Everyone today knows that many of their favorite newspaper writers and columnists have been let go in the past decade in an effort by newspapers to save money.
The news product has suffered greatly in the process.
But newspapers have also axed hundreds—if not thousands—of copy editors across the country. Those are the behind-the-scenes folks who edit copy and photos and make the product readable. Many of them made reporters look much better by fixing their mistakes.
Veteran editors were able to make corrections simply because of their years in the journalism business.
However, today it is not unusual for readers to see silly typos and misspellings on a regular basis. Headline bumps are commonplace. Sometimes there can be an entire list of corrections in a single issue.
A classic example of why editors are important was clearly evident (11/6) in the Island Packet, the McClatchy-owned newspaper serving the area around Hilton Head Island, SC.
In a front page feel-good story the featured photo highlights a handicapped hunter getting ready to go out in the field. No one at the Island Packet seemed to have noticed a problem with the photo.
Yes, that’s right, no editor happened to notice the hunter in the wheelchair has his rifle pointed directly at his hunting partner as he looks at his weapon.
IMPORTANCE OF COPY EDITORS
Part of the deal when I did my column for The Star was that I got to sit down with the copy editors as they put the column on the page and made it fit within the alloted space.
That alone was worth the price of admission. A good copy editor is worth their weight in gold. Not once did I ever have to sacrifice an idea to get the column to fit the page. Every time was an education in good writing.
I was also fortunate to work with Rich Hood and his assistant, Steve Winn. They were both fantastic writer’s editors who only saw text and how it could be improved.
Having had that experience makes it even clearer to me now just how much they improved the product.