization for which they write.
Similarly to Phillip Corbetts’ column “After Deadline,” I have, personally, no issue with “calling out” staff on the team I work with. It is a dilemma involving moral consciousness more so than what has been accepted content in the past.
So, as journalists in college, what is acceptable content and where do we draw the line? My belief, as this is an opinion column, is that while always a shade of gray, that line is distinguishable.
And so, this week: media ethics in collegiate journalism – Part 1.
The “I” doesn’t take the pie
This may sound hypocritical, but refrain from first person language. Opinion columns may be the only exception to this, however, you walk a razor edge when choosing to insert “me,” “my” and “I.” The reason I say this is because a lot of articles that have recently passed through my desk contain vignettes of an author’s experience, rather than what a news review or story should contain: objectivity. “Editorializing” = don’t do it.
Granted, there is a time and place. If readers wanted to hear about one’s night out on the town, they’d read a blog.
“Academitus” is, in fact, a sickness
Small words, short sentences, easy reading. Readers of online news content or online anything do not spend more than 30 seconds on a page. Do not scare readers away with superfluous words, cliches or hard to decipher sentences. All of these are eyesores and will deter any reader from engaging in your article.
Over-writing is a sinking ship
“What this means is…”
“In terms of…”
Keep it simple, clean and elegant. There are many readability scales that can grade your article or piece, whatever it may be, on the ease of readability (check out the Flesch–Kincaid readability test). Shorter is sweeter.
See “Hidden verbs” section of “Write good: or even better.”
