1. Editing / Final Review

2. Editing final Final is take home. You can work together and use all class notes or handouts. Do your own headlines though. Fax or email me with your test. Fax is 713-220-6806 or 281-374-6858 (call first on the latter). Due by date listed on class schedule. What I expect you to know: a. Fundamentals of hedline writing, function, do’s and don’ts b. Fundamentals of ledes, types, function, content c. Libel -- what it is, defenses, how to recognize and eliminate (somewhere on this test, libel lurks) d. Ethics -- 3 levels of ethical decision-making, guiding principles e. Design -- what modular makeup is, do’s and don’ts f. Editing -- 3 levels of editing, common mistakes, procedures g. Newsroom math h. Cutlines -- do’s and don’ts

3. Editing final What’s on the test:  Two stories 27 POINTS EACH  Four ledes to rewrite (or not) 5 POINTS EACH or 20 total  Six short answer questions (you have to do the first 4 questions; your choice on No. 5 and No. 6; do all six for extra points.) 2 POINTS EACH for 10 or 12 points max  Eight hedlines (you have to do six out of the eight or do all eight for extra points). 2 POINTS EACH for 12 or 16 points max  Write a cutline from pix and story info. 4 POINTS

4. Editing final How I grade the stories:  10 points off for a hedline error  10 points off for a lede error  15 points off for each serious error in text (names, facts, math, libel, ethics etc.)  1 point for style errors, general typos  Subjective deductions for wordiness, transition, word usage etc.  Leads judged on wordiness, accuracy, style (0 points if completely inaccurate)  Heads judges on content, accuracy, style (0 points if completely inaccurate)  Cutline judged on content, accuracy, style, spelling etc.

5. One last joke … Once there was a little birdie sitting in a tree. The sky turned dark, and the wind began to howl. Soon, it began to snow, but the little birdie was too frightened to leave. He began to shiver and shiver from the cold. Mr. Horse felt sorry for the bird.

6. One last joke… Not knowing what else to do, Mr. Horse dropped a horse apple and told the little birdie to come get warm. The little bird did so, and, sure enough, began to warm up. That made him happy, and he began to sing. The warmer he got, the louder he sang!

7. One last joke Nearby, a wolf heard the little bird singing. He crept over the hill and saw the little bird burrowed neck deep in the horse poop. He moved silently forward … so silently … and at last he was upon the little birdie.

8. One last joke … sort of … The wolf pulled the little birdie out of the poop, cleaned him off and gobbled him down in one bite. Satisfied, he went off in search of more prey.

9. The morale of this story?  The person who gets you INTO the mess, isn’t always your enemy.  The one who gets you OUT of the mess, isn’t always your friend.

10. … But when you are up to your neck, it’s no time to sing!

11. McGrathian wisdom: your parachute Charles Plumb was a U.S. Navy pilot in Vietnam... After 75 combat missions, his plane was destroyed by a surface-to-air missile. Plumb ejected and parachuted into enemy hands. He was captured and spent six years in a communist Vietnamese prison. He survived the ordeal and now lectures on lessons learned from that experience. One day, when Plumb and his wife were sitting in a restaurant, a man at another table came up and said, "You're Plumb! You flew jet fighters in Vietnam from the aircraft carrier Kitty Hawk. You were shot down!" "How in the world did you know that?" asked Plumb. "I packed your parachute," the man replied. Plumb gasped in surprise and gratitude. The man pumped his hand and said, "I guess it worked!" Plumb assured him, "It sure did. If that chute hadn't worked, I wouldn't be here today."

12. McGrathian wisdom: your parachute Plumb couldn't sleep that night, thinking about that man. Plumb says, "I kept wondering what he had looked like in a Navy uniform: a white hat; a bib in the back; and bell-bottom trousers. I wonder how many times I might have seen him and not even said 'Good morning, how are you?' or anything because, you see, I was a fighter pilot and he was just a sailor." Plumb thought of the many hours the sailor had spent at a long wooden table in the bowels of the ship, carefully weaving the shrouds and folding the silks of each chute, holding in his hands each time the fate of someone he didn't know. Now, Plumb asks his audience, "Who's packing your parachute?" Everyone has someone who provides what they need to make it through the day. He also points out that he needed many kinds of parachutes when his plane was shot down over enemy territory -- he needed his physical parachute, his mental parachute, his emotional parachute, and his spiritual parachute. He called on all these supports before reaching safety. Sometimes in the daily challenges that life gives us, we miss what is really important. We may fail to say hello, please, or thank you, even congratulate someone on something wonderful that has happened to them, give a compliment, or just do something nice for no reason. As you go through this week, this month, this year, recognize people who pack your parachutes.