CHPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.0                                   
BACKGROUND  OF
THE STUDY

The
advent of computer Technology has completely changed the way things are done globally.
These effects of computer Technology can be fall in all field of study,
consequently giving birth to the automation of process of activities in various
field of human endeavor.

This
study will seek to usher in automation of the news editing system. It is believed
that the traditional news editing system is grossly in efficient and   ineffective. These hare been the reason
behind the epileptic news presented on daily 
basis by journalists  to
their  teaming audience globally.  

This
study will be carried out with the view of designing a new system that will
take good care of the ineffectiveness that characterized  the existing system and automation of the
entire process of news editing.

1.1     INTRODUCTION

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, editor come from the Latin
phrase “e ditus’’ which means “to put forward’’.  Therefore, News Editing is the process of
preparing language, News, for presentation to the audience, through correction,  condensation, organization and other
modification.  A person who edits,
especially professionally or as a hobby, is called an editor.

News editing 
involves reviewing  text  written on topical issues, and identifying
errors related to the we of language in general or adherence to specific style
guide. This activity ensures that News are of good quality. In large media
houses, experienced function writers are dedicated to the News editing
function.

News sources includes: official records, publication
or  broadcasts, official in government or
business, organizations or corporations, witnesses of crime, accidents or other
events, and people involved with or affected by anew event or issue.

1.2     STATEMENT
OF THE PROBLEM

News editing as it regards to the journalism profession
is  characterized by numerous problems.
The problems that characterized the existing system are actually responsible
for the fall in the quality of news production and presentation. The problems
with the existing system includes:

i)                  
Reviewing of reports submitted by reports on the field

ii)               
Identification of errors in the reports, this includes:
grammatical errors, spelling errors, punctuation errors etc.

iii)             
Condensation of reports into meaningful and concise
piece

iv)             
Organization of the reports in an orderly manner for
presentation to the audience.

v)               
And other modifications.

1.3     PURPOSE OF
THE STUDY

Like other studies or projects carried out on  various issues in different fields of  human endeavor, globally, the purpose of this
study is as follows:

Firstly, this study will try to find out new ways of
reviewing reports that are far better than the existing method.

Secondly, to seek a way of 
editing News that will take less time when compared to the former  or traditional method, existing system .

Thirdly, this study will try to discover methods of  improving the quality of edited piece of news
done by the editor.

Lastly, the purpose of this study is to uncover an easier
way of correcting the errors commonly found in reports from the field directly.

1.4     OBJECTIVE
OF THE STUDY

The aim of this study (project) is to design a new system
that will surpass the existing system in the following areas:

–                    
Reviewing of reports

–                    
Detection of errors

–                    
Correction of errors

–                    
Summarization of reports

Furthermore this study will aim at automating the entire process
of news editing system, that will further enhance News editing  in terms of:

–                    
Quality

–                    
Timeliness

–                    
Accuracy

–                    
Relevance

–                    
Importance

–                    
And correctness.

1.4           
SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The scope of this study will cover all the activities and
processes that are involved in News Editing from the submission of news reports
to the final News editing process. These will further lead to the design and
implementation of a blue print for the automation of news Editing system
(existing system).

1.5           
DEFINITION OF TERMS

Automation – The use of machines or computers to do
work that  was                                   previously done by people.

News –
       An information about something or
an event that has happened recently.

Editing
–     The process of preparing a piece of
writing by correcting the mistakes, making improvements.

Editor –
     A person who edits.

Reporter –  A
person who collects and reports news.

Correspondent
– A person who reports news from a
particular country or on a particular subject for a newspaper or a television
or radio station.