Sub Editing Essay- Editing and Production

The Roles and duties of a Sub Editor: discuss

 

My essay will be a comprehensive analysis of the tasks a Sub Editor faces and what issues they encounter every day in their work, and why they are so important to the industry. Finally, I will also look at my favourite national newspaper, and my least favourite newspaper, and provide detailed justification for my choices.

Many qualities are required of a Sub Editor; they must for example have a thorough understanding of media law. Hodgson (1998) explains that: “A newspaper is guilty of Libel, when it can be proved that a person’s character or livelihood has been damaged as a result of statements made in the paper.”(Hodgson,1998,p.161) If a Sub Editor fails to spot a potential legal trap within a story, it can lead to a dangerous outcome for the newspaper.

In 2009, The Daily Express published a two page feature story with the headline ‘Can Dec anally match Ant,’ the story was originally headlined ‘Can Dec finally match Ant,’ but it was decided there had been too many headlines with the word finally in, so it was decided to cut out the word finally. Sadly, someone forgot to change both sides of the spread. The a of at was left on one page, and the nally of finally on another. Which meant the incriminating headline was published. (The Guardian. 2009)

If Dec had felt his reputation had been damaged, he could sue the Express for Libel. Libel cases are very expensive, and if Dec won the newspaper would face a crippling fine. This is why a Sub Editor is important, because if they can spot these mistakes before publication, they save the newspaper a lot of time and money.

Another important requirement of a Sub Editor, is they must be able to ensure that a news story is accurate. Quinn (2011) points out that the PCC code of conduct states: “The press must take care not to publish inaccurate, misleading or distorted information.” (Quinn,2011,p.455) In 1986 The Sun published a story headlined ‘Freddie Star ate my hamster.’

Max Clifford whilst speaking at the Leveson Inquiry (The Telegraph.2012) said that the Sun published the story with his permission despite it being untrue. Sub Editors must ensure that copy is accurate, without accuracy the newspaper loses the trust of its reader. Without a readership the newspaper will become defunct. The Sub Editor is important because, they can argue with the Editor not to run the story on the reasoning, that it breaks the main principle of Journalism, which is accuracy.

Sub Editors must be able to use human emotion to anticipate how stories of a sensitive nature should be handled. Quinn (2011) explains that the PCC code of conduct clause five states: “In cases involving personal grief or shock, enquiries and approaches must be made with sympathy, and discretion and publication handled sensitively.” (Quinn,2011p.456) in 2010 The Sunday Times was found to be in breach of The PCC code of conduct clause five.

Mrs Deborah Rundle, had complained to the PCC that the Sunday Times coverage of her son’s death had been inaccurate and insensitive. But while the investigation was being conducted, a freelance reporter contacted the family through Facebook. They were informed the family did not want to speak in light of the compliant, the reporter then asked for details about the case, and sent a news article to Mrs Rundle’s daughter asking her to highlight what was wrong with the piece. (Journalism.2010)

This lead to a second compliant to be made to the PCC that the reporter had intruded into grief and shock. The Sub Editor’s role here is crucial, as they should be able to look at any news piece through the eyes of a reader. They then should be able to use human emotion to anticipate whether the coverage of Mrs Rundle’s son death was insensitive, if they felt it was then the story should have not been published.

Equally, Evans (2000) argues that a Sub Editor must be able to use the most important skill within their arsenal: common sense. In 2010 The New York Post published a story claiming the USA football team, had won their opening match of the World Cup against England, despite the result actually being a draw. (The Sun.2010)

The story received wide spread criticism from all of national media, and made the USA, where football is not a highly regarded sport look ill informed. The Los Angeles Times ran the story with the headline ‘US recovers on England’s fumble. This is a further damaging inaccuracy, as fumble is a term associated with American Football, and is not used in the British game, the sports Sub Editor should have been able to use his or her common sense to understand that in most sports, if the score is tied it does not indicate a victor.

