Student guest post: Language and perception in coverage of Paris march

Students in JOMC 457, Advanced Editing, are writing guest posts for this blog this semester. This is the first of those posts. Jordan Bailey is a senior majoring in journalism and anthropology. She is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina. She enjoys studying the effects of media and is particularly interested in how minority groups are portrayed…

The headline verbs that we hate

Some words exist primarily in the world of newspaper headlines. I was thinking about this problem this week as students in my editing classes have begun writing headlines. Many of the students are writing compelling headlines that communicate the news and lure readers into a story. A few of them are writing headlines that sound…

The evolution of editing

A friend invited me along to a talk the other day at Duke University by Richard Dawkins. He is a retired professor, noted author and outspoken atheist. Dawkins is perhaps best known for his book "The God Delusion." His latest work is "The Greatest Show on Earth," in which he makes a case for evolution.…

Q&A with Chris Roush, co-editor of The Financial Writer’s Stylebook

Chris Roush teaches business journalism at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UNC-Chapel Hill. He and a colleague, Bill Cloud, are the co-editors of The Financial Writer's Stylebook. The book is available in print this fall, and it will be online in January. In this interview, conducted by e-mail, Roush discusses the need…

Editing “Mallard Fillmore”

The News & Observer publishes "Mallard Fillmore" on its comics pages each weekday and on Saturday. The politically oriented strip has been the subject of debate among readers, with many stating that it should be on the editorial pages along with "Doonesbury," not in the features section. I won't step into that broader discussion. I…

Regarding the renaming of fair maidens

A friend asked me recently on Facebook about "maiden name." She made this plea, with a recommendation that "birth name" is better: Dear Professor Bechtel: I've read three articles today that included the term "maiden name," and I am irked. I am requesting that you use your influence as a member of the copy-editing world…

Q&A with Grammar Hulk

Grammar Hulk is one of several Hulks on Twitter. In this interview, conducted by e-mail, Grammar Hulk discusses Hulk's approach to writing and editing. Q. Why is Grammar Hulk on Twitter? What do you hope to achieve? A. TWITTER WELL SUITED TO HULKISMS. MANY PEOPLE LEAVE OUT WORDS ON TWITTER, JUST LIKE HULK. ON INTERNET,…

Guest post: Reconsidering the word “retard”

Earlier this week, a friend of mine used the word “retard” in its slang form in one of his status updates on Facebook. I recoiled when I read it, and my first thought was to unfriend him. Instead, I decided to call him out on it. Maybe rather harshly. So why does that word make…

Q&A with Julie Wildhaber, Yahoo! editor

Julie Wildhaber is one of the creators of The Yahoo! Style Guide. She trains writers and editors for Yahoo! and manages the Central Editorial copy desk. She has been editing online since 1996. In this interview, conducted by email, Wildhaber talks about the style guide and the differences between editing for print and online. Note:…

Full metal edit

I recently invested about $9 a month in Netflix Wii. By putting a DVD into the videogame system and connecting online, I can watch hundreds of Nexflix movies on demand. Many of the movies are older releases, but that's OK. One movie I watched again recently was "Full Metal Jacket." I had remembered the Stanley…