WORD TIPS, ETC. No. 92

NONPLUSSED means “to cause to be at a loss of what to say, think or do.” It does not mean not affected or bothered by. Wrong here: “Though Sundhage is nonplussed at the prospect of facing her home country (‘For me, it’s not Sweden. It’s just a team’) the game will put the spotlight on….” (In an AP story.)

NEITHER takes a singular verb. Wrong here: “neither of the projects were funded….” Neither was funded.

It’s a TOW SACK, not a TOE sack. Wrong here: “… a toe sack full of balls…”

UKRAINE, not the Ukraine, is the name of the country that formerly was a Soviet republic. Wrong here: “Russia, the Ukraine and South Korea….’

PARTYGOERS is not hyphenated. Wrong here: “…some of the party-goers will head to the theater….”

THE BIRD purple martin is not capitalized. Wrong here: “…the Purple Martins did make it to our place.”

BIBLICAL, the adjective, is not capitalized. Wrong here: “This is a story with Biblical overtones….” (On a USA Today page.)

LIQUEFIED is the spelling for liquefied natural gas. Wrong here: “…to modify its liquified natural gas terminal….”

STYLE: The prefix MULTI is not hyphenated. Wrong here: “…multi-year scholarships…”

SITE was the wrong word here: “… the entity has to site the part of the law… to site the law.” The verb meaning to refer to is CITE.

SHOO-IN is the term for a sure thing, not shoe-in.

Laz 8.3.11

Tips for the copydesk (and others) No. 77Tips for the copydesk (and others) No. 77

LIFTOFF is the noun and adjective; the verb is LIFT OFF. Wrong here: “Astros finally have lift off.” (April 25)

LED is the past tense of LEAD. Wrong here: “…an organization she lead.” (May 5)

SUBJECT AND VERB: Parenthetical expressions beginning with words like “along with … as well as” do not affect the number of the subject. Bad example: “Her SEAT, along with those of others on the 12-member board, ARE up for re-election. Her seat IS up.

COMMAS are not used before essential phrases. The comma after drivers is wrong here: “They also are imposing stiffer fines against drivers, who get behind the wheel after imbibing.” (May 2)

WHO’S is the contraction of WHO IS. Don’t confuse with the possessive pronoun WHOSE. Wrong here: “…think about those who’s homeland was actually stolen.” (May 8)

AVERSE means opposed or “strongly disinclined” and was the word needed here: “We’re not ADVERSE to letting the NFL know….” ADVERSE means harmful or unfavorable. (AP, May 7)

EMINENTLY means “of high rank or quality, noteworthy” and was the word needed here: “Meantime, it would seem IMMINENTLY rational to presume in our public affairs that….” IMMINENTLY means “about to occur.” (Kathleen Parker column, May 11)

LIGHTNING accompanies thunder, not LIGHTENING. Wrong here: “…the lightening across the sky, the sound of thunder….” (May 12)

MAGIC? The story said a man “turned himself into the DeSoto Detention Center.” Actually, he turned himself in to the center (or to authorities there). When someone surrenders, in to is two words. (May 13)

Laz 5.14.10

TIPS FOR THE COPY DESK (AND OTHERS) No. 76

(This is aimed mostly at items found in the Shreveport paper, bb)

MCNEILL Street as two L’s. (Wrong in two March 28 cutlines; April 18.)
COURTHOUSE is one word. (Wrong in a March 28 cutline.)
COMMAS go inside quote marks. Wrong here: ‘the CW network’s launch of “High Society”, “Fly Girls” and cycle 14 of….’ (AP cutline, March 24.)
ALUMNA is the word for a female graduate. ALUMNUS is the male. Wrong in a column by a woman: “As a music education alumnus of Centenary College….” (March 16)
FLOUTED was the wrong word here: “…flouted a tattoo of President Hugh Chavez on his chest.” FLAUNT is the word for showing off, making an ostentatious display. Flout means to show contempt for: He flouts the law. (April 20)
BOARD OF DIRECTORS is not capitalized. (April 9)
FLAK is the word for a barrage of criticism (or anti-aircraft fire). Wrong here: “Anyway you go, it’s going to be flack.” (April 14.) A FLACK is a press agent.
OVERSEE is the word for keeping watch over. OVERSEAS means across the sea. Wrong here: “For now, Carroll overseas the sixth-grade teachers.” (April 14)
SMOKEY BEAR, not Smokey the Bear, is the symbol of the U.S. Forest Service. (Lopresti column, April 12.)
WHOSE is the possessive pronoun. WHO’S is the contraction for who is. Wrong here: “O’Pry, who’s sister was a victim of domestic violence….” (April 10)
Laz 4.21.10