The Sentinel newspaper is a regional paper that covers the whole of Stoke on Trent, it has reported on local issues since 1854. The newspaper uses a variety of different pictures, which is appealing and should catch the reader’s eye, and the amount of news The Sentinel provides on local life on Stoke is important, as its circulation is for the Stoke on Trent area so it needs to supply local stories to attract the general of public of Stoke to buy the newspaper. But, The Sentinel is not very colourful its pages are white and perhaps using a red colour, which is symbolic to the city’s football club Stoke City FC, could attract a wider readership by using the city’s history to increase sales.

If the news pages of the Sentinel were to be improved, as previously mentioned more colour should be used above and below to catch the readers. The use of the colour red could do this, as it is symbolic to the city’s football club Stoke City FC. Furthermore, more should be done to break up the text heavy pages of the newspaper. This could be achieved by using cut out pictures, and changing their shape to resemble a circle just like the I newspaper does, and the paper could look at cutting out quotes and adding them into the main body of the text. This would then emphasise the point The Sentinel is trying to make to the readers, and would be more appealing visually. This paper has been mentioned, because it is a good newspaper that provides detailed content to the people of Stoke on Trent, and it serves its purpose of informing their readership about local life in their area.

Finally, The Times newspaper is a national newspaper that has been established in Great Britain since 1848 and it is known for its in depth and serious analysis of life in the UK. The newspaper detailed coverage is brilliant, as it provides the reader with detailed information about decisions that are being made for example by the government. Its tone is serious unlike many of the Tabloid newspapers, and this means their readership is likely to be able to make an informed decision about key events that are happening during their lifetime. The paper also provides plenty of breakers for its detailed news coverage, which means the reader is not overwhelmed by text, and visual elements are more likely to catch a person’s eye than a page completely covered in text. This could mean the difference between the paper being picked up and paid for or being left on the news stand.

In conclusion my essay, provides a detailed forensic analysis that highlights the duties and responsibilities of a Sub Editor, it also outlines the important skills that are required that ensures that a Sub Editor can complete their job effectively ,and that they can spot and prevent difficult situations from arising that could damage the newspaper’s viability in the long term. Also my essay highlights that a visual element is essential in attracting a readership, as visual elements are more likely to mean that the paper is bought, and in the tough economic climate and challenges the newspaper industry faces it is crucial that they maintain a strong readership. Of equal importance it is crucial that newspapers include plenty of breakers on their news page to maintain a reader’s interest, also pictures can tell a thousand words, so if an image can convey better than the text can a Sub Editor must ensure that the picture is included within the story. Finally, the role of the Sub Editor is crucial in a newspaper organisation, as in an age where more and more reporters are forced to sub their own news page this creates bad practice, as without a Sub Editor the production and values of Journalism will fail, it can also be dangerous as newspapers could become extinct without a skilled pair of hands being there to spot the dangers, and rectify them. Every person within a news organisation from The Times to The Sentinel benefits from having a fresh critical mind reading their copy.

Ends

Word Count: 1,500

 

Bibliography

Books

Evans,H. (2000).Essential English for Journalists Editors and Writers.London: Pimlico

Hodgson,FW.(1998).New Subediting Apple Mac, Quark Express and after.Oxford: Focal Press

Quinn,F.(2011). Law For Journalists.Harlow: Pearson

 

Websites

The Guardian (2009) Accidental Headline of the year [Online]. Available from: http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/mediamonkeyblog/2009/sep/01/express-ant-dec-headline-error [Accessed: 5^th December 2012]

Journalism (2010) PCC upholds intrusion into grief or shock compliant against Sunday Times [Online]. Available from: http://www.journalism.co.uk/news/pcc-upholds-intrusion-into-grief-or-shock-complaint-against-sunday-times/s2/a537188/ [Accessed: 5^th December 2012]

The Sun (2010) USA Beats England 1-1 [Online]. Available from: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/news/3013091/.html [Accessed: 5^th December 2012]

The Telegraph (2012) Leveson Inquiry: The truth behind Freddie Starr ate my hamster [Online]. Available from: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/leveson-inquiry/9072308/Leveson-Inquiry-the-truth-behind-Freddie-Starr-ate-my-hamster.html [Accessed: 5^th December 2012]