Courses
Magazine and Newspaper Sub-Editing
Professional subbing for printed and online publications
This 10-week evening course trains the core skills required to become a sub-editor on a national or local newspaper or magazine. It is aimed at a broad range of participants, including publishing beginners, writers looking to expand their professional expertise, and even experienced journalists who require formalised refresher training.
Participants learn how to approach written copy critically and reshape it into compelling editorial content that people will want to read. Focusing on practical exercises and using real-world examples, the course also focuses on the different approaches required for newspaper and magazine subbing, and explains the distinctive subbing methods demanded by print and online media. Two sessions are devoted to Adobe InDesign training for subbing within page layouts.
A certificate is awarded to participants who successfully pass the final written exam and complete an online sub-editing project.
Note: Participants will need a computer and broadband Internet access throughout the course to help with their homework assignments. Enrolment includes a personal login to the dedicated course website which provides downloads of handouts and homework assignments, links to online resources, tutor support between classes, and a web-based mini-publication for the online subbing project.
MAGAZINE AND NEWSPAPER SUB-EDITING COURSE OUTLINE
Week 1: The sub-editing environment
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Introduction to the course
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What sub-editing really means
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Copy workflow
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Staff structures in newspapers and magazines
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BSI copy correction and proof-reading marks - part 1
You will learn:
How editorial desks work
The role of a sub-editor in different types of publication
Essential copy correction marks
Week 2: Correcting mistakes
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Grammar
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Punctuation
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Spelling
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House style / style guide
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BSI copy correction and proof-reading marks - part 2
You will learn:
How to identify and correct common errors in raw copy
The purpose and use of a style guide
Intermediate copy correction marks
Week 3: Reshaping copy
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Aspects of writing style: grammar in-depth
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Technical vs consumer writing
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Rewriting for sense and readability
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Basic typography
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BSI copy correction and proof-reading marks - part 3
You will learn:
How to rewrite copy to suit your publication
The fundamentals of editorial typography
Advanced proof-reading correction marks
Week 4: Sub-editing news
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Media law: libel, copyright
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Copyfitting basics
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Sub-editing news
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Writing news headlines
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Writing news picture captions
You will learn:
How to identify and deal with defamatory copy
Good working practices regarding intellectual property
How to turn raw facts into compelling news stories
Week 5: Sub-editing features
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Page structure and terminology
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Understanding the way people read print
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Sub-editing feature copy
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Writing feature headlines, standfirsts, captions, etc
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Rewriting the first paragraph
You will learn:
How to convert casual browsers into faithful readers
The meaning of essential editorial page jargon
Methods for grabbing a reader's attention
Week 6: Sub-editing online publications
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Understanding the way people read online
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Search engine optimisation (SEO)
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Rewriting copy for websites, newsfeeds and blogs
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Writing online headlines, standfirsts, captions etc
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Splitting stories across web pages
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Introduction to the online subbing project
You will learn:
How to resub press copy for effective online use
How to raise your publication's profile on Google
How to sub-edit copy in a live online editorial database
Week 7: Hands-on Adobe InDesign (1)
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Drawing text frames, picture frames and rules
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Styling text: font, size, colour etc
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Placing stories and pictures
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Editing copy on-screen
You will learn:
The basics of manipulating objects on a page
How to use InDesign's type formatting tools
How to sub-edit stories in a page layout
Week 8: Hands-on Adobe InDesign (2)
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Character styles and paragraph styles
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Multi-page documents
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Cutting a news story to fit
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Cutting a feature to fit
You will learn:
The automated styling features in InDesign
How to deal with copy that runs over several pages
How to sub-edit on-screen using real-world exercises
Week 9: Course roundup
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How to use a flatplan
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Proof-reading tips
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Course roundup and Q&A
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Preparing for the exam
You will learn:
How to interpret and track the progress of flatplans
Good practices for proof-reading subbed pages
How best to prepare for next week's exam
Week 10: Written exam
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A two-hour test of live sub-editing skills to cover news, features, proof-reading and terminology
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The online subbing project also needs to be completed by Week 10
Start Date: Tuesday 12th October 2010 Course Fee: £480 + VAT
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