AP Style-State Abbreviations, Advisory,0120

The Associated Press has decided to postpone plans to change its style on state abbreviations, pending further review.
We will continue to use state abbreviations in datelines and stories. We will also continue to use Canadian provinces in datelines.
We had proposed, as of May 15, spelling out the names of U.S. states in all stories and datelines where a city is followed by a state name. We had also proposed dropping the practice of including names of Canadian provinces in datelines.
The intention was to create a consistent and universal style for international as well as domestic use. We appreciate feedback we have received from members and will continue to review the proposed style changes.
The AP

AP style change

The Associated Press is changing its style from “Web site” to “website” to reflect increasingly common usage.

The change is effective at 3 a.m. EDT Saturday, April 17.

A new entry on website has been added to the AP Stylebook Online and will be included in the updated text version, the 2010 AP Stylebook, which will be published next month.

The entry says:

Website: A location on the World Wide Web that maintains one or more pages at a specific address. Also, webcam, webcast and webmaster. But as a short form and in terms with separate words, the Web, Web page and Web feed.

The AP

TIPS FOR THE COPY DESK (AND OTHERS)

LOWERCASE the bird purple martin. (Feb. 21)

City Council is capitalized when it refers to a specific city council. Wrong twice in one story but correct in another on page 3A, Feb. 24.

MCNEILL Street has two L’s. (Wrong in a story and cutline on 7A March 7.)

LEST is the word for “for fear that” or “in case.” Wrong here: “Less it be missed amid all the eye candy….” (9A, March 7)

The prefix NON is not hyphenated. It’s nonprofit. (March 4)

The adjective APIECE is one word. Wrong here: “…questioned [them] about an hour a piece….” (March 11)

SET (not sit) is the verb for put. Wrong here: “Fill a five-gallon bucket half full and sit it on the floor.” (March 11)

RODE is the past tense of ride, not road. Wrong here: “…Tech road the backs of its first team….” (March 13)

A PEEK is a look; a PEAK is a high point. Wrong here: “A peak at the day’s activities:” (March 21)

PORING is the word for studying or examining. Wrong here: “…spent the past eight months pouring through the…warrants….” (March 25)

UNDER WAY, the AP Stylebook says, is “two words in virtually all uses.” Wrong here: “Work is underway on the … 3-D thriller….” (March 25.) Correct here: “…a project that is under way….” (March 17)

DRIVEN is the past participle of drove. Wrong here: “The couple had drove to Miami once before….” (March 25)

Laz 3/25/10

New photo procedures from the RTC

Hi everybody!

As most of you know, the RTC has been providing access to the AP Wire Feed through MediaManager for a couple of months now and several of you have utilized the wire feed. Our hope is that it has made your life a little easier, and that you continue to use it. We have, however, noticed that it’s not being used quite as frequently as we had hoped. With that being said, for those of you who aren’t currently using the wire feed, please know that you could be drastically improving your turnaround times by using the wire feed! Let me explain how.

If you pull a photo of Barack Obama off of your own AP wire feed and send it for toning and it comes over into MediaManager (probably for a 30 minute to 1 hour turnaround time). It’s toned and is back to you within the hour. If you select that SAME photo from the RTC’s AP wire feed, it is toned much faster, and will typically be back to you in less than 15 minutes. There are also photos that have already been toned by the RTC on the wire feed that are denoted by a gold star. Selecting one of THESE photos, will allow you to have your photo back even FASTER—typically around 5 minutes!

