Another plus: I worked on the copy desk two weekend nights each month -- something every reporter ought to do for a stretch. Over and over throughout my career, copy editors saved my butt. They don't get nearly enough credit for all the terrific work they do on killer deadlines, so be nice to them. (Hi, Dennis!)I am my own copy desk now (although I like to think I've got thousands of editor-readers peering over my shoulder daily.) For Gannett Blog's style, I've adapted the guidelines followed by USA Today and the Associated Press. USA Today's write-tight style is ideal for blogging.
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[Image: Merriam-Webster]
I "came up" through a series of smaller Gannett newspapers and as an editorial page editor I often did not have the luxury of having a copy editor look at my pages before we went to press. I used to beg people -- anyone -- to read my page before we "rolled" it, because I was a lot better spotting other people's mistakes than I was at finding my own.
ReplyDeleteWhen I was hired at The Des Moines Register one of the absolutely best benefits of the job was the copy desk. The people working there are consumate wordsmiths, spot on fact checkers and they question everything.
I was always thrilled when they would call me at home to ask a question because invariably they had saved my bacon, once again.
Writers receive all manner of journalism awards but the top people, no matter how clever, are only as good as their copy editors.
Shirley Ragsdale
Recently retired from
The Des Moines Register