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Scenes from the Florida chapter conference
Here's a collection of photos from Trisha Cormeny of the Florida chapter conference June 22 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. We'll post more on the conference itself when it becomes available.
A vital part of newspaper
history goes unnoticed
No mention of copy editing at the Newseum gives pause
By Chris Wienandt
ACES president
What next?
You may have seen a piece by Lawrence Downes in The New York Times noting that the Newseum is devoid of any reference to copy editing. If you did, and if you looked further, you’ve discovered that there’s no mention of copy editing on the Newseum’s Web site, either — at least there’s none that I’ve been able to find.
Wow. I knew we worked in anonymity, but this is extreme.
In his blog, “That’s the Press, Baby”, ACES board member David Sullivan chooses to look on the bright side: "Maybe the entire Newseum is a silent tribute to copy editing."
“Are the exhibit captions correct, spelled right, done to style? Are the quotes properly attributed? Do the exhibits make clear why they are there? Do the brochures have the right verb tenses? If so, the whole building is a tribute to copy editors. I haven’t been yet, but I hope copy editors’ work is seen everywhere in the Newseum the same as it is seen in newspapers every day — the anonymous thing in the background that lets the reader (or visitor) concentrate on the content and not question the professionalism or credibility or relevance.”
We certainly hope that’s the case. But copy editing, for all its anonymity, deserves better. How is it possible that the people responsible for such memorable pieces of journalism as “Ford to City: Drop Dead” or “Sick Transit, Inglorious Monday” or “Headless Body in Topless Bar” go utterly unrecognized in an institution dedicated to educating the public about journalism?
But copy editing isn’t just snappy, eye-catching headlines. It’s also knowing the difference between 14th Avenue and 14th Street or between Oak Lawn and Oak Cliff; it’s spotting the fact that the lead of the story is flat wrong or that it’s down in the 14th paragraph or that nothing in the story supports it. It’s asking where the nut graf is and constructing it if one doesn’t exist. It’s a lot of other crucial functions that would make for a very, very long list.
These aren’t things we do occasionally; these are things we do many times a day. A publication that underestimates the value of its copy editors (or worse, doesn’t have a clue as to what they do) is doomed to embarrassment at best, and at worst, destruction of its credibility — its most valuable asset. A museum that overlooks the existence of copy editing is giving the public an incomplete picture of one of its most important institutions.
Copy editing needs not only to be recognized; it needs to be celebrated. With that in mind, the ACES board has written to the executive director of the Newseum to suggest that the Newseum set up an exhibit explaining the role and contributions of the copy editor — and to offer the organization’s resources in putting together such an exhibit.
The letter was published online by The New York Times. What’s next? We’ll keep you posted.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR, THE NEW YORK TIMES:
The members of the board of the American Copy Editors Society were amazed and alarmed to read “In a Changing World of News, an Elegy for Copy Editors,” by Lawrence Downes (Editorial Observer, June 16), about the Newseum’s failure to document the place of copy editing in journalism.
We disagree with Mr. Downes in one regard: Copy editing is not going away.
Copy editors, as Mr. Downes notes, toil in anonymity. So perhaps, as David Sullivan, a member of our board and a journalist at The Philadelphia Inquirer, commented on his blog, the Newseum silently salutes copy editing:
“Are the exhibit captions correct, spelled right, done to style? Are the quotes properly attributed? Do the exhibits make clear why they are there?”
He adds, “I hope copy editors’ work is seen everywhere in the Newseum the same as it is seen in newspapers every day.”
Copy editors are the people who bring coherence to content so that the public can understand and evaluate it. Over the past decade, our organization has trained copy editors and emphasized their role in journalism. We expect to be doing that for years to come.
Chris Wienandt
President
American Copy Editors Society
Fort Worth, June 19, 2008
Also, in the news ...
By Daniel Hunt
ACES board member
Thanks to ACES member Brian White for passing this along to me: The Washington Post magazine's Gene Weingarten wrote a great article June 22 that's a tribute to copy editors. It's also a great way to test your skills -- I only caught 51 mistakes.
The satirical piece comes after the Washington Post shed a lot of staffers in the newsroom, including some on its copy desks, and reorganized the way it edits stories for the Web and print.
New newsletter on the way
Coming to a mailbox near you soon: Vol. 3 of the 2008 ACES Newsletter. What will you see?
- A wrap up of the 2008 Denver national conference, with reports on select sessions, an interview with the Robinson prize winner and more on the Glamann award.
- A look at math and the modern copy editor. You may be seeing a lot of numbers in those election stories, but it's always math season on the copy desk. The problem is that math isn't always the favorite subject of the desk set. The solution is to build your math resources toolbox.
- Editing all things political is the job of the Politico copy desk. The At the Desk feature takes you behind the scenes at one of the nation's newest newspapers.
- Blogger Andy Bechtel tells us why mug shots need to be edited as carefully as the copy they go with.
Recent job postings- To see all of the postings or to sign up for daily e-mails, click here
- New Graduate Journal in Philosophy of Art: The American Society for Aesthetics is seeking an experienced, part-time freelance copy editor for a new online graduate journal in philosophy called the. . .
- Immediate opening in D.C.: The Washington Times is seeking a full-time copy editor for its Copy Desk in its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The position entails fact-checking; editing. . .
- Pittsburgh Tribune-Review: Looking for a spot with an aggressive metro paper in a competitive environment? The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review seeks an experienced copy editor who has strong. . .
- MSN Money copy editor: MSN Money, an investing and personal-finance Web site, is seeking a full-time, versatile copy editor with five years' experience at a major metropolitan. . .
- ONLINE COPY EDITOR/NIGHT: ONLINE COPY EDITOR/NIGHT Are you ready to join our award-winning team at naplesnews.com? We have an immediate need for a night editor to help handle a busy. . .
- Killeen (Texas) Daily Herald looking for copy editor/page designers: The Killeen Daily Herald, a locally-owned, 20K-circulation daily newspaper and Web operation in Central Texas, seeks creative journalists with strong design,. . .
- Experienced FICTION editors needed: www.Book-Editing.com needs FICTION specialists (mainstream and genre) who can perform ALL of the following services: -- developmental editing -- copyediting /. . .
- Editor Position in Carrollton TX: Growing Carrollton, TX publishing company is seeking a full-time Editor. Experience to include: ? BA in journalism or English. ? Strong writing, editing,. . .
| | ABOUT ACES- The American Copy Editors Society is a professional organization working toward the advancement of copy editors in newspapers, magazines, Web sites and other journalistic endeavors. Our aim is to provide solutions to copy desk problems through training, discussion and an awareness of common issues.
ACES CALENDAR
- November 15: Postmark deadline for ACES scholarship applications LINK
 - April 30-May 2, 2009: Minneapolis conference
2008 CONFERENCE - For the full index of coverage, including speaker handouts, visit the conference page.
BE OUR BUDDY- ACES has joined the social networking realm with groups on Facebook and MySpace. Show your ACES pride to all of your online buddies by joining.
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