16 The Oklahoma Publisher II September 2012

CLARK'S GUIDE TO PUNCTUATION Clark's Critique

by Terry Clark Journalism Professor,

University of Central Oklahoma, TClark@uco.edu

"Broadcasters pronounce better, but newspaper people punctuate correctly," joked Mark Thomas at one of the Jour-nalism Hall of Fame ceremonies.

After looking at some of our stories,

I'd have to add, "Sometimes." I also know that many of my students have not had grammar since they were in eighth grade.

As an old English major who repent-ed and turned to journalism, I know the Gospel of Correct Punctuation may have been amended some for us her-etics, but the basics are the same. Correct punctuation is essential for accurate writing.

So here is the Revised Version of the Gospel of Punctuation, also known as Clark's Easy Reference Punctuation Guide for Journalists.

Let's start with our "problem chil-dren," the ones we have the most trouble with. Next month I'll cover peri-ods, question marks, virgules, dashes, ellipses and parentheses.

Clip the guide below and put it near your computer.

LOOKIN'EM OVER. How old is the courthouse in your county? In Ellis County, folks are planning the 100th birthday party for theirs later this month.

Here's how Jerry and Anita Denson of The Gage Record start the story out: "The year was 1912 and William Taft was President of the United States; 3,000 cherry trees were planted in Washington D.C. to symbolize friend-ship between Japan and the U.S. The Titanic sinks in the Atlantic Ocean, Jim Thorpe won two gold medals in the Olympics and the Boston Red Sox won the World Series. / Ellis County residents voted in 1908 and selected the township of Arnett, formerly in Day County, to be the site of the Court-house. The brick building was built on the town square and completed in 1912. ... There were seven towns within Ellis County and a total of 107 school dis-tricts."

I know the courthouse in Hobart was built in 1902, predating statehood. I think there are others. Stories are beg-ging to be told here that will interest all your readers.

Need ideas? The Edmond Sun car-ried a disturbing story that could be localized all over the state. Did you now the number of suicides in Oklahoma is double the number of homicides? Mark Schlachtenhaufen writes about a local training program for counselors to help prevent it. Edmond has had 13 suicides this year.

Sister newspapers The Shawnee News-Star and The Ardmoreite teamed to carry stories about meth and its effects. Carmen Bourlon of Shawnee interviewed a meth addict and Marsha Miller and Michael Pineda of Ardmore wrote about the effects of the drug.

Karen Atkinson of the The Madill Record wrote a story you can localize with the help of a game ranger. Cougar population is up in the state, and one attacked and injured some local horses.

Karen West Sanchez of the Stigler News Sentinel wrote a strong feature story on a 13-year-old girl who will be the poster child for a fund raising rodeo in the fight against diabetes. The Chel-sea Reporter salutes, with lots of photos, local firemen working on Labor Day

Continued on Page 17

Revised Version of the Gospel of Punctuation, also known as CLARK'S EASY REFERENCE PUNCTUATION GUIDE FOR JOURNALISTS

THE APOSTROPHE - We have an apostrophe catastrophe in this country. A. Contractions, possessives. It's and its are the most misused in the country. Its is comparable to his and hers (a

pronoun). It's is a contraction for it is. There is no its'. I saw a sign once that read "Deliciou's Apple's." B. With plurals:

• With singular common nouns ending in s, add 's unless the next word begins with s. For singular proper names ending in s use only an apostrophe: 'Mark Thomas' ob is to lead the OPA."

• With regular plural nouns, add only an apostrophe, "The Thomases' children...." • With irregular plural nouns, add an apostrophe 's', 'The children's" • Never add an apostrophe to a noun that ends in 's' if there is no possessive. Wrong: "These word's..." • If it's a compound noun, only the last word gets an apostrophe: "The editor-in-chief's job...." • Compound possessives, only on the second noun, Lewis and Clark's journey...

COLONS - AVOID. They stop the reader's flow in the sentence. They always come at the end of a complete sentence: He bought five vegetables: cukes, tomatoes, corn, okra and radishes. Do not use it in the following manner (as in this sentence): He bought the following: cukes, tomatoes, corn. Rewrite both. He bought cukes, corn and radishes.

EXCLAMATION MARKS - AVOID! Especially more than one at a time!! !till!! till!! t! They show you don't know how to write for emphasis and cheapen your writing like all those ads in the inserts that put exclamation marks after every item: "Hair Dryer"! Two speeds! Black or brown! Wall mount!" Etc. You should use it in a quote only when clearly called for. 'Don't use exclamation marks!" Clark yelled.

