Working With Words: A Concise Handbook for Media Writers and Editors

This practical, informative handbook synthesizes information from more than 40 reference sources to help writers master both the essentials & the more sophisticated rules necessary for clear, effective communication in print. Reviews the basics of grammar & answers common questions. Covers the fundamentals of usage, with sound advice on issues of particular concern to writers & editors. Includes time-saving lists of commonly misspelled & misused words, clichés & other problems with usage, diction, style & spelling, along with a summary of wire service style, & a useful appendix that lists the most common mistakes.

BRIAN S. BROOKS is a professor and chairman of the editorial department at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. He is coauthor ofNews Reporting and Writing, Eighth Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2005), Telling the Story, Second Edition (Bedford/St. Martin's, 2004), and The Art of Editing, Eighth Edition (2005).

JAMES L. PINSON has taught journalism for more than 15 years -- at the Missouri School of Journalism and at Eastern Michigan University -- and has addressed various press groups on the subjects of grammar and other editing skills. He has also worked for newspapers in Colorado, Missouri and Michigan, and has a doctorate in journalism and a master's in creative writing.

JEAN GADDY WILSON is managing partner for media with Weiner, Edrich, Brown, Inc., a strategic trends analysis firm in New York City which pioneered futures planning using its trademarked STEP (Strategic Trends Evaluation Process). As an adjunct faculty member at the Missouri School of Journalism, she founded three national journalism organizations: New Directions for News; Journalism and Women's Symposium; and the National Women and Media Collection. She was a founding member of the Council of Presidents, whose members lead the editorial organizations in newspapers, and of the International Women's Media Foundation. She has served as a Pulitzer Prize Nominating Juror for Journalism, and currently serves on the IBM Advisory Board and IBM Mobile Human-Centric Computing Advisory Board.