Top Ten
Reasons Why Editing Is COOL!
Compiled by Jane Harrigan, University
of New Hampshire
(10) It's like solving a puzzle.
(9) You find a whole world of
other people who
go crazy over the"10 items or less" sign in the grocery store. (Or,
as one new editor put
it, "I can constructively satisfy my obsessive-compulsive anal-retentive
tendencies and get paid for it.")
(8) Your job changes constantly;
you're never bored.
(7) You become a more interesting
person. You
can talk about Arafat, Albright, Agassi or Aguilera and sound
like you know what you're talking about -- because you do.
(6) You have responsibility
and power. You decide how readers will perceive the news, how
they'll perceive the world.
(5) Catching a dumb mistake
before readers see it is a rush. Helping someone make a story better is
the best drug there is.(Or, as one person wrote, "It's a close as an
English major can come to being a doctor, or God.")
(4) Newspapers never ask
writers to edit, but they love it if editors write.
(3) You could be the world's best
quiz show contestant because you're a dictionary of useless information.
(2) You can move anywhere
and find a job.
(1) You never have to wear decent
clothes.