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| Alex Cruden, left, invited two of his Detroit Free Press copy editors, Holly Hanson
and Ron Bernas, above, to help answer questions about the ''first reader, second
reader'' setup on the Free Press copy desks. |
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A new approach
to copy desk structure
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''First reader, second reader'' turns
the traditional rim/slot arrangement
upside down.
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By Gerri Berendzen
Some
people in the room looked at Alex Cruden with puzzled expressions. Others peppered
him with questions.
Cruden, chief editor of the copy desks at the Detroit Free Press, took it all in
stride as he explained a new approach to organizing the desk in his “First Reader,
Second Reader” session Thursday afternoon at the ACES national conference.
Under the system, the Free Press desk schedules editors to be first readers or second
readers on each shift. The first reader has the primary responsibility for everything
that deals with a particular story. The second reader is responsible only for checking
the work of the first reader and reviewing any original work the first reader did,
such as headlines and captions.
| "FIRST READER, SECOND READER: AN APPROACH TO ORGANIZING THE COPY DESK,''
presented by Alex Cruden, Detroit Free Press |
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“It frees the first reader to take ownership of the
story,” Cruden said.
The conventional organization of a copy desk -- a rim/slot -- “occurred before many
of you were born and was defined by the furniture,” Cruden said.
“Most places still work on the sense of a supervising copy editor and a collection
of rim editors,” Cruden said. “At the Detroit Free Press we’ve tried to destroy this
structure, and it wasn’t to denigrate the slot -- it was to empower the rim.”
The change in systems was driven by the economics of the newsroom -- a larger workload
for the copy desk with decreased opportunities to add editors.
Cruden said it was clear he needed to do something, and he didn’t have many options.
“We could adopt the traditional method of complaining to each other or become more
refined in our martyrdom. The one option I didn’t have was adding staff or cutting
down on the workload,” he said.
“It seemed that every slot editor was re-rimming copy -- a duplication of effort.”
So he developed a system that he hoped would destroy the old rim culture that had
editors saying, “Oh well, the slot will catch it.”
Cruden’s explanation of the system prompted immediate questions: “Aren’t some editors
more skilled than others?” “What about your copy distribution system?” “Who does
the training and development?” “What about initiative and rewards?” And the biggest
question: “What quantitative measures do you have that this system works?”
Ron Bernas, a Free Press copy editor, said many of those same questions were raised
by the Free Press copy editors when the system was implemented.
“Immediately what this system did was to open up a better dialogue between the first
and the second readers,” Bernas said. “It really empowered the editors to discuss
the changes more.”
In the system, the first reader raises all the questions about a story and makes
any changes the story needs. The first reader also writes the headline and other
display type.
The Free Press computer system allows people to track changes in a story, so the
second reader checks those changes for errors and reviews the headline and all other
display type. Headline changes are not made without consulting the first reader.
Several audience members questioned the way headlines are handled in the system.
“If a headline is off in the opinion of the second reader, what happens,” asked Holly
Franko of The Oregonian.
Cruden said several things could happen, but the important thing is that no matter
which route is chosen, the first reader must be notified.
“So we don’t get into the habit of slots simply changing heads and setting them.
Even if there’s not time on deadline for the first reader to make the change, that
first reader is notified. The second reader can change a headline on deadline, but
the first reader always knows about it,” Cruden said.
Copy editors know before their shift whether they will be a first reader or a second
reader that night, and everyone has a first reader shift during the week. One editor
acts as the traffic cop, assigning the stories and making sure the copy flow is good.
If there are eight editors on a shift, the division of work is usually six first
readers and two second readers.
On the features side, a copy editor such as Holly Hanson will be the section captain
for a shift and will determine who will be the first reader on copy.
“We look for work to do when we’re not busy, so everything flows smoothly,” Hanson
said.
For all sections, a third person checks all pages on proof.
“There were some fears by veteran slots of loss of power and standing, and basically
they’ve just had to deal with it,” Cruden said. In the past, his desks had operated
on a system in which a copy editor never served as a slot every night. So there was
less change in implementing the new system.
Cruden acknowledges the change was one of necessity but says it has advantages.
“Questions get asked and answered earlier, and usually more thoroughly than with
the slot raising them at the last minute. The former rim editors are encouraged to
become full participants in the duties and pleasures of the desk. Their knowledge,
skills and value grow, and the whole copy desk is better,” he said.
He says the number of corrections the paper has run hasn’t been any different under
the new system, and that’s one measure that the system works.
“Overall, it has focused people more on the actual content than the regular structure.
You raise the overall skill level of every editor under this system because now you
have responsibility throughout the desk,” Cruden said.
Courtney Semple of the Contra Costa Times said her desk has been forced to develop
a similar system because many of the slots left the paper at the same time.
“The energy on the desk is higher now,” Semple said.
Cruden wrapped up with two thoughts: “Maybe we aren’t all equal in skills, but we’re
equal in standing as copy editors. And if anyone can think of a better name for the
system than ‘first reader, second reader,’ I’ll buy you dinner.”
Gerri Berendzen is copy desk chief at the Quincy (Ill.) Herald-Whig. |
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