Below is a link to a PDF that will walk you through how to use the wire feed. Most of you should be able to access the feed, but if you run into trouble, please let Customer Support know as an account setting may need to be changed.

http://www.gannettrtc.com/downloads/RTC_wirefeed_user_walkthrough.pdf

With the NCAA Tournament well underway, and Major League Baseball Opening Day just around the corner—it becomes even more important that the wire feed is utilized when possible. You’ll find that the more of you that use it, the more beneficial it is for everyone because there will be more prepared photos to choose from. When the workflow of the RTC allows for it, there is also a person here searching the wire feed for photos to increase that number of already toned photos.

Below are just a few dates to keep in mind. You’ll notice that all of them are sporting events—so please feel free to forward this email on to your sports desk (or anyone else you think would find it useful), assuming they haven’t already received it. Sports photos are often sent at night, during edition, when the RTC is busiest—and using a sports photo from the RTC’s wire feed could help IMMENSELY in the time the sports desk spends waiting for that photo.

March 25-26         NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Sweet Sixteen)
March 27-28         NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Elite Eight)
April 3                   NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament (Final Four)
April 5                   NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game
April 5                   MLB Opening Day
April 12                 NHL Playoffs
April 17                 NBA Playoffs
April 22-24           NFL Draft

Just because so many of the upcoming events are sporting events, does not mean that it can’t be used for other events. It should be utilized whenever possible, and anything that you would normally have used your own AP wire feed for, can also be found on the RTC’s AP wire feed. So the next time you go to search for a wire photo, try searching through the RTC first, and see how you like it.

We are more than willing to walk you through this feature, so if any questions arise—please do not hesitate to ask. You may contact me via email Monday-Friday, 9am-5:30pm. You may also contact RTC Supervisor, Jason Ickowitz at anytime at (515) 402-0195. You are also more than welcome to email rtcsupport@gannett.com, or call the Support hotline at 1-888-823-9149. Our Customer Support department has been well-educated on this feature and is more than willing to help!

Thanks for your time and have a great day!

Stephanie Hassebrock | Customer Support Team Lead
______________________________________
Gannett Production Centers
715 Locust Street | 10th Floor
Des Moines, Iowa  50309-3703
t. 515.699.7099
shassebr@gannett.com

You can quote me on this….

A note from Town Talk Executive Editor Paul Carty:

Folks,

We continue to see headlines on the Web site with this incorrect punctuation:

‘Our time to shine:’ Cities rely on festivals to grow, pull in dollars

The closing quote mark should be inside the colon:

‘Our time to shine’: Cities rely on festivals to grow, pull in dollars

Please remind staffers and include this in the CPC blog.

Thanks. … pc

Dateline Monroe

In proofing, I’ve noticed quite a few incorrect datelines lately, particularly on sports and local pages.

The AP Stylebook carries a list of the cities for which no state is required in a dateline. But the editing error I’ve seen most often is the style rule that cities within a state do not carry a state name.

Now, The AP includes a state name for Louisiana towns and cities because the wire goes beyond our borders. We get to edit the “La” out of datelines for all Louisiana cities.

Please watch for those “La” notations and hit delete, delete, delete!

Let’s be consistent

(This is from Jeff, and sent to people who mainly do S’port pages, but it is good for all to know for when you are proofing and when you’re called upon to work on them, bb)
Hey guys,
I’ve been seeing the McClatchy bylines done a variety of ways on pages in The Times lately … mostly in living, but on nation/world as well … so just keep watch … and try to be consistent in how we handle them.
 The style we are supposed to be using is McClatchy-Tribune News
It doesn’t really matter … and it’s not a big mistake or something that most readers would notice, but it’s good to be consistent in how we style things. For example, Thursday’s 1C had it McClatchy Tribune News on the left rail and McClatchy-Tribune News on the right rail … and I saw McClatchy Tribune on the nation/world page proof.

 In photo captions, please make sure that when you are designing pages and proofing pages, that AP photos just have the credit AP … and not AP/The Times (which is what the system automatically throws below the photos when you flow the caption). Again, this isn’t something that is just horrible … or that the reader is likely to even notice … but we are professionals and should seek to do things the same throughout the paper (no matter who may be working on the pages). I know that some other products set off locator words in captions with commas, but The Times uses parenthesis … as in (left) (right) (center).
Thanks.
Jeff Benson
Night Local Editor