Cutline Typography

CUTLINE TYPOGRAPHY Figure 9-15.—Cutline set two columns wide. There are several ways of crediting photographs. Some newspapers and magazines give photographers personal credit lines (this is encouraged for ship and station newspapers). Others use a blanket statement which states, for instance, that “all photos are U.S. Navy photos unless otherwise credited.” However, the recommended way is to put the credit line at the end of the cutine itself. The credit line should follow the last word of the cutline, in parentheses in the following manner: (U.S. Navy Photo by JO3 Evelyn Grudge) or (U.S. Navy Photo). If you are writing cutlines for external release, do not concern yourself with the way the cutline will be set in type. However, if you edit a ship or station newspaper, you will need some knowledge of cutline typography. Good cutline typography heightens the impact of a photograph by making the explanatory text as visually appealing as possible. It is a good idea to rewrite and reset Navy Editor Service (NES) cutlines, because they may violate your local style, and the typefaces used may not match yours. For better display, cutlines are usually set in a larger or a different typeface than that used in the news columns. Some papers use the same size and style as their body type, except that it is set boldface. Cutlines under multicolumn photographs are best displayed when set two columns wide for two-column photographs (fig. 9-15) or a column-and-a-half wrapped for three-column photographs (fig. 9-16). The term wrapped means to place two or more columns of type side by side under one heading or piece of art. Cutlines should not be set wider than two columns. Captions The word caption, while often used as a synonym for the word cutline, has a second meaning. It is a small headline, or display line, sometimes used with cutlines. Figure 9-16.—Cutline for a three-column photograph set a column and a half wide. 9-16