Editing for the Digital Age

Thom Lieb is a professor of Journalism and New Media at Towson University in Maryland. He has taught the News Editing course there since he joined the faculty in 1990, and additionally has taught it at four other universities. The two editions of his previous editing text, "Editing for Clear Communication," have been used in classrooms for more than 15 years. Lieb has been involved with digital media since its inception. His "Editing for the Web" online project was used for training in schools and newsrooms around the world. For several years, he served as a columnist for the Journal of Electronic Publishing, and he is a longtime member of the Online News Association. In addition, Lieb has worked as a writer and editor for newspapers, newsletters, magazines and online media. He is the author of "Building Basic News Sites" and "All the News: Writing and Reporting for Convergent Media." Lieb earned his bachelor's degree in Journalism and Communication from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, his master's in Magazine Journalism from Syracuse University, and his Ph.D. in Public Communication/Journalism from the University of Maryland at College Park.

Preface Acknowledgments Chapter 1: You, the Editor Traditional Editors' Roles New Challenges Wrapping Up Chapter 2: Choosing Content that Clicks: Publishing for Your Audience What New Publishers Can Learn from Old Media Finding a Niche Defining the Target Audience Creating a Mission Statement Deciding What to Publish Letting the Audience Lead You to Ideas Wrapping Up Chapter 3: Getting the Facts Straight Common Factual Errors Myths, Hoaxes and Urban Legends Manipulation of Images and Videos Filling Holes Using Online Resources to Find and Verify Information Corrections Wrapping Up Chapter 4: Polishing Writing From Writer-Centered to Audience-Centered Using the Appropriate Writing Style Offer a Unique Voice Avoiding Verbosity and Achieving Clarity Limiting Sentences to One Idea Each Wrapping Up Chapter 5: This One Weird Chapter Will Help You Grab Readers Keep It Simple Make It Specific Size It Right When It's Time for a Subhead How Print and Online Headlines Differ SEO and Why It Matters Trends in Online Headlines Captions and Cutlines Wrapping Up Chapter 6: Defamation Defining Defamation Journalistic Privilege Differences in Status Satire and Parody Publishing Anonymously SLAPP Suits The Importance of Corrections and Clarifications Wrapping Up Chapter 7: Privacy, Copyright, International Regulations and Other Legal Issues Privacy Issues Copyright Infringement Responsibility for Publishing the Statements and Content of Others Publishing Product or Service Endorsements Laws Affecting Recordings New Technologies Employment Issues Governmental Risks Fending Off Foreign Legal Threats Wrapping Up Chapter 8: Handling Matters of Ethics, Fairness, Taste and Sensitivity Ethical Issues Making the Right Decisions Is It Time for New Ethics Codes? Wrapping Up Chapter 9: Managing Engagement Internal Engagement External Engagement Anonymity and ConfidentialityCrafting and Using Social Media Guidelines Crafting and Using Social Media Guidelines Using Analytics to Learn More About Audience Usage and Preferences Wrapping Up Chapter 10: Curation, Aggregation and Creation Curation and Aggregation Creation Wrapping Up Chapter 11: Editorial Triage Wrapping Up Notes Index About the Author