Category Archives: copy editing

Poor taste and libel are different things

Courtesy of longtime Guardian journalist Tim Radford (h/t to Doug Fisher’s post): There are things that good taste and the law will simply not let you say in print. My current favourites are “Murderer acquitted” and (in a report of an Easter religious play) “Paul Myers, who played Jesus Christ, emerged as the star ofContinue reading “Poor taste and libel are different things”

So, you messed up: 3 tips for handling corrrections

Another recent item in need of a correction, from the Times-Picayune of New Orleans: http://imgur.com/KlyzZ The mistaken reporting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’ death may have you thinking that only big news organizations working in real time can make such mistakes. But such wrongheaded errors are often not caused by deadline pressure and erroneous sources (norContinue reading “So, you messed up: 3 tips for handling corrrections”

Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup

Yeah, that headline had better bring results, or I’m going to be upset. Anyways, what’s happening in the world of copy editing, editing and journalism at large: Word Grrls notes how one missing letter on a book-seller’s site goes from the sassy, if cliche, “Dead Sexy” to the disturbingly niche “Dead Sex.” Unless that meansContinue reading “Necrophilia-inducing typos and other editing links: A roundup”

"Modern Family" shows the value of copy editing

http://www.hulu.com/embed/MvWxTLcZIecidfIwIv1pqA/447/492(Clip from “Modern Family,” episode “Slow Down Your Neighbors”) “Modern Family” is a great show that’s criticized for not breaking much new ground (its cautious forays into the life of a gay male couple with children notwithstanding). But its strengths lies in finding new laughs and twists on old routines, and this week, the episodeContinue reading “"Modern Family" shows the value of copy editing”

When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"

My professional copy-editing work includes a daily publication looking, through brief summaries, at the nuclear energy industry. Editorials and guest columns on the idea of nuclear energy are a major part of industry news because, well, there hasn’t been a new nuclear plant built in a while. Often, those op-eds are by experts in theContinue reading “When editors must say, "You don’t know what you’re talking about"”

3 snapshots of news without editing

A copy desk being reduced or eliminated brings many signs of lower quality, and reporters, too, suffer when their numbers are diminished and they’re forced to “do more with less.” There are two categories of fear for journalists: The big picture, the fear that news isn’t being covered, isn’t being covered well or in enoughContinue reading “3 snapshots of news without editing”

A roundup of the editing world

Some links about what’s going on in the editing world (with a couple of them found through the unwieldy but still helpful #copyediting hashtag on Twitter): John McIntyre, once and again of The Baltimore Sun, is lending his voice and wisdom to an audio conference next week. More info here — it’s not cheap, butContinue reading “A roundup of the editing world”

Have you messed up today? 2 items to help you feel better

We all have those days — editors and reporters simply have the mistakes immortalized more easily. Instead of getting too down, have a laugh at these examples of journalism that, if nothing else, put your goof-up into perspective: FarkFunnyOrDie’s (see? an error of my own) collection of the funniest police blotters. Not all are newspaperContinue reading “Have you messed up today? 2 items to help you feel better”