Who would want to be a copy editor?
The industry and academe should work to raise the value of editing

By ANN AUMAN

Walk into a room of copy editing instructors and you will sense enthusiasm for teaching the craft, probably more than you would in most newsrooms. That’s what I sensed last August at a session called “Teaching editing in changing times” at the annual journalism educators convention in New Orleans.

But the instructors also struggled with how best to prepare students for careers as copy editors, particularly in light of a recent American Copy Editors Society survey on the shortage of copy editors. These days, copy editors need to be multi-talented and have a thick skin. Copy editors must have excellent word skills, a flare for headline writing and be savvy with pagination. Plus they’re going to be treated as “second-class citizens” who get no respect and have lousy hours.

“Why would you choose that as a field?” asked Dorothy Wilson, managing editor of the Sun-Herald in Biloxi, Miss., and a founding board member of ACES, who spoke at the session. Wilson has worked on several copy desk restructuring projects for Knight-Ridder, including one at The State in Columbia, S.C.
 
Only nine of the editors who responded to the ACES survey said that journalism programs are encouraging students to become copy editors, 57 said they aren’t and 23 said some are and some aren’t.

A typical response: “Hammer the supply line — make universities aware that the need is serious and the work is noble.”

How about hammering newspaper managers to raise the value of copy editing in newsrooms? Then students might be more attracted to the field.

Professionals and educators need to start working together to raise the value of editing.  All journalism educators, not just copy editing instructors, need to understand the value of editing in print and online publications.

Newspaper management also needs to be educated on the value that copy editing brings to newspapers and to readers, Wilson said. It is the glue in the whole process of writing, editing and presentation, she told educators. Copy editors are the quality-control people; they add value to the final product. But the role of copy editors has been diluted because they have been handed more and more duties, such as pagination, special editions and online projects.

“For years, the newsroom process has been driven by the reporting side, which has dictated when copy editors work,” Wilson said. “There’s something really wrong with that.”

She has this advice on how to improve the status of copy editors:
• Form a group of newsroom representatives to identify ways copy editors add value to readers.
• Break down barriers between reporters and editors so they communicate.
• Change hours and workflow so more of the work gets done earlier.
• Make sure everyone understands the value of the new process.
• Watch over and fine-tune the process.
 
Mirroring the industry, journalism programs historically have focused on reporting. Some editors in the ACES survey said that students never hear about copy editing or aren’t told that copy editors are in great demand.

It appears that many journalism schools need to increase their commitment to editing. It shouldn’t just be left to the big ones with the resources. Programs need more courses in editing, organizing and presenting information, not just a single basic one. Students need opportunities to coach writers while stories are being developed and written, and to use their news judgment in story selection, editing, organizing and presentation.

Wilson suggests that copy editing students need to know what it’s really like to work in newsrooms. She says she is so desperate for editors that she is willing to let students shadow an editor for a week.

Here’s what she looks for in a copy editing candidate:
• Versatility — some Quark experience in case those skills are needed in a pinch.
• Good work attitude.
• Willingness to collaborate across the newsroom.
• Fresh eyes.
• Deadline performance, and the ability to get the work done in two hours instead of three.
• Knowledge of current events.
• Willingness to take responsibility for finding solutions to workplace issues and for improving the quality of their work.

If newsrooms follow Wilson’s advice and boost the status of copy editing, it will be a whole lot easier to spread professors’ enthusiasm.
 

Ann Auman is a journalism professor at the University of Hawaii, where she
teaches editing and design.
 
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