Proofreading in News Paper and the use of Style books

This is another process in the cycle of news production which comes after editing. Many people have the misconception that both editing and proofreading are the same. As you have learned earlier a sub-editor’s role is to make sure that the information presented is clear, accurate and logical it is the proof-reader’s job involves checking the text in finer details and correcting the spelling, grammar, punctuations and format.

Proofreading is not surfing through an edited report. Spotting errors is a tough job and hence a proof-reader is required to pay great attention to every detail. As it is difficult to spot errors on the screen most proofreaders take printout of the story and correct them on paper.

Style book or style guide is a set of standards or guidelines for the writing and design of documents. It is generally used by newspaper organisations and advertising media. It is generally used to ensure consistency in style of writing. Style guides are used in various disciplines of professional and academic standards. A style book dictates things such as punctuation, grammar, preferred spelling and formatting of citations and other references, abbreviations and other matters related to both the readability and visual appearance of material.

There are many standard forms of style books such as The Chicago Manual of Style (US), the Associated Press Stylebook (US), The Oxford Style Manual (UK), etc. But an organisation may have an internal house style that includes issues not covered in most general use style books. Writers and designers may be required to use spelling, formatting, and other style issues that vary from one client to the next depending on the style guide preferred by the customer. Style manual is another variation of style book.