QUOTATION MARKS. In America, quote marks always, always, always go outside the period and comma. Question marks and exclamation marks depend on context. This includes single quotes: 'I told you he said 'I quit," Clark yelled. With question marks, quotes go inside if the quote is a question as in 'Are you cold?" he asked. But outside like this, Did Clark say, "Question marks go inside quotes"?

COMMAS - THE MOST DEBATABLE. Best rule — always use for clarity and according to AP style on addresses, etc. Other than that, try omitting or rewriting to avoid as many as possible.

• Use with a non-restrictive clause or appositive (one that's not essential). Clark, who grew up in New Mexico, lives in Oklahoma. vs. The man who was bleeding from the wound died in 20 minutes. Try to write around it and cut the words. Clark grew up in New Mexico and lives in Oklahoma.

• In a series, omit the comma before the last item: He loves tomatoes, iced tea and jalapenos. Your English teacher and others would insert a comma after iced tea. That's called the "Oxford comma." Oxford is in England. This is America. Journalists don't use it except in rare cases where needed for clarity.

• Setting off introductory clauses and phrases, In the beginning, God created.... Or Although the city council met for five hours, it took no action. It's usually better for us to rewrite it and get to the point first. After five hours the council accomplished nothing. No comma because it's essential to the meaning, it's shorter and easier to read. Get to the point.

Always ask yourself if you have a question about punctuation, "Why do I need this?" or "Why am I using this?". Most grammatical problems can be cured with short sentences. (Lots of periods.)

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Outgrown its Enid must rely on water from out west

Terror takes a back seat More mane decade after 9/11, Americans have stopped fretting about mother tumid attack.

Enid News & Eagle SUNDAY

Find money-saving

cOupenS in today's News

& Eagle.

The Gage Record West Nile Virus Cases Break Record Wcant•d3, .41112UM _

go In smoke Dispute ends with tobacco compact between State of Oklahoma, Muscogee (Creek) Nation

Green Dot Pre-Paid Card Scam

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CLARK'S FEATURED PAGES: From local stories to great headlines, Oklahoma newspapers keep citizens informed. Featured this month are the Enid News & Eagle, The Gage Record, Okmulgee Times and Durant Daily Democrat.

Backpack Buddies program benefits local young people

2 communly groups Join forces to improve service

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on tap for Friday, Saturday

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Wallace, Mullin advance in Okla. US House runoffs

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The Oklahoma Publisher II September 2012 17

Clark's Critique Continued from Page 16

with with the fill-the-boot campaign against muscular dystrophy.

At The Miami News-Record, Melinda Stotts wrote about a new chaplain corps organized by the police department. Does such a thing exist elsewhere in this state? Jeff Harrison of The Tuttle Times reported on the increasing num-ber of people driving off without paying for gasoline.

How's your municipal water sup-ply? James Neal of the Enid News & Eagle writes that the city has outgrown its aquifer. And Phyllis Zorn reported about how the drought has affected the canned food exhibits at the Garfield county fair.

How many children are home-schooled in your area? Bill Johnston of the Collinsville News reported on a group project of home schooled stu-dents.

"What, When & Where" is the title of the front page feature in The Lindsay News, carrying short items on sched-uled events — a good way to handle all

that short stuff and guarantee high readership.

Also, kudos to the Enid News & Eagle for winning its fight with a county judge to open the records on a lawsuit.

Congratulations to Bill and Dayna Robinson, the new owners of the Hughes County Times, buying it from Julie Morgan.

HEAD'EM UP AWARDS: First place, The Okarche Chieftain, on Matt Mont-gomery's story about West Nile virus:

Fight the Bite. Second place, Marietta Monitor, on

Willis Choate's photograph of casino hotel construction (accompanying a story on county property valuation growing rapidly)

Rooms to grow. Third place, tie, Muskogee Phoenix

and Yukon Review. Muskogee, on D.E. Smoot's report

about the city taking back an employee raise:

Sweet raise sours for city workers Yukon, on Conrad Dudderer's story

about an antique tool show in town: Just tooling around.

Honorable mentions: Okmulgee Times, "Up in Smoke," on the state-

Muscogee (Creek) tobacco settlement; The Norman Transcript, "Classical gas," on Hanna Cruz's story about a local car show; The Bigheart Times, on Louise RedCorn's story about a Ben Affleck movie in the state, "Affleck movie afflicted with boos, mixed reviews"; Sequoyah County Times, on a Mark Evens story about a 7-0 football game, "Defensive Dandy"; The Okarche Chief-tain, "Pain at the pump," about rising gas prices.