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anthonylwolf's review
4.0
Comprehensive read for classic journalists
I approached this read looking for a way to improve my journalistic skills and get constantly better at what I'm doing. I was not disappointed. Essential English contains a plethora of examples of best practice, advice and suggestions to excel in the craft.
It does dwell for too long on some examples sometimes, and I found most of its considerations can be applied only to hard news and print newspapers, rather than online writing. But there is a lot to learn from that too.
Writers looking for ways to get better at online writing might find an outdated read, still too focused on the standards of classic journalism and hard news to be actually useful in the most dynamic online environments. However, it is nice to get a refresh on the basics of journalism, which are sure to be of great inspiration for when you actually sit down at your desk to write online content.
The book even has an amazing dictionary of 'Headlinese' at the end to help with synonyms for headlines. Overall, would definitely recommend.
I approached this read looking for a way to improve my journalistic skills and get constantly better at what I'm doing. I was not disappointed. Essential English contains a plethora of examples of best practice, advice and suggestions to excel in the craft.
It does dwell for too long on some examples sometimes, and I found most of its considerations can be applied only to hard news and print newspapers, rather than online writing. But there is a lot to learn from that too.
Writers looking for ways to get better at online writing might find an outdated read, still too focused on the standards of classic journalism and hard news to be actually useful in the most dynamic online environments. However, it is nice to get a refresh on the basics of journalism, which are sure to be of great inspiration for when you actually sit down at your desk to write online content.
The book even has an amazing dictionary of 'Headlinese' at the end to help with synonyms for headlines. Overall, would definitely recommend.
tom_leslie's review against another edition
4.0
Essential English
By Harold Evans and Crawford Gillan
This was a good introduction and guide to the role of the text editor in magazines and newspapers. I have yet to find another book that focuses specifically on this part of magazine/newspaper production - so despite being somewhat out of date, I think this might be the definitive guide for anyone entering journalism through the route of sub editing or copy editing.
4/5
By Harold Evans and Crawford Gillan
This was a good introduction and guide to the role of the text editor in magazines and newspapers. I have yet to find another book that focuses specifically on this part of magazine/newspaper production - so despite being somewhat out of date, I think this might be the definitive guide for anyone entering journalism through the route of sub editing or copy editing.
4/5
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