Editing can be divided into two broad categories: Micro and macro. Micro editing deals with the technical, nuts-and-bolts aspects of newswriting. Macro editing deals with the content of news stories.
Obviously, a good editor has to do both micro and macro editing. So here's a checklist of things to make sure you've covered when editing any news story:
Micro Editing:
• AP Style
• Grammar
• Punctuation
• Spelling
• Capitalization
Macro Editing:
• The lede - does it make sense, is it supported by the rest of the story, is it in the first graf?
• The story - is it fair, balanced and objective?
• Libel - are there any statements that might be considered libelous?
• Substance - is the story thorough and complete? Are there any "holes" in the story?
• Writing - is the story well-written? Is it clear and understandable?
