Get accurate names for places of employment

On October 28, 2008, "Blogslot" blogger, Bill Walsh added this post, "Tot Mom Update." (This story's still in the news). Casey Anthony said she worked at Universal Studios. Bill Walsh points out in the blog that Universal Studios in located in southern California. This is obviously problematic because Casey Anthony was living in Orlando, Florida. The job and the residence are more than 2500 miles away from each other.

A reporter has to be specific about names of places and their geographic locations when writing a story.

State abbreviations

Bill Walsh is the second copy editor that I am following to gather data for my editing report. Walsh is a copy editor as well as a member of ACES, (American Copy Editors Society). On February 23, 2009 he posted on his blog, "Blogslot" reasons why "old-fashioned newspaper people" continue to use the old abbreviations for states. Walsh said from time to time the question arises as to why reporters use abbreviations like Calif., Fla., and Mich. instead of using the "modern, streamlined, newfangled state abbreviations" that the US Postal Service has provided; CA., FL, and MI. His answer is short and to the point: "Clarity is Job One." Journalistic writing should be clear.

Getting names of organizations correct

In her post on March 24, 2009, "Editor makes prize from mistakes," Lynn Klyde-Silverstein cites information she received from an nonprofit organization that gets its stories from average people. The name of the organization is "StoryCorps." She makes a point of telling the people who follow her blog that "the name is indeed one word with a capital 'C.'"

This is the kind of thing that her blog is about. Most people reading an article that referred back to a name such as "StoryCorps" would likely think there was some sort of error. Perhaps the person might think it was two words; Story Corps. Or a reader might not think the 'C' would have been capitalized. There may even be another scenario or two that I missed.

There is more to Klyde-Silverstein's post on March 24, but it is only this small part that I wanted to highlight.

Students use Blogs to Reflect upon Writing Process for their Articles

Students in Lynn Klyde-Silverstein's capstone journalism class have blogs about the sectors that they've been reporting on. These student beat reporters use blogs to show their work and to look at those articles while considering their writing process when they return to the classroom. Klyde-Silverstone said "this project will force students to ask themselves some important questions about what they're learning and what they can improve on." An additional advantage to keeping a blog for these student reporters, according to Professor Klyde-Silverstein, is "it's a great way to practice writing for the Web."

A Blog about Journalism Students who Blog

This "cranky copy editor," (Lynn Klyde-Silverstein) had previously worked, (8 years) as a copy editor and a reporter. Now, like our Professor Lauro, she teaches journalism on the university level. Klyde-Silverstein developed her blog, The Cranky Copy Editor in an effort to show errors that are made in print so that her journalism students would not make them. A second objective is so these students can look at any problems that arise in the field of journalism.

Single Possessive Format

I will follow Lynn Klyde-Silverstein's blog. The name of the blog is "The Cranky Copy Editor." On Sunday, April 5, 2009, Klyde-Silverstein highlighted the sad fact that some advertisers don't use the proper usage for singular and plural possessives. Apparently, this copy editor had visited a sporting goods store and saw signs that advertised toilet seats. The signs read: "Drivers seat" and "Coaches seat." What disturbed the editor was the lack of an apostrophe to indicate "A" driver's seat and the missing apostrophe that would convey "A" coach's chair. The way the signs read, at least two drivers or two coaches would be expected to sit on said seats.

Klyde-Silverstein showed the proper way the signs should have been written:
Driver's seat and Coach's seat.