The Editor's Toolbox [Paperback]

Buck Ryan (Author), Michael O Donnell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 16, 2001 | ISBN-10: 0813811295 | ISBN-13: 978-0813811291 | Edition: 1st

Evolved from a Northwestern University editing course taught by Ryan and O'Donnell for more than 10 years, Editor's Toolbox is designed as both a reference and a textbook. It will guide students and practitioners in the five essential language skills for editors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, and AP style); detailed strategies for editing copy and writing headlines; and essential topics for the beginning editor (editing quotations, layout guidelines, photo editing, caption writing, and more).

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

With The Editor's Toolbox in hand, no novice or professional newspaper editor--or any other editor, for that matter--need muddle his way through the workday. "We have written this book," say authors Buck Ryan and Michael O'Donnell, "to be a lifeboat for anyone on the high seas of publishing." Hop aboard for an intense voyage. The book launches with a detailed, inside look at a daily newspaper (the Lexington, Kentucky Herald-Leader) covering a top story (Clinton's impeachment trial). From there it moves on to news values, quotations, language skills, line and big-picture editing, libel avoidance, statistics handling, headline writing, and Ryan's "Maestro Concept." The Maestro Concept involves thinking like readers and bringing all the participants in a story (reporter, assigning editor, managing editor, photo editor or designer, etc.) together from the start. Worksheets throughout allow you to practice each element of the editing process. --Jane Steinberg

From the Back Cover

Evolved from a Northwestern University editing course taught by Ryan and O'Donnell for more than 10 years, Editor's Toolbox is designed as both a reference and a textbook. It will guide students and practitioners in the five essential language skills for editors (spelling, grammar, punctuation, usage, and AP style); detailed strategies for editing copy and writing headlines; and essential topics for the beginning editor (editing quotations, layout guidelines, photo editing, caption writing, and more).

Product Details

• Paperback: 384 pages
• Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell; 1st edition (February 16, 2001)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0813811295
• ISBN-13: 978-0813811291
• Product Dimensions: 10.9 x 8.5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,379,745 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great teaching tool and resource, November 7, 2001

By 

A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com "What should ... (Glen Ellyn, IL USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Editor's Toolbox (Paperback)

Between AP stylebook, Rooney's "Copy Editing for Professionals" and "The Editor's Toolbox," you, as a journalist, will have just about everything you need.

As a professional communicator who needs to act periodically as an editor, I believe the essentials taught by Ryan should be mandatory in any journalism class.

Ryan explains editors must know the basics of spelling, grammar, etc. But he also discusses firmly the need and process of fact checking, layout issues, map reading and plenty of other oft-ignored matters of good journalism.

Editors, future editors and jouurnalism professors need to add this tool to their collection of resource books.

I fully recommend "The Editor's Toolbox."

Anthony Trendl

3 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A good toolbox it is, March 23, 2001

By 

WD Grissom (Cabot, Arkansas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Editor's Toolbox (Paperback)

Mostly a reference guide and textbook for journalists, the Editor's Toolbox has some interest for the General Reader who is curious about how his newspaper is created.
The reporting and editing processes are covered in some detail, with particular attention to language pitfalls and necessary skills. Visual journalism is well illustrated.
This is a lively and obviously highly useful work, which looks to be especially handy for the student. The General Reader might wish for more attention to have been paid to the embarrassingly obvious biases which have crept into mainstream journalism via loaded language and selective attention.
(The "Rating Stars" are a requirement. This reviewer disavows "stars".)